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Torso, Navel, Mustache-Flower

Jean Arp French, born Germany
1930
Not on view
Arp is best known for his multilayered, painted wood reliefs. By the time Arp created this work, he had already perfected his assemblage technique: he drew designs on cardboard templates and had a carpenter execute them in wood. The title of this relief identifies the curvilinear and irregular biomorphic shapes as a torso, a navel, and a flower with a mustache. Arp associated the mustache form with specific individuals, such as the German emperor Wilhelm II, and the navel form with the beginning of life.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Torso, Navel, Mustache-Flower
  • Artist: Jean Arp (French (born Germany), Strasbourg 1886–1966 Basel)
  • Date: 1930
  • Medium: Oil on wood relief
  • Dimensions: 31 1/2 × 39 3/8 × 1 1/2 in. (80 × 100 × 3.8 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: The Muriel Kallis Steinberg Newman Collection, Gift of Muriel Kallis Newman, 2006
  • Object Number: 2006.32.1
  • Rights and Reproduction: © 2025 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
  • Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art

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Woodcut III from "Cinéma calendrier du coeur abstrait. Maisons"
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Les feuilles libres' No. 47
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Point and Counterpoint
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Fruit Agressif, Jean Arp French, born Germany, Marble
Fruit Agressif
Jean Arp
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