La femme demi-tête

Sparked by Ernst and Carrington’s first meeting in 1937 and informed by their fascination for form and architecture, this collaborative project displays a combination of the pair’s creative voices. Carrington created the female figure, inspired by the sculpture of John Donne in St. James’ Cathedral, London whereas Ernst conceived the surrealist base on which the elegant Femme à la demi-tête stands. Its pedestal which reveals a face with a central eye, mouth and nose. The head of this eponymous woman is devoid of any discernible facial traits, except for a vertical line in relief which continues down the centre of her body, drawing the viewer’s attention towards a mollusc resting at the base of her feet. More recognisable facial features are rather encountered on the face she stands upon.

This sculpture culminates in a mesmerising curvilinear experimentation, evoked in the contrast between the angularity and linearity of the woman’s head and the semi-circular iterations throughout the rest of the work. The closed shell is reminiscent of her rounded arms and the curved base. The female figure stands tall in all her glory at a height of almost two metres, the light catching on the smoothness of her polished bronze body and the textured surface of the mound on which she balances. Ernst and Carrington imbue this work with a majestic quality, recalling the classical dancer who carries her arms in an elegant bras bas ballet position, her head held high both literally and metaphorically. The original sculpture resides in the house where Carrington and Ernst lived from 1938, St. Martin d’Ardeche.