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Lucioles by Alexander Calder
- This striking painting was created by the visionary Alexander Calder
- Its bold geometry and primary palette reflect Calder’s mature abstract style
- The composition conveys the same sense of movement and rhythm that defines his sculpture
- Similar works by Calder are held in important museums, including the Museum of Modern Art
- Get complete item description here
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1898–1976 | American
Lucioles
(Fireflies)
Signed and dated “Calder 72” (lower right)
Gouache and ink on paper
Few artists defined the visual language of modern abstraction as decisively as Alexander Calder. Much like his revolutionary mobiles and stabiles, Calder brought the same sense of movement, balance and playful invention to his works on paper. Lucioles, executed in 1972, belongs to the final decade of the artist’s career, when his compositions. . .
1898–1976 | American
Lucioles
(Fireflies)
Signed and dated “Calder 72” (lower right)
Gouache and ink on paper
Few artists defined the visual language of modern abstraction as decisively as Alexander Calder. Much like his revolutionary mobiles and stabiles, Calder brought the same sense of movement, balance and playful invention to his works on paper. Lucioles, executed in 1972, belongs to the final decade of the artist’s career, when his compositions achieved a remarkable clarity of form and confidence of color.
In these late works, Calder distilled his visual vocabulary to its most essential elements, creating compositions that are at once bold, rhythmic and immediately captivating. Thick black contours structure the composition, dividing the surface into a dynamic arrangement of geometric forms—triangles, circles and spirals—that appear to pulse across the picture plane. Within these compartments, saturated primary colors are deployed with striking intensity. The circular motifs recall the kinetic qualities of Calder’s famed sculptures.
Like his his larger-than-life revolutionary mobiles, Calder’s works on paper were fully realized compositions that stand independently within his oeuvre. Throughout his career, he maintained a deep commitment to drawing, using it as a means of exploring the same formal concerns that defined his sculpture: balance, movement and spatial tension. By the 1970s, his style had become at once rigorous and playful, abstract yet deeply engaging. Works from this period are held in major institutions worldwide, including the Museum of Modern Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York.
Dated 1972
Paper: 29 1/4" high x 43" wide (74.3 x 109.2 cm)
Frame: 32 3/4" high x 46 1/4" wide x 2" deep (83.2 x 117.5 x 5.1 cm)
Provenance:
Private collection, New York
M.S. Rau, New Orleans
Private collection, New York
M.S. Rau, New Orleans
| Maker: | Calder, Alexander |
| Period: | 1919-Present |
| Origin: | America |
| Type: | Paintings |
| Style: | Modernism |
| Depth: | 2.0 in. (5.08 cm) |
| Width: | 46.25 in. (117.48 cm) |
| Height: | 32.75 in. (83.19 cm) |
| Canvas Width: | 43.000 in. (109.22 cm) |
| Canvas Height: | 29.250 in. (74.3 cm) |
Buy With Confidence
For over a century, we've placed important art, rare jewels and exceptional objects with more than 14,000 collectors worldwide, and have been recognized by trusted publications including Robb Report, The New York Times, Wall Street Journal and more.
On Approval
Examine select works in person before you commit
125% Guarantee
Full credit plus 5% annual appreciation for five years
Trusted Expertise
Over two centuries of combined experience across our specialists
