Robert Motherwell Paintings and Collages: A Catalogue Raisonné 1941 – 1991 Volume 3 - Flipbook - Page 329
c682
Motherwell later recalled that
he had originally based the creature
depicted in these works on a child’s
straw basket with a straw horse head on
top. He also used this motif in three
paintings (p1055–p1057).
c683
c682
c683
La Belle Hélène
Green Label
1976/1982
Acrylic and pasted paper on canvas
mounted on board
35¾ x 23⅞ in. (90.8 x 60.6 cm)
1982
Acrylic and pasted paper on canvas
board
24 x 18 in. (61 x 45.7 cm)
inscriptions
Recto, lower left, incised: RM 76
inscriptions
Recto, upper left, incised: RM
Verso: “La Belle Hélène”
R Motherwell 1976
artist’s studio number
c82-1090
artist’s studio number
c76-1010
present owner
Fundació Joan Miró, Barcelona. Gift of
Robert Motherwell
present owner
Dedalus Foundation
provenance
Dedalus Foundation, 1991
comments
The 1976 version of this work had an
entirely blue ground (Sloman photo
no. 504). Motherwell added the pink
areas in 1982. The title refers to an
opera of the same name by Jacques
Offenbach.
comments
The title refers to the label from a
bottle of 1964 Corvo Salaparuta wine
placed at the lower center of this
collage.
provenance
Fundació Joan Miró, Barcelona, 1985
group exhibitions
Museo de Arte Contemporáneo
Esteban Vicente, Segovia, Spain, 2003,
color illus. p. 107.
Fundació Joan Miró, Barcelona, 2005,
color illus. p. 181.
references
Bohigas et al. 1986, color illus. p. 172.
co lla ges
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