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Lot Essay
‘David Wynne is a remarkable man with a remarkable, God-given talent for extraordinary sensitive sculpture. He is someone who puts his heart and soul into whatever he is doing and, as a consequence, we are able to obtain infinite pleasure from the result of his labours’ (HRH The Prince of Wales, quoted in J. Stone (ed.), The Sculpture of David Wynne 1974-1992, London, 1993, n.p.).
Pyramus and Thisbe is a wonderfully lyrical and striking piece. Standing at over 118 inches high its impressive scale and sinuous form, highlight it as one of Wynne’s masterpieces. Commissioned directly from the artist by the present owner in 2003 the present work depicts the ill-fated lovers of Pyramus and Thisbe, from Ovid’s Metamorphoses. The tragic tale, which is famously re-enacted by the group of ‘mechanicals’ in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, tells of the romantic heroes who are forbidden to wed by their rivalling families and declare their love for one another through a crack in the wall between their neighbouring houses. Ovid’s original tale concludes their love in a devastating and fateful ending, which Wynne has rewritten here, choosing instead to unite the lovers. Depicting the pair embracing as they dance together, their arms poetically raised in perfect unity, Wynne successfully captures the intensity of emotion between the couple, which is expressed not only in the power of their gaze but in the harmony and symmetry of the piece.
Graham Hughes pinpoints the success of Wynne’s work to this delight in life. He explains: ‘The character of David’s work is delight in life … David’s art is inspired by the physical universe, rich curves, complex rhythms, wonderful textures on his bronzes as well as his stone carvings; we find them all echoing something we have loved in our own environment, whether it be sea or land, earth or sky’ (G. Hughes (intro.), The Sculpture of David Wynne 1968/1974, London, 1974, n.p.).
Pyramus and Thisbe is a wonderfully lyrical and striking piece. Standing at over 118 inches high its impressive scale and sinuous form, highlight it as one of Wynne’s masterpieces. Commissioned directly from the artist by the present owner in 2003 the present work depicts the ill-fated lovers of Pyramus and Thisbe, from Ovid’s Metamorphoses. The tragic tale, which is famously re-enacted by the group of ‘mechanicals’ in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, tells of the romantic heroes who are forbidden to wed by their rivalling families and declare their love for one another through a crack in the wall between their neighbouring houses. Ovid’s original tale concludes their love in a devastating and fateful ending, which Wynne has rewritten here, choosing instead to unite the lovers. Depicting the pair embracing as they dance together, their arms poetically raised in perfect unity, Wynne successfully captures the intensity of emotion between the couple, which is expressed not only in the power of their gaze but in the harmony and symmetry of the piece.
Graham Hughes pinpoints the success of Wynne’s work to this delight in life. He explains: ‘The character of David’s work is delight in life … David’s art is inspired by the physical universe, rich curves, complex rhythms, wonderful textures on his bronzes as well as his stone carvings; we find them all echoing something we have loved in our own environment, whether it be sea or land, earth or sky’ (G. Hughes (intro.), The Sculpture of David Wynne 1968/1974, London, 1974, n.p.).