Lepäävä hahmo jalustalla / Reclining figure on a pedastal

Henry Moore is indisputably one of England’s best known and, above all, most influential sculptors. Moore expresses love and human understanding through his art. Throughout his long career his main themes were: mother and child, sitting and reclining figures, family group, head of a girl, head of Madonna, etc. Moore developed and refined the expression of these elementary figures.

‘Reclining figure’ belongs to a central theme in Moore’s work: his whole life he returned to this problematic and developed it in many different variations. One is situated in front of the UNESCO headquarters in Paris.

The architect Viljo Revell, who designed the Didrichsen home that partly that later became a gallery, wished that the Didrichsens would acquire a Henry Moore sculpture for decorating the estate. This was the start of the international modern art collection.

‘Reclining figure on a pedastal’ can be seen as a kind of embodiment of Moore’s oeuvre. The figure is relatively entire without the gaps, or crevices, typical to the earlier works. Furthermore it anticipates Moore’s temporarily transition towards portraying reclining pair figures. The sculpture is made of bronze and measures 115 x 130cm.

See also ‘Atom Work’.