Saturday, January 28, 2012

great artwork you don't see in art history textbooks #1

Boris Lovet-Lorski...a Lithuanian who immigrated to the U.S. He lived all over the U.S. and a few years in Paris.


winged sphinx  (1930-1932) Egyptian granite
22 1/8 x 40 1/2 x 14 1/2 in. WT: 283lb.
 


If you are ever in D.C. and have a long layover (really long) or an afternoon to kill, you can fill that time with an interesting walk through Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden. It is part of the enormous Smithsonian system of museums.

I happened to be aimlessly touring through the Hirshhorn about 15 years ago and my eyes stumbled upon this sculpture. My love for it was instant. It had so much refined design and stylized parts that it was a shock to my eyes. I was excitedly getting down at its level and looking at it from every possible angle. From the squared-off wings and those great shoulders and biceps to those four rib lines and that odd transition to the lion body, the entire piece held my interest. The stone color fits this futuristic robot-headed sphinx very well. All his choices were good ones. Though a bit dated by the Art Deco inspired design aspects found in the head area, I still find myself wishing that I had been the artist to pull this off. It is simply beautiful.

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