Collection of Georges Bermann
5
Guido Mocafico
Selected Images from Leopold and Rudolf Blaschka
- Estimate
- £50,000 - 70,000♠
£93,750
Lot Details
Twelve chromogenic prints.
2013
Each image/sheet: 70.4 x 53 cm (27 3/4 x 20 7/8 in.)
Each frame: 71 x 53.7 cm (27 7/8 x 21 1/8 in.)
Each frame: 71 x 53.7 cm (27 7/8 x 21 1/8 in.)
Each signed, titled, dated, numbered 1/8 in ink and printed copyright credit on an artist label affixed to the reverse of the flush-mount.
Specialist
Full-Cataloguing
Catalogue Essay
‘The beauty of the objects is so immediate that I thought, “I have to photograph them.” When I put them under my light, they just open up and reveal to you an unbelievable universe.’
Guido Mocafico
Working in the mid-1800s, German glassmakers Leopold and Rudolf Blaschka made models of marine invertebrates and plants for institutional commissions, never intending them to be presented to the public or considered works of art. Guido Mocafico discovered these fascinating objects – delicate handmade masterpieces made of clear, coloured and painted glass – while visiting the Natural History Museum in Geneva with his son. Since then Mocafico’s own obsession with photographing these glass objects has mimicked the Blaschkas’ dedication to their work over a century ago. Blurring the line between reality and illusion, Mocafico shrouds his Blaschka series in layers of mystery, from the subject to the method.
Titles from left to right: Comatula Mediterranea; Pelagia Noctiluca; Raphidiophrys Elegans; Terebella Emmalina; Turris Digitale; Beccaria Tricolor; Glaucus Longicirrus; Ophiocoma Picta; Ophiothrix Serrata; Spongosphaera Streptacantha; Enoploteuthis Veranii; Calliactis Decorata
Guido Mocafico
Working in the mid-1800s, German glassmakers Leopold and Rudolf Blaschka made models of marine invertebrates and plants for institutional commissions, never intending them to be presented to the public or considered works of art. Guido Mocafico discovered these fascinating objects – delicate handmade masterpieces made of clear, coloured and painted glass – while visiting the Natural History Museum in Geneva with his son. Since then Mocafico’s own obsession with photographing these glass objects has mimicked the Blaschkas’ dedication to their work over a century ago. Blurring the line between reality and illusion, Mocafico shrouds his Blaschka series in layers of mystery, from the subject to the method.
Titles from left to right: Comatula Mediterranea; Pelagia Noctiluca; Raphidiophrys Elegans; Terebella Emmalina; Turris Digitale; Beccaria Tricolor; Glaucus Longicirrus; Ophiocoma Picta; Ophiothrix Serrata; Spongosphaera Streptacantha; Enoploteuthis Veranii; Calliactis Decorata
Provenance