Dimensions: object: 114 x 254 x 216 mm
Copyright: CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 DEED, Photo: Tate
Editor: This is "Sleeping Fawn" by Henri Gaudier-Brzeska. It's a small sculpture, and I'm struck by how the wood makes it feel so solid and peaceful. What do you make of it? Curator: It’s interesting to consider how the avant-garde movements Gaudier-Brzeska engaged with challenged traditional notions of sculpture and representation. He created this before his tragic death in World War I. How does the context of war influence your interpretation of this fawn? Editor: That's a great point! Knowing that, it feels more like a symbol of fragility and innocence lost. Thanks, I hadn't considered that angle before. Curator: Exactly! Examining the political and social climate helps us understand the artist's choices and the artwork's potential meanings.
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http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/gaudier-brzeska-sleeping-fawn-t03728
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In 1913 Gaudier-Brzeska made a carving in Seravezza marble of a sleeping fawn. Like the 'Crouching Fawn' displayed nearby, this was developed from life drawings. Gaudier made a number of such drawings on the same day. The work shown here is a plaster cast based on the original marble. It is among his more naturalistic works, and one of several 'Fawn' sculptures he made. At the celebratory dinner held for the launch of the Vorticist magazine 'Blast' on 15 July 1914, Gaudier could not afford the 10 shilling fee and so paid Ezra Pound with a small 'Fawn' statuette instead. Gallery label, September 2004
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