Mar 23, 2023 - Sale 2630

Sale 2630 - Lot 166

Price Realized: $ 10,625
?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 8,000 - $ 12,000
ROBERTO MATTA
Crucifixión.

Two-section bronze sculpture with black patina, 1958. Single figure: 640x590x310 mm; 25 1/2x23x12 inches (excluding marble base). Double figure: 625x590x320 mm; 24 1/2x23x12 1/2 inches (excluding marble base). Signed on the base of the section with two figures.

Provenance: Edelman Arts, New York, with the original labels; private collection, New York; private collection, Chicago.

Though known primarily for his large-scale paintings, Matta (1911-2002) experimented with sculpture periodically throughout his career, working through many of the same psychological themes present in the rest of his oeuvre. Cast mostly in bronze, his elongated, abstracted figures bear resemblance to Salvador Dalí's (1904-1989) surrealist figures, and through the medium of sculpture they also have an emphasized Mannerist appearance. Matta addressed the theme of the Crucifixion frequently throughout his career; the dramatic and morbid event appealed to his surrealist sensibilities.