About this artwork
Gaudier-Brzeska had a personal and recognisable way of working, in which shapes were radically simplified. Both the bird and the fish have been reduced to their essential elements. The artist fused the mechanical and the organic in his sculptures. In this piece, the aggressive subject and the torpedo-like shape of the fish seem to anticipate the First World War, which already looked inevitable by spring 1914 and which broke out in July. This sculpture was modelled and carved in plaster before being cast in metal and is one of the last pieces Gaudier-Brzeska made.
Updated before 2020
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artist:
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title:Bird Swallowing a Fish
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date created:1914 (posthumous cast)
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materials:Bronze
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measurements:31.10 x 58.10 x 27.00 cm
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object type:
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credit line:Purchased 1980
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accession number:GMA 2150
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glossary:
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artwork photographed by:Antonia Reeve
Henri Gaudier-Brzeska
Henri Gaudier-Brzeska
Henri Gaudier was born near Orleans in France. In 1910 he met a Polish woman, Sophie Brzeska, and though they did not marry, they joined their names together. After moving to London in 1911, Gaudier-Brzeska established close links with the leading figures in London's literary and artistic avant...