CY TWOMBLY | Study for By the Ionian Sea

Collection of Yvon Lambert, Paris (gift of the artist in 1974)
Acquired from the above by the present owner

Heiner Bastian, Ed., Cy Twombly: Catalogue Raisonné of the Paintings, Volume II, 1961-1965, Munich 1993, cat. no. 97, p. 170, illustrated

This work is in very good condition overall. There is minor evidence of wear and handling along the edges, most notably in the corners. The bottom right turning edge is slightly uneven as a result of the stretcher. Under extremely close inspection, there are a few faint and unobtrusive areas of localized hairline craquelure in the beige painted areas and there are two minor losses in the bottom of the window. Under Ultraviolet light inspection, there are several scattered small areas throughout the yellow-painted areas that fluoresce darkly, some of which may have benefited from restoration. Framed.
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.
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One of a series of four canvases, Study for By the Ionian Sea from 1962 is executed in the urgent, painterly smear and scrawl that defines Cy Twombly’s uniquely eloquent touch. This series references George Gissing’s 18^th century travel novel By the Ionian Sea as well as Plato’s philosophical Symposium, evincing the artist’s adoration for tales of ancient Greco-Roman mythology. Gissing’s notes of his journey to Calabria to pay homage to the “land of romance” provided the impetus for Twombly's title, while Plato’s dramatic text extolling a passion for wisdom and beauty prompted the shaded citation beneath the title. Hailing from a crucial year in Twombly’s oeuvre, Study for by the Ionian Sea is emblematic of the mythology, literature, and Roman history that enthralled the artist during a period of immense creativity and prolific output. Painted during the highpoint of what Twombly would later term his “Baroque” period, the muted colors and minimal imagery belie a complex and richly symbolic surface. Shadows of underlying blue and gray peek through the scratched and scored layer of white oil paint, adding depth and texture to the canvas. The butterfly-like figure that dominates the composition is rendered in a curvaceous line of blue colored pencil, prefiguring the aqueous loping lines of his later Roman Notes. The scrawled pictogram of a window inscribed at the top of the canvas, a frequently recurring motif in Twombly’s paintings, is often read as a stabilizing force, a witty paradox that plays upon the invocation of reason through analytical geometry yet offers no insight into the composition’s rationale. Study for By The Ionian Sea is thus as rife with allusions, symbols, and calligraphic marks as any of Twombly’s greatest masterpieces.