- 44
STATUE, FANG, GABON |
Estimate
180,000 - 250,000 EUR
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Description
- haut. 50 cm ; 19 5/8 in
Provenance
Leo Viktor Frobenius (1873-1939), Francfort
Charles Ratton (1885-1986), Paris
Collection Miguel Covarrubias (1904-1957), Mexico / New York
Collection Robert (1916-2006) et Helen Kuhn (1920-2017), Los Angeles
Sotheby’s, New York, 20 novembre 1991, n° 79
Collection privée européenne, acquis lors de cette vente
Charles Ratton (1885-1986), Paris
Collection Miguel Covarrubias (1904-1957), Mexico / New York
Collection Robert (1916-2006) et Helen Kuhn (1920-2017), Los Angeles
Sotheby’s, New York, 20 novembre 1991, n° 79
Collection privée européenne, acquis lors de cette vente
Literature
Perrois, Arts du Gabon. Les arts plastiques du Bassin de l'Ogooué, 1979, p. 44, n° 20
Schmalenbach, Afrikanische Kunst aus Kölner Privatsammlungen, 2004, couverture et p. 57
Schmalenbach, Afrikanische Kunst aus Kölner Privatsammlungen, 2004, couverture et p. 57
Condition
Very good condition overall. As visible on the catalogue illustration, the figure has been neutered. Minor marks and scratches all over the figure but wear consistent with age and use within the culture. Beautiful nuanced brown patina encrusted at some places.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."
Catalogue Note
A l’orée des années 1930, Charles Ratton contribue à l’émergence d’un nouveau regard sur les « arts lointains », qui succède à l’étape de leur « découverte » par les artistes modernes quelque vingt ans plus tôt. L’exigence de son goût et la précision de son œil se reflètent dans chacune des œuvres passées entre ses mains, dont cet archétype de la statuaire Fang. D’un point de vue morphologique et stylistique, cette statue s’inscrit dans la tradition sculpturale du Nord Gabon, et plus spécifiquement celle des Ntumu, source et centre de diffusion principal de l’art Fang (James W. Fernandez, ‘Principles of Opposition and Vitality in Fang Aesthetics’, The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, 1966, p. 53-66). Mais les canons de ce style classique – torse longiligne, membres inférieurs trapus dont les volumes absorbent la profondeur, visage au modelé plein et arrondi dont le front en quart de sphère surplombe la face creusée « en cœur » - sont subtilement bouleversés par la vision et le talent du sculpteur. L’artiste est parvenu à contenir dans cette forme immobile, la "présence" de l'ancêtre, par une saisissante appréhension de la tridimensionnalité. Dans la formulation des jambes, les volumes absorbent la profondeur, dans une « contorsion [qui] décrit de façon visible et concentrée [...] le volume engendré par deux directions contrastantes [...]. Des parties éloignées [...] deviennent ainsi forme et sont absolument nécessaires à la représentation immédiate du volume » (Einstein, Les arts d'Afrique, 2015, p. 35). La vue dorsale, dans la radicale simplification des volumes, inscrit pareillement la forme dans une dimension spatiale. S'impose dès lors la notion de « vision plastique pure » telle qu'énoncée par Einstein : de la matière brute du tronc, laissée visible dans la jonction interne des bras et des pieds, l'artiste a extrait des formes autonomes, « diversement mises en valeur d’après leur expression plastique» (idem, p. 33). Amplifiée par le rejet du détail anecdotique et la surface lissée des modelés, l’intensité du geste sculptural aboutit à la monumentalité de l'effigie. Chef-d’œuvre d’équilibre dans la tension des courbes et des contre-courbes, dans la finesse des modelés et la force des lignes de fuite, la tête clarifie magistralement la portée qui lui est accordée dans la pensée Fang, en tant que signe de vitalité et de puissance sociale. Elle se conclut ici dans l’élégance de la coiffure-casque, s’étirant bas sur la nuque.
Le pouvoir de l’ancêtre s’illustre enfin dans la surface de la sculpture : « le nombril et le bas du visage ont été rongés peu à peu par les prélèvements rituels : les organes du souffle de la vie – le nez, la bouche – de même que la marque du lien avec la mère du lignage – le nombril en hernie – ont été des ‘matériaux’ symboliques et magiques très prisés. Mais la qualité plastique de l’objet, par la maîtrise des lignes et des plans, fait oublier ces mutilations : les rites se sont nourris de la beauté des formes sans parvenir à les détruire » (Perrois, Byeri Fang. Sculptures d’ancêtres en Afrique, 1992, p. 140). La beauté universelle de cette figure d’ancêtre Fang illustre magistralement la prodigieuse interprétation sculpturale fruit de l’imaginaire d’un grand artiste qui, tout en puisant dans les traditions plastiques qui, au cours de l’histoire, ont façonné les « styles » spécifiques à chaque aire Fang, a livré une vision hautement personnelle du thème primordial de la représentation des ancêtres.
In the early 1930s, Charles Ratton contributed to the emergence of a new perspective on the "distant arts", which came after their "discovery" by modern artists some twenty years earlier. The high standards of his taste and the sharpness of his eye are reflected in each of the pieces that passed through his hands, including this archetype of the Fang statuary.
From a morphological and stylistic point of view, this statue is part of the sculptural tradition of North Gabon, specifically that of the Ntumu, the main source and centre of influence for Fang art. (James W. Fernandez, ‘Principles of Opposition and Vitality in Fang Aesthetics’, The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, 1966, p. 53-66). But the canons of this classic style - slender torso, squat lower limbs with volumes that absorb their depth, a full and rounded face with a quarter-sphere forehead overhanging a hollowed-out "heart-shaped" face - are subtly disrupted by the vision and talent of the sculptor. The artist has managed to contain the "presence" of the ancestor within this still form, through a breathtaking grasp of three-dimensionality. In the formulation of the legs, the volumes absorb the depth, in a "contortion [which] describes, in a visible and concentrated way, [...] the volume generated by two contrasting directions [...]. Distant parts [...] thus take shape together and are absolutely vital to ensure the immediate representation of the volume" (Einstein, Les arts d'Afrique, 2015, p.35). The dorsal view, in the radical simplification of its volumes, similarly encompasses the form within a spatial dimension. The notion of "pure artistic vision" thus applies, as articulated by Einstein: from the raw wood of the torso - deliberately left apparent at the internal arm and foot junction - the artist has extracted autonomous forms, "variously highlighted depending on their artistic expression” (ibid, p. 33). Amplified by the refusal to depict anecdotal detail and the smooth continuity of the outlines, the intensity of the sculptural gesture produces the monumentality of the effigy. A masterpiece of balance in the tension of the curves and counter-curves, the refinement of the modelling and the force of the convergence lines, the head is a dramatic statement emphasizing its significance for the Fang, as a sign of vitality and social power. It is brought to an elegant conclusion here with the helmet coiffure extending low on the neck.
Finally the power of the ancestor is reflected on the surface of the sculpture: "The navel and the lower part of the face were gradually eaten away, chipped to produce fragments used in rituals. The organs associated with the breath of life - nose and mouth -, as well as the symbol of the link with the mother's lineage - protruding navel - were much sought-after symbolic and magical "materials". But the aesthetic quality of the piece, patent in the absolute command displayed in the planes and curves, transcends these mutilations: the rituals fed on the beauty of the forms but failed to destroy them” (Perrois, Byeri Fang. Sculptures d’ancêtres en Afrique, 1992, p.140). The universal beauty of this Fang ancestor figure is a beautiful illustration of the prodigious sculptural interpretation arising from the imagination of a great artist, who, whilst drawing on the artistic traditions which, over time, have shaped the Fang "styles" specific to each area, has delivered a highly personal vision of the overarching theme of ancestor representation.
Le pouvoir de l’ancêtre s’illustre enfin dans la surface de la sculpture : « le nombril et le bas du visage ont été rongés peu à peu par les prélèvements rituels : les organes du souffle de la vie – le nez, la bouche – de même que la marque du lien avec la mère du lignage – le nombril en hernie – ont été des ‘matériaux’ symboliques et magiques très prisés. Mais la qualité plastique de l’objet, par la maîtrise des lignes et des plans, fait oublier ces mutilations : les rites se sont nourris de la beauté des formes sans parvenir à les détruire » (Perrois, Byeri Fang. Sculptures d’ancêtres en Afrique, 1992, p. 140). La beauté universelle de cette figure d’ancêtre Fang illustre magistralement la prodigieuse interprétation sculpturale fruit de l’imaginaire d’un grand artiste qui, tout en puisant dans les traditions plastiques qui, au cours de l’histoire, ont façonné les « styles » spécifiques à chaque aire Fang, a livré une vision hautement personnelle du thème primordial de la représentation des ancêtres.
In the early 1930s, Charles Ratton contributed to the emergence of a new perspective on the "distant arts", which came after their "discovery" by modern artists some twenty years earlier. The high standards of his taste and the sharpness of his eye are reflected in each of the pieces that passed through his hands, including this archetype of the Fang statuary.
From a morphological and stylistic point of view, this statue is part of the sculptural tradition of North Gabon, specifically that of the Ntumu, the main source and centre of influence for Fang art. (James W. Fernandez, ‘Principles of Opposition and Vitality in Fang Aesthetics’, The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, 1966, p. 53-66). But the canons of this classic style - slender torso, squat lower limbs with volumes that absorb their depth, a full and rounded face with a quarter-sphere forehead overhanging a hollowed-out "heart-shaped" face - are subtly disrupted by the vision and talent of the sculptor. The artist has managed to contain the "presence" of the ancestor within this still form, through a breathtaking grasp of three-dimensionality. In the formulation of the legs, the volumes absorb the depth, in a "contortion [which] describes, in a visible and concentrated way, [...] the volume generated by two contrasting directions [...]. Distant parts [...] thus take shape together and are absolutely vital to ensure the immediate representation of the volume" (Einstein, Les arts d'Afrique, 2015, p.35). The dorsal view, in the radical simplification of its volumes, similarly encompasses the form within a spatial dimension. The notion of "pure artistic vision" thus applies, as articulated by Einstein: from the raw wood of the torso - deliberately left apparent at the internal arm and foot junction - the artist has extracted autonomous forms, "variously highlighted depending on their artistic expression” (ibid, p. 33). Amplified by the refusal to depict anecdotal detail and the smooth continuity of the outlines, the intensity of the sculptural gesture produces the monumentality of the effigy. A masterpiece of balance in the tension of the curves and counter-curves, the refinement of the modelling and the force of the convergence lines, the head is a dramatic statement emphasizing its significance for the Fang, as a sign of vitality and social power. It is brought to an elegant conclusion here with the helmet coiffure extending low on the neck.
Finally the power of the ancestor is reflected on the surface of the sculpture: "The navel and the lower part of the face were gradually eaten away, chipped to produce fragments used in rituals. The organs associated with the breath of life - nose and mouth -, as well as the symbol of the link with the mother's lineage - protruding navel - were much sought-after symbolic and magical "materials". But the aesthetic quality of the piece, patent in the absolute command displayed in the planes and curves, transcends these mutilations: the rituals fed on the beauty of the forms but failed to destroy them” (Perrois, Byeri Fang. Sculptures d’ancêtres en Afrique, 1992, p.140). The universal beauty of this Fang ancestor figure is a beautiful illustration of the prodigious sculptural interpretation arising from the imagination of a great artist, who, whilst drawing on the artistic traditions which, over time, have shaped the Fang "styles" specific to each area, has delivered a highly personal vision of the overarching theme of ancestor representation.