Henry Moore – Two Seated Figures against Curved Wall (plaster maquette for UNESCO commission 1956- 57) 1957 silver gelatin print (Lidbrooke)
Waddington Custot Galleries, in collaboration with David Grob will be presenting an exhibition which features over fifty vintage photographs from the studios of Auguste Rodin (1840–1917), Constantin Brancusi (1876–1957), and Henry Moore (1898–1986). The exhibition entitled Rodin, Brancusi, Moore: Through the Sculptor’s Lens will focus on the importance and prominence of photography within the practice of each of these pre-eminent sculptors. The photographs dating from the end of the nineteenth- to the late twentieth-century capture a wide-range of sculptures, including works which were never cast, or have since been lost or destroyed.
The three dimensional world of the sculpture and the two-dimensional world of the photograph would seem to have little in common, however it may be a surprise to many that the two different genres have had a long and mutually rewarding relationship.
Many of the early photographers photographed sculpture , many thought that pictures of sculptures would give the very new technology, a sense of artistic validity to be considered as a new art form. There was another reason that was less about artistic concerns but rather commercial, the early photographers and those that followed realised there was a growing market for these type of photographs both from the general public but also in the expanding Museum and Art Galleries establishments.
Eugène Druet for Auguste Rodin (Monument to Balzac) c.1897 silver gelatin print
If the early photographers were beginning to understand the commercial and artistic advantages of sculpture, sculptors themselves began to see the potential of photography. Rodin was one of the first major sculptors who understood the commercial benefits of distributing images of his sculptures and using photographs to explore different views, angles and lighting effects of his work in progress. Rodin employed a series of professional photographers including Jacques-Ernest Bulloz, Eugène Druet, and Pierre Choumoff, whose work is shown in the exhibition; subjects include figures from some of Rodin’s most famous commissions, ‘The Burghers of Calais’ and ‘Monument to Balzac’, ‘The Thinker’ and ‘The Kiss’.
Constantin Brancusi (Golden Bird) c.1919–22 silver gelatin print
Whilst Rodin employed photographers, Constantin Brancusi took photographs of his sculptures himself. After being introduced to photography by Man Ray, Brancusi also began to develop and print the images using photography as a crucial part of his working process. He was often intrigued by how the light and glare often distorted reflections and shadows, as seen in his photographs of ‘Fish’ and ‘Golden Bird’.
Henry Moore – Mother and Child against Open Wall (plaster maquette for UNESCO commission 1956-57) 1956 gelatin silver print mounted on stock card (c.1956)
Henry Moore’s photographs are rarely exhibited, however his images for a commission for UNESCO in the exhibition show how he used the photographs of the different arrangements of figures on the maquettes as important part of his preparatory process. Moore’s photographs of his monumental ‘Two Piece Reclining Figure No.2’ show multiple shots, exploring surface detail and different angles.
It is somewhat surprising that the relationship between photography and sculpture is not widely acknowledged, however as Francis Hodgson points out in her essay in the fully illustrated catalogue for the exhibition, “Photography was obviously a useful ally for any sculptor, but it was a tough tiger to hold by the tail. All three sculptors here knew the risks they were taking with photography. Misused, it could make them seem over-commercial, cheap.”
This is an important point and probably why many artists did not acknowledge their debt to photography in their working processes, however as this exhibition clearly illustrates photographs have many uses to the sculptor, one important and perhaps unintended use is providing a historical record of great sculptors at work and gives some indication of their particular work processes.
To give more insight into the working practices of Henry Moore, the gallery will be showing a film on Moore made by Dudley Shaw Ashton in 1959.
The exhibition will be accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue with an essay by Francis Hodgson, Professor in the Culture of Photography at the University of Brighton
This intriguing free exhibition will run from the 22nd May to 11th July 2015.
Location : Waddington Custot Galleries, 11 Cork Street, London W1S 3LT
Opening Times : Monday to Friday, 10am to 6pm – Saturday 10am to 1.30pm
For more information about the exhibition visit the Waddington Custot Galleries website here
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