Artwork
Untitled
Untitled is a photographic photography by Adrianus Remiëns. It is held in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum. The work is a black‑and‑white photograph mounted on a green backing card.
About this work
Overview
The work is a black‑and‑white photograph mounted on a green backing card. It depicts a carved wooden figure resembling a woman in a flowing robe, with hands placed on her chest and a smooth, stylised face. The image forms part of a collection donated by William Kineton Parkes in 1938 and is now held in the Archive of Art and Design.
Subject & Meaning
The carved figure presents a simplified, almost abstracted female form. The robe’s drapery is rendered in gentle, wave‑like folds, while the facial features are reduced to basic lines for eyes and mouth, suggesting a focus on shape and silhouette rather than detailed portraiture.
Technique & Style
The photograph captures the wood’s surface texture, emphasizing deep shadows that accentuate the sculpture’s three‑dimensionality. Light falls across the smooth curves of the figure and the carved folds of the robe, creating a contrast between illuminated planes and darker recesses that highlights the material’s tactile qualities.
History & Provenance
William Kineton Parkes, a writer on sculpture, gathered responses from sculptors via questionnaires in the 1920s. This image was among the submissions he received and later entered his personal collection, which he bequeathed to the museum in 1938. The photograph has remained in the institution’s archives since that donation.
Context
The photograph reflects early twentieth‑century interest in documenting contemporary sculpture. Parkes’s questionnaire project aimed to record sculptors’ work and ideas, and the image serves as a visual record of a specific carved piece, illustrating the period’s engagement with figurative representation in wood.
Artist & collection
Artist
Adrianus Remiëns spent his days roaming the Dutch countryside with a box camera strapped to his chest, more scout than artist.
