Large Torso, Arch

myminifactory

The viewer may expect a human torso when invited by the title of this sculpture but will instead notice the striking absence of the solid body that lies below the shoulders in living beings. The artist bases the piece on the shoulder-bone structure of a male torso, simplifying it into a skeleton. Moore was fascinated by the shapes of bones and sought to escape classical tradition, removing "the Greek spectacles from the eyes of the modern sculptor" as he studied objects from various eras and areas, including Cycladic art, pre-Columbian art, African art, and Oceanic art. In his words, "Keep ever prominent the world tradition-the big view of Sculpture," Moore's near-abstract forms show how far he left classical naturalism behind. The Large Torso sculpture evokes a natural form in its scale and weight, perhaps an arch of wind-smoothed rock. The title also invites viewers to look at that central vacancy as formally important as the solid bronze. By stripping the skeleton of flesh and melding it with landscape, Moore gives his work the sense of having been shaped by the long passage of time.