- 49
LOUIS LE BROCQUY, H.R.H.A. | Head of a Man
Estimate
30,000 - 50,000 GBP
bidding is closed
Description
- Louis le Brocquy
- Head of a Man
- signed and dated l.l.: LE BROCQUY 68; titled, inscribed with dimensions and numbered 214 on the reverse; further signed, titled and dated on the stretcher
- oil on canvas
- 73 by 73cm., 28¾ by 28¾in.
Provenance
Gimpel Fils, London;
Sotheby's, London, 22 May 1997, lot 369, where purchased by the present owner
Sotheby's, London, 22 May 1997, lot 369, where purchased by the present owner
Exhibited
London, Gimpel Fils and Zurich, Gimpel & Hanover Galerie, Louis le Brocquy, 1968-69, no.26;
New York State Museum, Boston College, Massachusetts and Westfield College, Louis le Brocquy and the Celtic Head Images, 1981, no.17;
Dublin, Kerlin Gallery, Louis le Brocquy - Paintings 1940-1990, 1991;
Dublin, Irish Museum of Modern Art, Louis le Brocquy - Paintings 1939-1996, 1996, no.48 (illustrated)
New York State Museum, Boston College, Massachusetts and Westfield College, Louis le Brocquy and the Celtic Head Images, 1981, no.17;
Dublin, Kerlin Gallery, Louis le Brocquy - Paintings 1940-1990, 1991;
Dublin, Irish Museum of Modern Art, Louis le Brocquy - Paintings 1939-1996, 1996, no.48 (illustrated)
Condition
Original canvas. The work appears in excellent overall condition. Under ultraviolet light there appear to be no signs of retouching. Held in a wooden box frame with a cream mount.
"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
The artist began painting his Ancestral Heads in 1964, inspired by Polynesian decorative skulls in the Musée de l’Homme, Paris as well as the traditional Celtic veneration of the head. These works mark a vital new direction for Le Brocquy and their creation was preceded by his destruction of the entire output of the previous year. In the catalogue of the 1996 Dublin exhibition (ed. Brenda McParland, Sarah Glennie and Róisín Kennedy) it is noted that the present work is unusual in that it presents the head simultaneously full-face and in profile. Although these works were not painted with particular models in mind, unlike the later portraits, possible sources for this may be the Celto-Lingurian two-faced Hermes at Rocquepertuse, in southern France, which he visited in 1965 or the three-faced Corlech head, from Co. Cavan (coll. National Museum of Ireland, Dublin).