''Reclining Figure 1969–70'' (LH 608) is a
bronze sculpture
Bronze is the most popular metal for Casting (metalworking), cast metal sculptures; a cast bronze sculpture is often called simply "a bronze". It can be used for statues, singly or in groups, reliefs, and small statuettes and figurines, as w ...
by English artist
Henry Moore
Henry Spencer Moore (30 July 1898 – 31 August 1986) was an English artist. He is best known for his semi-abstract art, abstract monumental Bronze sculpture, bronze sculptures which are located around the world as public works of art. Moore ...
.
History
Inspired by the shape of a piece of flint, Moore created a maquette for the sculpture in plaster which was cast in an edition of small bronzes, some long. The maquette was used to create a full-size version in polystyrene, which was used to create a mould for a monumental sculpture.
The sculpture can be viewed as an abstraction of a reclining female human figure, resting on one arm, hip and two legs, with the second arm raised, and a prominence on the chest suggesting a breast. It has no evident face.
Six full-size copies were cast in 1969 and early 1970, at the Noack factory in Berlin, and an artist's copy was cast shortly before Moore's death in 1986. The sculpture measures and weighs around . One cast was exhibited in a major retrospective of his work at the
Forte di Belvedere
The Forte di Belvedere or Fortezza di Santa Maria in San Giorgio del Belvedere (often called simply Belvedere) is a fortification in Florence, Italy.
History
Forte Belvedere is the second and largest fortress to be built in Florence, Italy.
I ...
in Florence in 1972, later described by Moore as the pinnacle of his career.
The artist's cast (0/6) was stolen from the
Henry Moore Foundation
The Henry Moore Foundation is a registered charity in England, established for education and promotion of the fine arts — in particular, to advance understanding of the works of Henry Moore, and to promote the public appreciation of sculpt ...
at
Perry Green, Hertfordshire
Perry Green is a scattered hamlet in Hertfordshire, England, near Much Hadham.
The sculptor Henry Moore settled there in 1941. His house Hoglands now forms part of a sculpture garden featuring his work, run by the Henry Moore Foundation
The ...
on 15 December 2005. It is believed to have been hoisted onto the back of a stolen flatbed Mercedes lorry using a crane, cut up for scrap the same night, and shipped to
Rotterdam
Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...
, and then probably to the Far East. The sculpture was estimated to be worth £3M, but only £1,500 as scrap. The theft inspired German artist
Fritz Balthaus in 2009 to cast bronze ingots of equivalent weight which, arranged in a form approximating Moore's sculpture, are displayed as ''Pure Moore'' at the Federal Criminal Police Office in Berlin.
See also
*
List of sculptures by Henry Moore
This article lists a selection of notable works created by Henry Moore. The listing follows the list of works within the 1988 book ''Sculpture'' by Henry Moore and links to images of the Henry Moore Artwork Catalogue.
Sculptures
Notes
Refere ...
*
List of heists in the United Kingdom
A heist is a theft of cash or valuable objects such as artworks, jewellery or bullion. This can take the form of either a burglary or a robbery, the difference in English and Welsh law being that a robbery uses force (which means that some of ...
*''
Two-Piece Reclining Figure No. 9''
*''
Two-Piece Reclining Figure: Points''
References
External links
£3m Henry Moore sculpture stolen BBC News, 17 December 2005
Image Henry Moor Foundation
Mystery of the stolen Moore solved ''The Observer'', Sunday 17 May 2009
Lost Art: Henry Moore Tate Gallery, 6 August 2012
Mystery of the stolen Moore solved ''The Guardian'', 17 May 2009
Israel Public ArtLouisiana Museum of Modern Art, Henry Moore Foundation
Hakone Open-Air Museum, Henry Moore Foundation
Tel Aviv Museum of Art Henry Moore Foundation
''The Telegraph''
Celebrating Moore: Works from the Collection of the Henry Moore Foundation p. 39-40
Gallery of Lost Art
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reclining Figure 1969-70
1970 sculptures
Bronze sculptures
Modernist sculpture
Sculptures by Henry Moore
Columbia University campus
Stolen works of art
Robberies in the United Kingdom
Lost sculptures