Jean Arp

Sidney Janis Gallery, New York
Acquired from the above in 1968

Giuseppe Marchiori, Arp, Milan, 1964, illustration of the smaller bronze version pl. 135
Herbert Read, Arp, London, 1968, no. 130, illustration of the smaller bronze version p. 105
Eduard Trier, Maguerite Arp-Hagenbach & Françoise Arp, Jean Arp, Sculpture, His Last Ten Years, New York, 1968, no. 232a, illustration of the marble version p. 115; illustrations of the smaller bronze version p. 46 & pl. 48
The Art of Jean Arp (exhibition catalogue), New York, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum; Los Angeles, University of California; Des Moines, Iowa, Des Moines Art Center; Dallas, Dallas Museum of Fine Arts & Zurich, Kunsthaus Zurich, 1968, no. 130, illustration of the smaller bronze version p. 105

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Often guided by chance and intuition, Arp enjoyed creating organic, irregular shapes evocative of natural forms and parts of the human anatomy. Although he developed a highly abstract visual vocabulary, in his sculptures Arp always established a connection between these biomorphic forms and elements of the natural world in such a way as to unveil the mysterious and poetic elements hidden in everyday forms. With its amorphous and irregular shape, S’Accroupissant evidences some of the central themes of Arp's original manifesto. "All things, and man as well, should be like nature, without measure," he wrote as a young artist, "I wanted to create new appearances, to extract new forms from man" (quoted in Serge Fauchereau, Arp, London, 1988, p. 15). 

With its tilted, head-like protrusion and uplifted gesture, S’Accroupissant exudes an animated presence. "Often some detail in one of my sculptures, a curve or a contrast that moves me, become the germ of a new work. I accentuate the curve or the contrast and this leads to the birth of new forms... Sometimes it will take months, even years, to work out a new sculpture. I do not give up until enough of my life has flowed into its body. Each of these bodies has a definite significance, but it is only when I feel there is nothing more to change that I decide what this is, and it is only then that I give it a name" (quoted in Herbert Read, Arp, London, 1968, p. 87).

This work comes from the estate of Jay Julien, a veteran who served during the invasion of Normandy and whose diversified skills and interests pervaded the legal and entertainment professions. Mr. Julien was the lawyer for Sidney Janis, who championed Arp as an artist to US collectors during the first half of the twentieth century. He also served as both legal counsel and as a producer for many films and Broadway plays, including King of New York, The Addiction and The King of Comedy, the latter starring Robert De Niro and directed by Martin Scorsese.