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Modern and Contemporary Art Harlequin 1917 Juan Gris (José Victoriano González Pérez), Spanish, 1887 - 1927 Carved and painted plaster 21 1/4 x 13 x 10 inches (54 x 33 x 25.4 cm) * Gallery 169, Modern and Contemporary Art, first floor 1952-61-45 A. E. Gallatin Collection, 1952 |
Gallery LabelIn 1916 Lipchitz met the Cubist painter Juan Gris in Paris. The two artists became close friends, and their intense and fruitful discussions of art, science, and poetry brought about a profound change in their respective work. In the late autumn of 1917, Lipchitz helped Gris with this unique piece, the Spanish artist's only serious attempt at sculpture. Although Lipchitz later claimed that he only assisted with technical problems associated with the making of Harlequin, the figure nonetheless owes a substantial debt to Lipchitz's own works of the same year, such as Bather. The introduction of color to modulate form, however, is closely related to Gris's virtually abstract paintings done at the same time.ProvenanceLéonce Rosenberg, Galerie de L'Effort Moderne, Paris; private collection, Paris; sale, Hôtel Drouot, Paris, March 26, 1928, lot 96 [1]; with Galerie Simon, Paris (stock no. 10402, photo no. 5730), probably 1928 and certainly by 1931 [2]; sold to A. E. Gallatin, New York, summer 1934 [3]; bequest to PMA, 1952. 1. Sale listed in Cooper, Juan Gris: catalogue raisonné, Paris, 1977, v. 2, p. 442-443, but not verified. 2. Exhibited at the 1928 Galerie Simon Gris retrospective, no collection listed, so presumably it was purchased by Kahnweiler from the 1928 auction. The 1931 edition of Carl Einstein's Die Kunst des 20. Jahrhunderts lists the owner as Galerie Simon. A Galerie Simon label was formerly on the bottom of sculpture (see note in curatorial file). 3. See letters to Gallatin from Rosenberg, August 20, 1934 and Kahnweiler, August 17 and 20, 1934, concerning the provenance of the sculpture (Gallatin Papers, New York Historical Society, microfilm; copies in curatorial file).* Works in the collection are moved off view for many different reasons. Although gallery locations on the website are updated regularly, there is no guarantee that this object will be on display on the day of your visit. |
