This bronze Cantate Domino has a religious quality that runs through Hepworth’s work.
Hepworth is one of Britain’s most important sculptors. She became world-famous with her abstract, non-figurative pieces. Until 1956, Hepworth only worked with very hard materials like stone, wood or marble. She then began to experiment with bronze.
Her work is homogeneous, primitive, religiously inspired and passionate. In addition to many smaller sculptures, Hepworth also made a number of large-scale works, one of which stands in front of the United Nations building in New York.
In 1966 she wrote: “From a sense of suffering, the need arose to turn every sculpture into a hymn”. The coldness of the metal and the organic quality of germinating seeds come together in a form reminiscent of raised hands. In this way, several references sneak into the work, instantly giving it more meanings. In this sense, this work is typical of Hepworth. She never left anything to expressive chance. Editions of this work are also in the Museu de Arte Moderna in São Paulo and the Tate Gallery in London.
Specifications
- Cantate Domino
- 1958
- h 200 cm x w 53 cm x d 51 cm
- Bronze
- MIDW147