Along with Arp, Brancusi, Lipchitz and Zadkine, Henri Laurens is one of the most important pioneers of modern European sculpture. Moore regarded him as his great example. ‘I devote my energy to the ripening of forms’ said Laurens about his work. ‘I strive to make them so full, so voluptuous, that nothing at all can be added.’ This book provides an insight into Laurens’ development from the angular cubism of his early years to the great curve of his sensual, semi-abstract nudes from the thirties and forties. In addition, the book illuminates the reception of his work in the Netherlands and his significance for Dutch sculpture. The Great Curve – Retrospective Henri Laurens (1885-1954) has been published to mark the occasion of the first overview of the artist’s work in the Netherlands since 1962.

Catalogue accompanying the exhibition in Museum Beelden aan Zee, 2014
Publisher: Uitgeverij de Kunst, 2014