FRANÇOIS STAHLY
1911-2006
Chaîne d’eau, 1959 – 1960
Bronze with well-worn green/grey patina, cast at time of creation, has neither signature nor founder’s mark, 400 x 15 x 15 cm.
The first casting of a series in bronze limited to eight copies, approved by the Comité François Stahly, to be numbered 1/8 to 8/8 with 4 artist’s copies, is under production by the Fonderie Susse.
Another posthumous casting in bronze is in existence, with a variant sunk in a bronze trough.
This Chaîne d’eau is one of four exemplars sculpted in wood, all of which are different. It began as a commission from architects Paul Herbé and Jean Le Couteur, for the creation of rainwater downpipes for the cathedral of Algiers.
Only two bronze exemplars were cast, because the commission was cancelled when Algeria became independent. Following which it saw service as downpipe at the sculptor’s studio in Meudon.
Bibliography:
– Stahly, Galerie Jeanne Bucher, 1961, ill. 6
– François Stahly, The Graphis Press Zurich, 1962, p.66-67
– François Stahly, « François Stahly », La Connaissance Bruxelles, 1975, ill. 42,43
– François Stahly, Hartmann édition, Paris, 1997, pp. 54, 55, 98