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Lot Essay
Conceived in 1972, Four Piece Reclining Figure stands as one of Henry Moore’s most dynamic explorations of the fragmented, abstracted human body, demonstrating his continued fascination with the sculptural potentialities of one of his favourite leitmotifs – the sinuous curving outlines of the reclining figure. Dividing the sculpture into four individual elements, the artist abstracts the body into a series of rounded, organic, autonomous shapes, each of which projects its own strongly characterised profile. The arrangement of these individual elements conveys the impression of a torso and head on one side, and a pair of overlapping legs on the other, while Moore’s manipulation of the space between the sections is carefully calculated in order to generate a tension and energy that tie the two groupings together. Describing this phenomenon, the sculptor explained, ‘This space is terribly important and is as much a form as the actual solid, and should be looked upon as a piece of form or a shape just as much as the actual material’ (Moore, quoted in D. Mitchinson, Henry Moore Sculpture, London, 1981, p. 266).
In works such as Four Piece Reclining Figure, Moore invites the viewer to move actively around the sectioned figure, to look into it and consider its forms from numerous different viewpoints. Speaking of the power of these divided forms, Moore stated: ‘I think these sculptures are more fully in the round than any previous work of mine. Being in two pieces the work separates itself from seeming to be only a representation of a reclining figure’ (Moore, quoted in M. Chamont, D. Farr & M. Butlin, Tate Gallery Catalogues: The Modern British Paintings, Drawings and Sculpture, vol. II, London, 1964, p. 459). Taking advantage of the innumerable visual possibilities of the multi-part composition, Moore developed an enhanced, more dynamic and more varied viewing experience, as the character of the sculpture shifts and changes according to the angle from which it is considered. As he explained, ‘Dividing the figure into two parts made many more three-dimensional variations than if it had just been a monolithic piece…If it is two pieces, there’s a bigger surprise, you have more unexpected views… As you move around it, the two parts overlap or they open up and there’s space between’ (Moore, quoted in ibid, pp. 153-157).
In works such as Four Piece Reclining Figure, Moore invites the viewer to move actively around the sectioned figure, to look into it and consider its forms from numerous different viewpoints. Speaking of the power of these divided forms, Moore stated: ‘I think these sculptures are more fully in the round than any previous work of mine. Being in two pieces the work separates itself from seeming to be only a representation of a reclining figure’ (Moore, quoted in M. Chamont, D. Farr & M. Butlin, Tate Gallery Catalogues: The Modern British Paintings, Drawings and Sculpture, vol. II, London, 1964, p. 459). Taking advantage of the innumerable visual possibilities of the multi-part composition, Moore developed an enhanced, more dynamic and more varied viewing experience, as the character of the sculpture shifts and changes according to the angle from which it is considered. As he explained, ‘Dividing the figure into two parts made many more three-dimensional variations than if it had just been a monolithic piece…If it is two pieces, there’s a bigger surprise, you have more unexpected views… As you move around it, the two parts overlap or they open up and there’s space between’ (Moore, quoted in ibid, pp. 153-157).