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Two Piece Reclining Figure No. 2
Artist
Henry Moore
(Born 1898, England; died 1986, England)
Date1960
MediumBronze with bronze base
DimensionsOverall: 50 × 113 × 54 in. (127 × 287.02 × 137.16 cm)
Credit LineCollection of the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Gift of Ruth Carter Stevenson, by Exchange
Object number2002.19
Status
On viewCopyright© 2020 The Henry Moore Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Category
Label TextHenry Moore’s best works, like Two Piece Reclining Figure No. 2, 1960, achieve a synthesis between title, subject, and ambiguously suggestive shapes. Considered the father of modern British sculpture and one of the critical innovators of sculpture in the twentieth century, the artist is known for his acute understanding of the human form, its portrayal throughout history, and how it relates to landscape. The theme of the reclining figure occupied Moore’s attention from an early stage in his career, and Two Piece Reclining Figure No. 2 is a classic example of his mature vision. Initially appearing abstract, the sculpture’s numerous references become clear over prolonged viewing. One part, for example, has a vertical, necklike element that identifies it as the upper section of a torso; below that is the suggestion of shoulders and arms, partially carved away to resemble the clifflike formations of the second section, which could be hips and legs. Simultaneously recalling classical Greek sculpture, the chacmool figures of ancient America, and a coastal landscape carved by millennia of ocean waves, Two Piece Reclining Figure No. 2 is also a primitive odalisque, emerging from the earth like an essential form of nature.
