Francesca Woodman - Photographs London Thursday, November 5, 2015 | Phillips

Create your first list.

Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.

  • Provenance

    Acquired directly from the artist
    Private Collection, Europe

  • Exhibited

    Immagini, Maldoror bookshop, Via di Parione, Rome, 20-30 March 1978

  • Literature

    G. Casetti, F. Stocchi, eds., Francesca Woodman, Roma 1977-1981, exh. cat., AGMA Publishing, 2011, p. 20

  • Catalogue Essay

    The title is taken from the dedication to Giuseppe Casetti, the owner of the Maldoror bookshop in Rome, which is written in pen on the front of the print. Casetti used to refer to Francesca Woodman as ‘cloud’ to which she added the word ‘mediocre'. On the back of the photograph near the bottom edge is her lipstick kiss, shown above, which is how she signed many of her personally dedicated works. Woodman hung this photograph on the door handle of the Maldoror bookshop.

  • Artist Biography

    Francesca Woodman

    American • 1958 - 1981

    During her brief 22 years, Francesca Woodman created an extraordinary body of work, exploring gender, selfhood and the body in relation to its surroundings. Woodman often experimented with a slow shutter speed, which slightly blurred and distorted her body as it moved throughout the exposure, creating a haunting, almost ghost-like effect. Her ethereal presence draws our attention to traditional depictions of the body, forms of portraiture and self-portraiture, illuminating the desire for self-preservation against the passing of time. 

    View More Works

97

Nuvola Mediocre

1977-1978
Gelatin silver print.
Image: 8.4 x 7.6 cm (3 1/4 x 2 7/8 in.)
Sheet: 23.8 x 18 cm (9 3/8 x 7 1/8 in.)

Inscribed in ink in the margin.

Estimate
£10,000 - 15,000 

Sold for £12,500

Contact Specialist
Lou Proud
Head of Photographs
London
+ 44 207 318 4018

Photographs

London Auction 6 November 2015 2pm