Henry Moore Artwork Catalogue
Henry Moore's maquettes: observations on the methodical evolution in his work.
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In the text of an interview between Henry Moore Wolfgang Fischer and Erich Steingräber at Much Hadham on 3 April 1978 Moore confirms his change from drawing to maquette as the initial plans for a sculpture. The advantage over drawing is that the three-dimensional work has many points of view whereas the view that is drawn first tends to be the important view. "I think now that in working with maquettes my sculpture is more truly three-dimensional than it was when I was a young sculptor." Moore speaks of his enjoyment in the creative process of producing ideas in maquette form. Many maquettes are cast simply because they represent ideas worth preserving in permanent form. Moore sees himself as a sculptor who is naturally a carver but stresses it is the mind and idea that is important more so than the material used. Drawing is now used as a separate thing from sculpture and to enhance pleasure and understanding. The article finishes with fifteen published quotations from Moore dating between 1930 and 1968.
Also published in extended form as a Pantheon Edition (See 0002965)."
Bib. Number0002964
Henry Moore's maquettes: observations on the methodical evolution in his work.
Author/EditorSTEINGRABER Erich.
PublisherPantheon
Place PublishedMunich
Year1978
Date & Collation(July-Sept) 36(3) Cover,240-270(50 illus).Bibliog.Text in English, French and German.
LanguageEnglish/French/German/
More InformationDedicated to the artist on his eightieth birthday, 30 July 1978, this article begins by outlining the function of the bozzetto" or maquette from Renaissance art. Moore's workshop practice is seen as rooted in Renaissance tradition and his own statements as of prime importance in understanding the creative origins of his ideas. The drawings are seen as supreme examples of great art and essentially the studies of a sculptor exploring three-dimensional form. An outline is given of Moore's historical and artistic influences and his examinations of forms in nature. His drawings also document the sculptural examination of space interior and exterior forms and other ideas. While drawings were ideal in exploring the essential frontality of his early carving maquettes became necessary to examine the increased three-dimensionality of the larger bronzes. By the 1950s these drawings became less frequent and gave way to clay and later plaster maquettes from which bronze casts may be taken becoming small sculptures in their own right. Intermediate between the maquette and the final sculpture can be the working model cast in bronze on about half the scale of the work proper. Like the ideas expressed in drawings the maquettes also go through stages of development before reaching maturity. Natural forms predominate and metamorphose into works of sculpture with locking embracing or fusion of forms often an important element. The sheer size of some later works has extended the use of materials into fibre-glass blocks. Recently his graphic work is revived in print making and drawings of Gus and of nature. A revival of carving is also evident in recent work.In the text of an interview between Henry Moore Wolfgang Fischer and Erich Steingräber at Much Hadham on 3 April 1978 Moore confirms his change from drawing to maquette as the initial plans for a sculpture. The advantage over drawing is that the three-dimensional work has many points of view whereas the view that is drawn first tends to be the important view. "I think now that in working with maquettes my sculpture is more truly three-dimensional than it was when I was a young sculptor." Moore speaks of his enjoyment in the creative process of producing ideas in maquette form. Many maquettes are cast simply because they represent ideas worth preserving in permanent form. Moore sees himself as a sculptor who is naturally a carver but stresses it is the mind and idea that is important more so than the material used. Drawing is now used as a separate thing from sculpture and to enhance pleasure and understanding. The article finishes with fifteen published quotations from Moore dating between 1930 and 1968.
Also published in extended form as a Pantheon Edition (See 0002965)."