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Thumbnail-size images of copyrighted artworks are displayed under fair use, in accordance with guidelines recommended by the Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for the Visual Arts, published by the College Art Association in February 2015.
Le Fils du Nombril (The Son of the Navel)
Jean (Hans) Arp (German, worked in France and Switzerland, 1886–1966)
1957
Medium/Technique
Relief and oil on board
Dimensions
Overall: 141 x 62.2 cm (55 1/2 x 24 1/2 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Richard and Sally Leahy
Accession Number2011.320
CollectionsEurope, Contemporary Art
ClassificationsSculpture
Arp was one of the founders of the Dada movement in the early 20th century, and was also part of the Surrealist and Constructivist movements. He considered his reliefs to be “constructed paintings” and believed that all his works were works in progress. Le Fils du Nombril originated as a drawing in 1922 and was presented in relief in 1957, illustrating Arp’s characteristic reworking of many of the same themes and motifs across time in new ways. Its buoyant quality is typical of Arp’s biomorphic works; as in his other reliefs of this period, he employed contrasting colors and a suggestion of collage to present forms that seem vaguely human yet clearly abstract.
ProvenanceSold by the artist to the Sidney Janis Gallery, New York (stock no. 8814); 1961, sold by Janis to Richard and Sally Leahy, Chestnut Hill, MA; 2011, gift of Richard and Sally Leahy to the MFA. (Accession Date: June 22, 2011)
Copyright© Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn.