Live Auction 14358Visionaries: Photographs from the Emily and Jerry Spiegel Collection
CONSTANTIN BRÂNCUȘI (1876–1957)
Lot 18

CONSTANTIN BRÂNCUȘI (1876–1957)

Plato, 1919

Closed10 October 2017

Price Realised

USD 118,750

Considering selling a similar item?

Discover its value with a complimentary estimate from our specialists.

More Information

How to sell

CONSTANTIN BRÂNCUŞI (1876–1957)
Plato, 1919
gelatin silver print, mounted on card
embossed photographer's credit (recto/mount, recto); annotated 'H.P. Roché' in red ink (verso); annotated 'Roché personal' in pencil (mount, verso)
image/sheet: 8 5/8 x 6 5/8 in. (21.9 x 16.8 cm.)
mount: 15 7/8 x 12 7/8 in. (40.2 x 32.6 cm.)

Sotheby's, New York, October 21, 1981, lot 23;
acquired from the above sale by the present owner.

Specialist note

Brâncuși's wood sculpture, Plato, remained in-tact as depicted in the present image until 1923. The artist then destroyed the body of the figure, and displayed the remaining portion laid on its side as a new work, titled Head. The 'H.P. Roché' inscription in red ink on the reverse of this print indicates that Henri-Pierre Roché, the prominent writer, art collector and adviser involved with the avant-garde and dada movements in Paris, may have once owned this photograph.

The sculpture, Head, resides in the collection of Tate Modern, London.