element in her work from that point forward, and that represents her
major contribution to the history of sculpture: the use of the hole, or
void. Particularly noteworthy is that Hepworth introduced the hole, or
negative space, in her sculpture as an abstract element—it does not
represent anything specific—and one that is as integral and important
to the sculpture as its mass.Oval Sculpture (No. 2) is a plaster cast (FIG.
35-58) of an earlier wooden sculpture Hepworth carved in 1943.
Pierced in four places,Oval Sculpture is as much defined by the
smooth, curving holes as by the volume of white plaster. Like the
forms in all of Hepworth’s mature works, those in Oval Sculpture are
basic and universal, expressing a sense of eternity’s timelessness.HENRY MOORE British sculptor Henry Moore(1898–1986)
shared Hepworth’s interest in the hole, or void, and Brancusi’s pro-
found love of nature and knowledge of organic forms and materials.
Moore maintained that every “material has its own individual quali-
ties” and that these qualities could play a role in the creative process:
“It is only when the sculptor works direct, when there is an active re-
lationship with his material, that the material can take its part in the
shaping of an idea.”^48 Accordingly, the forms and lines of Moore’s
lead and stone sculptures tend to emphasize the material’s hardness
and solidity, whereas his fluid wood sculptures draw attention to the
flow of the wood grain. One major recurring theme in Moore’s work
is the reclining female figure with simplified and massive forms. A
tiny photograph of a Chacmool (FIG. 14-15) from ancient Mexico
originally inspired this motif.
Although viewers can recognize a human figure in most of
Moore’s works, the artist simplified and abstracted the figure, at-
tempting to express a universal truth beyond the physical world (see
“Brancusi, Hepworth, and Moore,” page 951).Reclining Figure (FIG.
35-59) reveals Moore’s expressive handling of the human form
and his responsiveness to his chosen material—here, elm wood. The
contours of the sculpture follow the grain of the wood. The figure’s
massive shapes suggest Surrealist biomorphic forms (FIG. 35-52),
but Moore’s recumbent woman is also a powerful earth mother
whose undulant forms and hollows suggest nurturing human en-
ergy. Similarly, they evoke the contours of the Yorkshire hills of
Moore’s childhood and the wind-polished surfaces of weathered
wood and stone. The sculptor heightened the allusions to landscape
and to Surrealist organic forms in his work by interplaying mass and
void, based on the intriguing qualities of cavities in nature. As he ex-
plained, “The hole connects one side to the other, making it immedi-
ately more three-dimensional....The mystery ofthe hole—the
mysterious fascination of caves in hillsides and cliffs.”^49 The concern
with the void—the holes—recalls the sculpture of artists such as
Barbara Hepworth (FIG. 35-58), whose work influenced him, and
Aleksandr Archipenko (FIG. 35-20). Above all,Reclining Figure com-
bines the organic vocabulary central to Moore’s philosophy—bone
shapes, eroded rocks, and geologic formations—to communicate
the human form’s fluidity, dynamism, and evocative nature.35-58Barbara Hepworth,Oval Sculpture (No. 2),1943. Plaster
cast, 11 41 – 1 41 – 4 10 . Tate Gallery, London.
Hepworth’s major contribution to the history of sculpture was the intro-
duction of the hole, or negative space, as an abstract element that is as
integral and important to the sculpture as its mass.35-59Henry Moore,Reclining Figure,1939. Elm wood, 3 1 6 7 2 6 . Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit
(Founders Society purchase with funds from the Dexter M. Ferry Jr. Trustee Corporation).
The reclining female figure was a major theme in Moore’s sculptures. He simplified and abstracted the massive form in
a way that recalls Biomorphic Surrealism. The contours follow the grain of the wood.952 Chapter 35 EUROPE AND AMERICA, 1900 TO 19451 in.
1 ft.