wisch

René Magritte

The Rape, 1934

The Glass Key,1959
The Menil Collection

Empire of lights

Golconda

Jeff Koons : Louis XIV

Louis XIV, 1986 Stainless steel, 46 x 27 x 15 in. (116.8 x 68.6 x 38.1 cm.)
RDN and PRN Foundation, Dallas

Alberto Giacometti : Bust of Diego

Bust of Diego (Buste de Diego), 1954 Painted bronze, 15 1/2 x 13 1/4 x 8 1/4 in. (39.4 x 33.7 x 21 cm.)
Raymond and Patsy Nasher Collection, Dallas, Texas

Giacometti's brother Diego was one of his most frequent models, appearing in drawings, paintings, and sculptures throughout Alberto's career. A particularly prolific and searching series of portrait busts dates from the early 1950s, as Giacometti worked diligently to capture the essence of Diego's character and appearance with a "realism" that he felt constantly eluded him. During this period he often painted his plasters and bronzes as a means of approaching more closely his fleeting perceptions. The three bronze portrait busts of Diego in the Nasher collection are extensively and beautifully painted in muted gray and gray-green tones. The distinctive variations in the portraits underline how differently Giacometti saw his brother on various occasions, and illustrate the artist's frequent statements about the limitations of sight.

Auguste Rodin : The Age of Bronze

 

The Age of Bronze (L'Age d'airain), ca. 1876
Plaster, 71 1/2 x 25 1/2 x 21 1/4 in. (181.6 x 64.8 x 54 cm.)
Raymond and Patsy Nasher Collection, Dallas, Texas

This is one of only a few known life-size plaster casts of The Age of Bronze, Rodin's first true masterpiece. Rodin had originally entitled this work The Vanquished as a tribute to casualties in the recent Franco-Prussian war. His model was a soldier, and Rodin first showed him holding an upright spear in his left hand. By removing the spear, Rodin created an ambiguity of meaning that puzzled critics, some of whom also found the supple modeling of anatomy so life-like that they accused Rodin of making molds directly from the human body. To defend himself, Rodin produced photographs of his model in the same pose for comparison. He also changed the work's title, playing upon the sense of awakening created by the figure's upraised arms and closed eyes to suggest the dawning of ancient man's self-consciousness.