Braque, Georges, Valse (Waltz), 1960
Georges Braque was born on May 13, 1882, in Argenteuil-sur-Seine, France. He grew up in Le Havre and studied evenings at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts t… [Read biography »]
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Georges Braque, Original Ceramic Sculpture, Valse (Waltz), 1960  |
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| Artist: | Braque, Georges (1882 - 1963) |
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| Title: | Valse (Waltz), 1960 |
| Reference: | M.1042 |
| Medium: | Original Ceramic Sculpture |
| Image Size: | DIAMETER: 10.63 in (27 cm) |
| Sheet Size: | 10.63 in (27 cm) |
| Framed Size: | 22 7/8 in x 22 7/8 in (58.12 cm x 58.12 cm) |
| Signed: | This work contains a guaranteed authentic signature by Braque, 'G. Braque,' painted on the lower left of the plate as well as on the reverse. |
| Edition: | Numbered 14/30 in the center on the reverse. |
| Condition: | Ceramic in superb condition with colors very prominent throughout. |
Price :Item# 1966 | $25,000  To speak directly with the Director, Alex Adelman, please call (510) 777-9970 / 1-800-805-7060. |
| Description: | |
Valse evokes Georges Braque's fond relationship with music and his passion for thematic still lifes. This ceramic plate is one of three he designed and crafted, each with its own unique sensibility. One of only 3 original Ceramic editions created by Braque, this work was created in 1960, Valse was a result of Braque's desire to experiment with various mediums and materials as part of his creative process. This particular plate is numbered 14 out of 30 in a series created by a technical process which involved covering a plaster support in black, while continuing to etch a drawing into a think layer of color allowing the white plaster beneath to show through. Braque sought to encompass a subject nearest to his heart: music. In Valse, he depicts a mandolin in the forefront of the piece, obscuring the waltz behind it. He combines two, very polar opposite musical worlds in this composition - the more popular genre including the mandolin versus the bourgeois waltz of the upper class. It is evident which Braque prefers as the waltz is partially obscured by the more accessible mandolin. The plate evokes a playful double meaning in which Braque hoped to convey to his audience, referencing the common subject matter of plates in the genre of still lifes while making the plate itself the medium of the piece. He chooses a circular format as a means of avoiding "dead angles" in the image while incorporating some of his simplified post-Cubist elements and various fragments of texts as his more favored trompe l'oeil device. Catalogue Raisonné & COA: 1) Goulandris, Basil & Elise. Braque: Order & Emotion, Andros 2003. Illustrated and documented as cat. no. 93. 2) Masterworks Fine Art, Inc. Certificate of Authenticity accompanies this work. | |
| Style: | Modern master, cubism |
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Biography of Georges Braque
Georges Braque (1882 - 1963)
Georges Braque was born on May 13, 1882, in Argenteuil-sur-Seine, France. He grew up in Le Havre and studied evenings at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts there from about 1897 to 1899. He left for Paris to study under a master decorator to receive his craftsman certificate in 1901. From 1902 to 1904, he painted at the Académie Humbert in Paris, where he met Marie Laurencin and Francis Picabia. By 1906, Braque's work was no longer Impressionist but Fauve in style; after spending that summer in Antwerp with Othon Friesz, he showed his Fauve work the following year in the Salon des Indépendants in Paris. His first solo show was at Daniel-Henri Kahnweiler's gallery in 1908. From 1909, Pablo Picasso and Braque worked together in developing Cubism; by 1911, their styles were extremely similar. In 1912, they started to incorporate collage elements into their paintings and to experiment with the papier collé (pasted paper) technique. Their artistic collaboration lasted until 1914. Braque served in the French army during World War I and was wounded; upon his recovery in 1917, he began a close friendship with Juan Gris.
After World War I, Braque's work became freer and less schematic. His fame grew in 1922 as a result of an exhibition at the Salon d'Automne in Paris. In the mid-1920s, Braque designed the decor for two Sergei Diaghilev ballets. By the end of the decade, he had returned to a more realistic interpretation of nature, although certain aspects of Braque's Cubism always remained present in his work. In 1931, Braque made his first engraved plasters and began to portray mythological subjects. His first important retrospective took place in 1933 at the Kunsthalle Basel. He won First Prize at the Carnegie International, Pittsburgh, in 1937.
During World War II, Braque remained in Paris. His paintings at that time, primarily still lifes and interiors, became more somber. In addition to paintings, he also made Braque etchings, lithographs, engravings, prints and sculpture. From the late 1940s, he treated various recurring themes, such as birds, ateliers, landscapes, and seascapes. In 1954, he designed stained-glass windows for the church of Varengeville. During the last few years of his life, Braque's ill health prevented him from undertaking further large-scale commissions, but he continued to paint, make lithographs, and design jewelry. He died on August 31, 1963, in Paris.
