Jean (Hans) Arp
La Feuille, 1941
Marble
44 by 22.2 by 22 cm (17⅜ by 8¾ by 8⅝ in.)
69620
© 2023 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn
Conceived in 1941 in plaster and executed in marble in an edition of two. The only other version of this sculpture is kept in the Kunstmuseum, Winterthur. In his early...
Conceived in 1941 in plaster and executed in marble in an edition of two. The only other version of this sculpture is kept in the Kunstmuseum, Winterthur.
Arp explained that during his creative process, “often some detail in one of my sculptures, a curve or a contrast that moves me, becomes the germ of a new work. I accentuate the curve or the contrast and this leads to the birth of new forms. Among these, perhaps two of them will grow more quickly and more strongly than the others. I let these continue to grow until the original forms have become secondary and almost irrelevant. Sometimes it will take months, even years to work out a new sculpture. Each of these bodies has a definite significance, but it is only when I feel there is nothing more to change that I decide what it is, and it is only then that I give it a name.” [1]
[1] J. Arp, quoted in H. Read, Arp, London, 1968, p. 87
In his early career, Arp abandoned natural representation to explore pure form, and by the time he created La Feuille, he had developed a stylized visual vocabulary. Bridging the gap between representation and abstraction, this marble sculpture is a beautiful example of the artist’s fascination with the natural world, its purity of form and polished surface bearing a strong affinity with the sculpture of Constantin Brancusi. The simplicity of the leaf shape is combined with the complexity of meanings it evokes: from its role in producing oxygen, to its symbolism of fertility, growth and renewal, as well as the Biblical symbolism of the fig leaf used by Adam and Eve.
Arp explained that during his creative process, “often some detail in one of my sculptures, a curve or a contrast that moves me, becomes the germ of a new work. I accentuate the curve or the contrast and this leads to the birth of new forms. Among these, perhaps two of them will grow more quickly and more strongly than the others. I let these continue to grow until the original forms have become secondary and almost irrelevant. Sometimes it will take months, even years to work out a new sculpture. Each of these bodies has a definite significance, but it is only when I feel there is nothing more to change that I decide what it is, and it is only then that I give it a name.” [1]
[1] J. Arp, quoted in H. Read, Arp, London, 1968, p. 87