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Lot Essay
Built in 1889 for the Exposition Universalle, the Eiffel Tower was a technical marvel and testament to the progress of modernity. Robert Delaunay was fascinated with the light-filled space and recorded the Tower from 1909 to 1912 in a series of at least nine paintings, ten works on paper, as well as many drawings.
In the present study the structure has been abstracted into different prismatic viewpoints. The original elements are no longer intact and what remains are new dynamic forms that the artist has reassembled. In the lower left quadrant is the most recognizable element, a latticed section of one of the steel girders. The tower rises through the composition with each successive tier becoming more simplified. At the center of the sheet the second tier is represented simply with a ladder-like form; above this is a series of bars, which stands for the third top tier of the architectural form. Around this delineation are swaying arcs conveying a sense of rhythm and movement.
The treatment of the structure in La Tour Eiffel et la Roue was an important precursor to several works in the series including the major painting La Tour rouge, 1911-1912 (coll. The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York). Mark Drutt has linked the present work to a group of drawings associated with La Tour rouge. In the final version, the deconstructed lines of the tower are replaced with broad bands of color and greater fragments of representational elements are more evident.
Another important element is the Ferris wheel or la roue in the lower right quadrant, which is represented through a series of interlocking planes. The Ferris wheel was temporarily erected a site near Champ-de-Mars and was seen in many postcards of the day. For Delaunay, the tower and the wheel would continue to be important motifs not only for the Eiffel Tower series, but also the Les Fenêtres and the works of L'Équipe de Cardiff done in 1912-1913.
A drawing by Sonia Delaunay appears on the reverse of this work.
In the present study the structure has been abstracted into different prismatic viewpoints. The original elements are no longer intact and what remains are new dynamic forms that the artist has reassembled. In the lower left quadrant is the most recognizable element, a latticed section of one of the steel girders. The tower rises through the composition with each successive tier becoming more simplified. At the center of the sheet the second tier is represented simply with a ladder-like form; above this is a series of bars, which stands for the third top tier of the architectural form. Around this delineation are swaying arcs conveying a sense of rhythm and movement.
The treatment of the structure in La Tour Eiffel et la Roue was an important precursor to several works in the series including the major painting La Tour rouge, 1911-1912 (coll. The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York). Mark Drutt has linked the present work to a group of drawings associated with La Tour rouge. In the final version, the deconstructed lines of the tower are replaced with broad bands of color and greater fragments of representational elements are more evident.
Another important element is the Ferris wheel or la roue in the lower right quadrant, which is represented through a series of interlocking planes. The Ferris wheel was temporarily erected a site near Champ-de-Mars and was seen in many postcards of the day. For Delaunay, the tower and the wheel would continue to be important motifs not only for the Eiffel Tower series, but also the Les Fenêtres and the works of L'Équipe de Cardiff done in 1912-1913.
A drawing by Sonia Delaunay appears on the reverse of this work.