Life - Before Birth

1990

In *Life - Before Birth*, Marlene Dumas employs the fluid, translucent qualities of watercolor alongside acrylic and pastel to render the fragile, ambiguous state of existence preceding entry into the world. Across four panel elements, her characteristically raw and emotive mark-making evokes the vulnerability of nascent life, blurring the boundaries between figuration and abstraction. The work reflects Dumas's enduring preoccupation with the human body and its most primal, liminal states.

Medium: aquarelle, acrylique et pastel sur papier; en quatre éléments
Dimensions
Provenance: Galerie Paul Andriesse, Amsterdam Collection Dr Herbert Kiel, Cologne (acquis auprès de celle-ci en 1991) Vente anonyme, Sotheby's, Paris, 24 juin 2020, lot 140 Acquis lors de cette vente par le propriétaire actuel
Spotted At: Auction House · Christie's

Notes

LITERATURE Miss interpreted, catalogue d'exposition, Stedelijk van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven, 1992 (illustré en couleurs p. 64). Successful Home Birth and Midwifery: The Dutch Model, Amsterdam, 1996 (un élément illustré p. 130). EXHIBITED Amsterdam, Galerie Paul Andriesse, The Origin of the Species, mai-juin 1991. Philadelphie, Institute of Contemporary Art, University of Pennsylvania, Miss Interpreted, novembre 1993-janvier 1994. Conditions of sale Brought to you by Elisabetta Vitullo Junior Specialist, Head of Day Sale EVITULLO@CHRISTIES.COM +33 (0)1 40 76 85 68

🔨 Auction Lot

Art Contemporain

Lot 244