Figure for Landscape by Barbara Hepworth, 1960

thingiverse

Barbara Hepworth's 1960 bronze sculpture, Figure for Landscape, is a nine-foot tall, hollowed-out bronze artwork that represents the contours of a head and body, yet remains unrecognizable as a specific human form. The sculpture's narrowing shape, richly textured front surface, and dark, almost leathery surfaces create a slightly foreboding appearance. Hepworth often pierced or punctured her forms to create a play of positive and negative space, which is accentuated in Figure for Landscape by its four openings that relate to the surrounding landscape. The sculpture's interplay with its environment is reinforced by its title. To create this masterpiece, Hepworth used an aluminum armature as a sturdy structure upon which she layered plaster before carving into it. Once completed, the sculpture was cast in bronze in two parts. The artist preferred working outdoors to ensure her creations would respond to light exactly as intended when installed outside. Figure for Landscape is one of seven castings of this piece, with others located at the Barbara Hepworth Museum (Tate St Ives), Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington D.C., the University of Exeter, J. Paul Getty Museum, and San Diego Museum of Art.