King and Queen

Henry Moore often combined forms from nature with the human figure—in this case, bony structures and royal heads. Moore felt his sculptures were best viewed in natural settings, such as Middelheim Museum.

The artist explained, “As I kneaded the piece of wax, it began to look like a horned, bearded man. Then it got a crown and I knew immediately that it was the head of a king. I worked on and gave it a body. When wax hardens, it becomes almost as hard as metal. I took advantage of this special strength to give the body the same aristocratic sophistication I had found when making the head. Then I added a second figure, and it became a King and a Queen. Now I realized that back then I was reading stories to my six-year-old daughter Mary every night, and usually they were about kings, queens, and princesses.”

The “King and Queen” have both abstract elements and fairly realistic forms such as their hands hand feet. According to the artist, this expresses the contrast “between human grace and the concept of power in a primitive kingship.” He seems to point out that no matter how much prestige you have, you always remain a human being.

Henry Moore had an enormous influence on modern British sculpture. He is best known for his large bronze and marble sculptures of abstracted human figures. Organic forms and a humanist character are typical of his work. Nature was his main source of inspiration, but he also had a great interest in non-European and archaic art. Moore also drew a great deal; his drawings of people seeking shelter in the London Underground during WWII are renowned.