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University of Cambridge

Open: Tuesday–Sunday, 11am–5pm

We are closed on Bank Holiday Mondays

Please note the house will be temporarily closed for 4 weeks from 14 March 2024

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Open: Tuesday–Sunday, 11am–5pm

We are closed on Bank Holiday Mondays

Please note the house will be temporarily closed for 4 weeks from 14 March 2024

Photo: © Kettle's Yard

Sculpture

Seated Woman, 1914 (cast of 1964)

Henri Gaudier-Brzeska
Bronze cast
460 x 360 x 200 mm
[HGB 18]
On display

About the artist

Born 1891 – Died 1915

Henri Gaudier was born in St. Jean de Braye, near Orleans, in France. He first came to Britain in 1908.

Read the full biography

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Seated Woman is one of Gaudier’s last and most accomplished pieces. The simplification of the figure’s features results from the artist’s interest in African masks, which he knew well from visits to the British Museum and other collections, including that of Jacob Epstein.

The increasing emphasis on carving in stone meant that Gaudier had to struggle with the problem of forming the human body into a compact pose, confined by the shape of the stone. The positioning of the arm over the head, which creates a composition of repeated triangular parts that echo each other and at times join up as diamonds, resolves this technical problem.

This is one of two bronze casts in the house. They were made from Gaudier’s marble carving in the mid-1960s, on Ede’s commission. He later donated the original to the Musée d’Art Moderne in Paris.

RELATED ARTWORKS

Sculpture

Seated Woman, 1914 (cast of 1964)

Henri Gaudier-Brzeska

Seated Woman Find out more

Drawing

Study for 'Seated Woman', 1914

Henri Gaudier-Brzeska

Study for 'Seated Woman' Find out more

Drawing

Seated figure, 1912-13 (circa)

Henri Gaudier-Brzeska

Seated figure Find out more

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