Lot 483
GERALD LAING (1936-2011) §
THE MESSENGER, 1991
Auction: 11 October 2023 at 10:00 BST
Description
bronze, edition of 10, raised on a Corian plinth
Dimensions
Figure 140m high, including plinth, 221cm high
Footnote
Literature: Gerald Laing: Catalogue Raisonne, geraldlaing.org
Note: The artist's note on this sculpture reads "The Messenger is a sketch for the uppermost figure on the Axis Mundi group [cat. number 550]. The pose is based on that of Mercury by the Renaissance sculptor Giambologna, who in turn based his famous image on others, now lost, from Greek antiquity. This pose has been used by many artists through the ages, particularly in sculpture, and appears most recently on the cap badge of the Royal Corps of Signals. My figure is, unusually for this pose, female, and in the full-scale version, winged, as befits a Wise Virgin in her Apotheosis."
