Plaster model

As with many works by Henry Moore, Sculpture with hole and light was created from a model, in this case a plaster ‘maquette’ of about ten centimetres tall. The models were generally small, so that Moore could easily hold them in his hands and view them from all sides. These models were enlarged with the help of his assistants, sometimes to monumental proportions.

Red travertine

Moore carved in various types of stone, often from English origins, but he was also interested in more ‘exotic’ stones. In the nineteen sixties, he stayed for several months each year in his summer home near Carrara in Tuscany. This may be where he bought the red travertine that he used for this sculpture.

Interplay

Just as important as the material are the openings and cavities that allow the space and light to penetrate the sculpture. Sculpture with hole and light displays a beautiful interplay between concave and convex, flat and arched, light and shadow. What remains more or less hidden is that the sculpture was inspired by the shoulder and chest sections of the human body. As is often the case, Henry Moore starts from the forms in nature, or in the human body, but without imitating them.