Artworks
- Sculpture
- American
- Elizabeth Catlett
- American, active in Mexico, 1915-2012
- Pensive [Bust of a Woman]
- 1946 (cast 1995)
- Bronze
- 18 (h) x 9 3/8 (w) x 9 (depth) inches (with base)
- This is an important example of Catlett's work in terms of its subject matter, technique, style and content. Made in 1946, it is a contemporary of the linocuts she made for the Rosenwald grant and it exhibits the same subject matter: the black woman. The title informs us that she is reflective, perhaps somewhat melancholic. She may be tired from her work or situation, but she is not despairing. She possesses an inner strenght and determination. Perhaps she is about to speak. Catlett brings her alive with the intensity of her gaze, the strength of her folded arms and the bend of her neck.
The bold, essential volumes are executed with a sensitivity to materials and a confidence that characterizes all of Catlett's work and reveals the importance of technique to her. Technique, Catlett says, is "the difference between art and ineptitude." Stylistically, in its simplicity of form, "Pensive" may reveal the general influence on European modernism such as Cubism and African sculpture but the sensibility is Catlett's. Her use of contrasting rounded and angular lines and fine, concise touches of detail, as in the hair, are hallmarks of her style. - MSU purchase, funded by the Friends of Kresge Art Museum Endowment, Offices of the Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies and the Dean of the College of Arts and Letters, MSU Development Fund, Blue Care Network/ Health Central
- 95.11
- Exhibition History
- Provenance
- Purchased by MSU from the artist. In 1995, the artist agreed to cast a bronze of this work, which was to be the tenth and final bronze casting she would make of the piece. All bronze castings are dated to later than 1946. This purchase followed her week-long visit to MSU in April 1995 and was made possible through the generosity of many local donors along with university funds.
