Artwork
Untitled
Untitled is a photographic photography by Chana Orloff. It is held in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum.
About this work
Overview
This untitled photograph depicts Chana Orloff's 1915 wooden sculpture, *L’Amazone*, an unofficial portrait of Natalie Clifford Barney. The black-and-white image, mounted on green card, captures the sculpture's simple, rounded forms and textured wood grain.
Subject & Meaning
*L’Amazone* portrays a figure, identified as Natalie Clifford Barney, seated sideways on a horse. The sculpture's understated design, with the rider's arm resting on the horse's neck and the horse's head slightly averted, conveys a sense of quiet contemplation.
Technique & Style
The sculpture is carved from a single piece of wood, emphasizing rounded, smooth curves for both the human and equine forms. The visible wood grain adds a tactile quality, reflecting Orloff's emphasis on the material's natural texture.
History & Provenance
The photograph was part of a collection assembled by art historian and sculptor William Kineton Parkes, who gathered such images through questionnaires sent to sculptors in the 1920s. The collection was bequeathed in 1938.
Artist & collection
Artist
Chana Orloff carved figures from wood, stone, and bronze in Paris during the 1920s–30s, blending Art Deco lines with folk rhythms from her childhood in Ukraine.
