Continuite

Copied José de Creeft, Continuite, 1958, marble, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation, 1986.6.20

Artwork Details

Title
Continuite
Artist
Date
1958
Location
Dimensions
26 x 12 1⁄2 x 11 1⁄2 in. (66.0 x 31.7 x 29.2 cm.)
Credit Line
Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation
Mediums
Mediums Description
marble
Classifications
Keywords
  • Figure group — female and child
Object Number
1986.6.20
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1986.6.20

Artwork Description

In found-object assemblages and semi-abstractions carved in stone and wood, de Creeft revealed the emotional states that characterize human experience. In Continuité the bodies of mother and child are one, reflecting the physicality of their inseparable bond.

Modern American Realism: The Sara Roby Foundation Collection, 2014
Luce Center Label

José de Creeft felt that the direct carving method allowed him to “release” the form already in the material. He believed that the slow technique prevented him from expending all of his creative energy at once, and allowed the work to evolve. The pink marble of Continuité is smooth and polished in some places, rough and chalky in others, as if the form were emerging from the stone. The “continuity” in the title applies to many aspects of de Creeft’s work, including his creative process, his use of fluid forms and contours, and the theme of woman and child found throughout his work.