Since its establishment in Paris, UNESCO has set up a considerable and diverse collection of works of art, such as those by Picasso, Miró, Arp, Appel, Afro, Matta, Calder, Chillida, Giacometti, Moore, Tamayo, Soto, Vasarely, Cruz-Diez and many others, counting today more than 500 works. Over the years, this collection has grown continually thanks to the generosity of the Member States who wished to enhance and embellish the Organizations' Headquarters whilst respecting the capacities and constraints of its architectural framework.
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Gallery: The UNESCO Works of Art Collection
001-horses.jpg
Horses pulling a barge - DEHODENCQ, Edmond (1860-1887)
Oil painting on canvas - 166 x 103 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO: September 1958
Donation made to UNESCO by the Aschberg Family on the occasion of the global donation of the Château Bois du Rocher
Donating country: France
© All rights reserved - Photo: UNESCO/D. Matar - Download
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Composition - ALDINE
Aquatint - 24 x 31.5 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - December 2002
© All rights reserved - Photo: UNESCO - Download003-woman_man.jpg
Womand and man conversing in an interior - Flemish School, 19th century
Oil painting on canvas, modern frame in the Louis XIV style - 115 x 93.5 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - September 1993
Artwork included in the global donation made to UNESCO of the Château Bois du Rocher (France) by the Aschberg family in 1956, and entered in the Collection following the auction held in 1993.
Donating country - France
This painting represents a 19th century interior in which a man and a woman are depicted. In what may be a kitchen setting, the figures stand out against a dark background. The scene illustrates the moment when the young woman working on her embroidery is surprised by a man, who attracts her attention from behind. The woman, her hand still placed on her embroidery work, turns her head towards him. The scene subtly evokes an attraction between the two, shown by the slight blush in their cheeks.
They are dressed in contemporary Flemish style; only the velvet and goldthread embroidered chair refers to a more bourgeois taste. The woman’s face, illuminated by her smile, as well as the contrast between the dark back ground and the pearl-white color of her complexion echo the work of Rubens (1577-1640) who has unquestionably marked Flemish painting heritage.
Although this work has suffered damage to its paint layer, the treatment of shape and contrast remains quite remarkable. The artist, unknown, certainly hoped to illustrate his knowledge of the Flemish masters and his skill in the techniques of his time.
© All rights reserved - Photo: UNESCO/ P. Lagès - Download004-mother_children.jpg
Mother and her two children - French School,XIXth century (XVIIth century style)
Oil painting on canvas, modern frame in the Louis XV style - 100 x 124 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - September 1993
Artwork included in the global donation made to UNESCO of the Château Bois du Rocher (France) by the Aschberg family in 1956, and included in the Collection following the auction held in 1993.
Donating country - France
Although the date and author are unknown, this 19th century work evokes the influence of the 17th century realist painters, such as the Le Nain brothers, thanks to its style and composition. Artists showed a new interest for the lower classes during this period and depicted the lifestyle, activities and clothing of this social class in their works. They turned away from History painting in order to represent intimate scenes from everyday life. Hence, by depicting the intimacy of the lives of those that they paint, these artists expressed a renewed interest for Dutch painting of the Golden Age.
In this work, attention is given to domestic life and more specifically female activities. The figures represented here, a mother surrounded by her children, are simply dressed, in the peasant style. The scene objectively illustrates the reality of peasant life at the time, without a hint of criticism or mockery. The palette of primarily brown and dark earth tones used for the painting makes the figures’ faces stand out in contrast. By depicting this scene from everyday life on a neutral background against which the women’s gaze and marked facial traits of all three figures stand out thanks to the play of light, the artist manages to capture the spectator’s attention.
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Woman in a fur coat - DILOR, A.
Oil painting on canvas, signed lower left "A. Dilor 31" - 64.5 x 55 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - September 1960
Donation made to UNESCO by the Aschberg Foundation (Château Bois du Rocher)
Donating country - France
© All rights reserved - Photo: UNESCO/ N. Burke - Download006-carpet.jpg
Carpet for prayer - Afghan craft
Wool carpet, copy of a 19th century Ersari design depicting two Mirhars adorned by branches on a brick-red background - 180 x 124 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - December 1984
Donation made to UNESCO by Afghanistan
Country of origin - Afghanistan
© All rights reserved - Photo: UNESCO - Download
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Sahara memory,1990 - HADDAD, Aïcha (1937 - 2005)
Mixed media, signed and dated lower left "Aïcha Haddad 90" - 160 x 110 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - May 1997
Donation made to UNESCO by Algeria on the occasion of the Organization's 50th Anniversary
Country of origin - Algeria
Donating country - Algeria
© Droits réservés - Photo: UNESCO/N. Burke - Download008-argon.jpg
Argon 12 - BRIZZI, Ary (1930-2014)
Acrylic painting on canvas made in 1978 150 x 150 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - March 1980
Donation made to UNESCO by Argentina
Country of origin - Argentina
Donating country - Argentina
Ary Brizzi is one of the most famous Argentine artists. A master of abstraction, he is also called "the painter of energy". Great admirer of Plato, his geometric and dynamic works, always in motion, give the impression of infinite space and dimension, with lines that sometimes seem to stretch into emptiness and silence.
© All rights reserved - Photo: UNESCO/R. Fayad - Download009-ram_horse.jpg
Ram and horse 12th-13th centuries - Traditional Azerbaijani Art
Stone sculptures, dimensions 132x139,5x31,5 cm and 147x142,5x23,5 cm (provenance Ashagi Ayibli village, Tovuz, Azerbaijan)
Date of entry at UNESCO - October 2012
Donation made by the Republic of Azerbaijan in 2012, on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of their membership to UNESCO.
Country of origin - Azerbaijan
Donating country - Azerbaijan
Memorial Plastic Art of Azerbaijan
Memorial Art is one of the most known forms of traditional Azerbaijani folk art. It relies upon ancient secular traditions, which have over time resulted in the creation of an ensemble of artistic arrangements composed of signs, symbols, images and themes. This form of art includes tombstones or funerary steles, like those presented here.
The dimensions of such sculptures vary between 1 and 3.5 meters. The shape and style may vary depending on the region where they were created. They are predominantly made of sandstone as it can be easily carved, although marble is used in certain specific cases. The same techniques and methods are used in making all types of tombstones, which ensures a certain homogeneity despite varied shapes and symbols.
© All rights reserved - Photo: UNESCO - Download010-silver_boat.jpg
Bangladesh craft - Silver model of a boat
Silver model, Bangladesh craftsmanship - 76 x 77 x 21.5 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - September 1999
Donation made to UNESCO by the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina.
Country of origin - Bangladesh
Donating country - Bangladesh
© All rights reserved - Photo : UNESCO - Download011-liberty.jpg
BOGART, Bram (1921 - 2012 ) - The image of liberty, 1991
Mixed media; signed, dated and annotated on verso: Pour ONU UNESCO Bram Bogart ‘91 - 96.5 x 107 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - April 1993
Donation made to UNESCO by the artist
Country of origin - Belgium
© Bram Bogart - Photo: UNESCO - Download012-royal_procession.jpg
Abomey craftsmen - The royal procession
Cast bronze sculpture - 29 x 56 x 27 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - November 1991
Donation made to UNESCO by the President of Benin, Mr. Nicéphore Soglo, on the occasion of his visit to UNESCO
Country of origin - Benin
Donating country - Benin
A city in the current-day Republic of Benin, Abomey was the capital of the ancient kingdom of Danhomè (Dahomey). This city, famous for its many palaces that cover 44 hectars, has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1985. Abomey is a significant historical, cultural and tourist site. Important work for the safeguard and valorization of the buildings and collections has been taking place ever since 1992.
© All rights reserved - Photo: UNESCO/D. Matar - Download013-ancestors_spirit.jpg
PEDE, Yves (1959 - ) - The spirits of the ancestors
Patchwork, signed lower right - 160 x 300 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - April 1996
Donation made to UNESCO by the artist
Country of origin - Benin
A self taught artist, Yves Apollinaire Pèdé, was born in 1959 in Abomey (Benin). His first project consisted of reproducing the low-reliefs in the Abomey Museum. He later created paintings using sand, representing celebrities such as Nelson Mandela, before becoming interested in textiles and tapestries inspired by traditional religious symbols and gods. Pèdé is artistically associated with Haitian and Cuban artists within the context of communication between Afro-American religions. He essentially works in Ouidah, currently one of the main centers of voodoo practice and also where the first world festival devoted to this religion was held in 1992. He also participated in the decoration of the city’s monument built in memory of the slave trade, and which faces the sea.
© All rights reserved - Photo: UNESCO/R. Fayad - Download014-dance_amazon_women.jpg
SINZOGAN, Julien (1957-) - Dance of the amazon women, 1995
Gouache and Indian ink on paper - 63 x 99 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - January 1995
Donation made to UNESCO by the President of Benin during his visit to UNESCO Headquarters
Country of origin - Benin
In this work, Sinzogan depicts six African women wearing traditional dress – possible Amazon women, as expressed by the title - placed against a grid-like background.
The grid-like pattern covers the entire surface of the work, and alternates between black and white Indian ink drawings and colourful gouache ones, hence illustrating two significant techniques of Sinzogan’s work. The extremely lively palette of color used for the female figures contrasts with the neutral tones used for the background designs.
These designs create a patchwork effect; they blend scenes and representations of everyday life, including animals, plants, musical instruments, portraits and other objects. One can for example observe a women braiding a child’s hair, another crushing the millet, a pair of sandals, earrings, an umbrella, a cat, an elephant, a flute, drums … It is interesting to note that none of these representations are repeated except for the headrest, an emblematic object in African arts which is here depicted several times.
The use of gouache makes the six female figures stand out and breaks up the rectilinear effect of the otherwise grid-like composition. This creates an impression of fusion between the patterns and the Amazon women, as if their own story were being told through the various square designs. Sinzogan has a particular affection for themes linked to spirituality and the history of his country, which are probably represented in this work.
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Anonymous - Thracian hero, 2nd century A.D.
High relief in limestone - 31.5 x 35 x 10 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - October 1981
Donation made to UNESCO by the Republic of Bulgaria on the occasion of the 1300th Anniversary of the founding of the Bulgarian State.<br>
Country of origin - Bulgaria
Donating country - Bulgaria
The number of Thracian funeral reliefs uncovered continually increases, today exceeding 3500. These funeral or votive reliefs represent the ‘Thracian Horseman or Hero’. The cult and veneration of this divine and anonymous hero, depicted as a hunter and horseman, reached its height during the Hellenistic and Roman periods. Reliefs dedicated to the Thracian horseman are found everywhere in Thrace, which explains the extremely diverse iconographic schemes. In 1938, Gavril Kazarov established a categorization method consisting of three main groups, which is still used today. According to this classification, the Thracian Hero in UNESCO’s collection is an example of type A: this group includes all reliefs representing a horseman riding off to the right, towards an altar behind which stands a tree with a snake upon it, facing the arriving horseman.
© All rights reserved - Photo: UNESCO/J.C. Bernath - Download016-stone_devata.jpg
Anonymous - Stone Devata, 12th - 13th century
Sandstone sculpture in the Bayon style - 86 x 34 x 23 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - October 1958
Donation made to UNESCO by Cambodia
Country of origin - Cambodia
Donating country - Cambodia
This high-relief sculpture, found at Prasat Srange (Angkor, Cambodia), represents a “Devatâ”, a female divinity in Buddhism. The sculpture corresponds to the Bayon style, developed under the Buddhist king Jayavarman the 7th (1181-1220) during the 12th and 13th centuries. In the 12th century, Buddhism became a state-religion, as the foundation of the Angkor Thom and the Bayon Temple illustrate, for which the Sravasti Legend (Buddha manifesting his powers by multiplying himself into a thousand buddhas) served as inspiration.
The statue is made from the local pink sandstone and leans against a carved sandstone pillar of shape and dimensions that correspond to the alcoves decorating the walls, entrances or roofing of Khmer temples. When they are sheltered in alcoves, their arrangement is symmetrical with respect to the gopuram (monumental door with multi-leveled roofs, which forms part of a sacred enclosure). Devatâs are often portrayed in a serene attitude with closed eyes; they are hence distinguishable from the dynamic, dancing postures of the Apsarâ (celestial dancers) with which they are often associated on temple walls. Devatâs and Apsarâs always appear on Khmer temples, except in rare cases such as Bantea Samré in northern Angkor Vat, where the absence of these deities suggests that the building was left incomplete. As for the Angkor Vat temple, it shelters approximately one thousand eight hundred Devatâs.
Devatâs are female divinities, or celestial nymphs, always represented with an enigmatic smile. Judging by the position of the hands, this Devatâ must have been holding lotus stems which framed her silhouette, but which have since disappeared. Arrays are first and foremost attributes, whose number and luxury correspond to a specific iconographic code. This statue is arrayed with a tiara, the mokot, as well as a tall diadem specific to Khmer art. A long skirt, the sampot, in front of which hangs a piece of pleated cloth, covers her lower body. Female incarnations always wear the sampot, held in place by a belt with finely worked volutes. From the 9th century onwards, female accessories became gradually more complex and included more than just bracelets and earrings; the belts were embellished with elaborate and impressive pendants decorated with a continuous frieze of carved leaves. This innovation, the beginnings of which first appeared in the art of bas-relief, extended in the 10th century to sculpture in the round. It is a reflection in stone of the metal belts still in use in present-day Cambodia. The taste for such adornments remains a constant in Khmer art from its origins (6th-7th centuries) until now. Still today, Cambodia’s Royal Khmer ballet (classic Khmer dance) remains attached to its culture of over one thousand years and proves it by the reuse of its attributes; the mokot worn by the contemporary dancers weighs approximately one kilo.
© All rights reserved - Photo: UNESCO/N. Burke - Download017-roots_cult_tradition_.jpg
OTHEO (ONDIGUI ONANA, Theodore) - Roots of tradition and cultural cooperation
Mixed media - obom (traditional Cameroon textile made from tree bark), cauris and oil on canvas - 126 x 97.5 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - January 2004
Donation made to UNESCO by the Minister for Culture of Cameroon, during the Director General of UNESCO's official visit to Cameroon from January 15 to 17 2004.
Country of origin - Cameroon
© OTHEO, 2002 - Photo: UNESCO - Download017-1-crow_steal_sun.jpg
HARRIS, Walter (1931-2009) - Large crow stealing the sun
Polychrome painting (black, red and natural) on carved cedar wood - 102 x 284 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - May 1979
Donation made to UNESCO by Canada.
Country of origin - Canada
This ‘sculpted’ painting by Walter Harris, composed of continuous lines and curves which seem to interweave and diminish, qualifies as "linear" or “configurative” art. The compositions are often abstract, such as this one, with the different elements or patterns fitting into each other. According to the rules of indigenous art, parts of an animal may stand for the whole,for example the crow’s beak here. Certain limbs can be “moved” (not depicted in the natural order) and interlaced among themselves. The crow in Harris’s painting is therefore partly hidden by other bird heads which fill the surface. The crow’s body is sculpted into the lower left part of the painting, the eye and beak in the center; his claws, catching the sun, are visible in the lower part of the work. In general, linear or figurative style paintings are carried out in a combination of three colors. The main lines are drawn in black (originally obtained with carbon) and the secondary lines in red; occasionally a third blue-green color is used, not found in this work.
Despite a strongly abstract work created thanks to a network of curved lines of varying thickness, Harris succeeds in depicting the silhouette of a "large crow", a theme common to native legends. Considered a protective spirit by the Amerindians, the bird is a chief element of their myths; the crow is recurrent, in particular on rattles or everyday objects. In the legend of the "large crow stealing the sun" the bird is considered a divine messenger who, by stealing the sun from the chief of the skies in order to return it to the people on earth, becomes the symbol of the chieftains’ secular power. The sun epitomizes the light and the arts of a civilization; as such, the work donated to UNESCO is symbolic, in that it represents a demiurgic messenger bringing culture to the world.
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LEMIEUX, Lisette (1943-) - Liber
Work composed of four laminated layers of cherrywood, elements in paper and other materials - 107 x 64 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - March 2006
Donation made to UNESCO by the City of Montreal to commemorate Montreal as World Book Capital 2005/2006, and all World Book Capitals to come.
Country of origin - Canada
Donating country - Canada
L’œuvre LIBER tire son nom de la traduction latine du mot livre et également de la partie de l’arbre située entre l’écorce et le bois. La matière du livre est dérivée de la matière ligneuse. Le bois et ses dérivés sont encore le support privilégié d’impression des nouvelles technologies de l’information. Le merisier, appelé également bouleau jaune, dont est constituée l’œuvre est l’emblème végétal du Québec. La couleur blanche évoque la page vierge avant l’accouchement de la pensée, comme elle rappelle la nordicité de la capitale montréalaise.
L’œuvre-livre porte les empreintes digitales sur la page couverture, parce que c’est la main qui exerce la première préhension et qui guide l’œil pour parcourir ou déposer l’objet de lecture. Le livre est partagé entre deux postures soit ouverte, soit fermée, en en faisant un objet de passage entre l’offrande et la rétention.
La page intérieure est entaillée de stratifications linéaires rappelant toutes les écritures sans en cibler une particulière. L’aspect sinueux des strates évoque l’écriture manuscrite, comme une sismographie de la pensée.
Le sceau du pouce en page couverture, auquel fait écho le sceau intérieur, rappelle à la fois une signature ancienne et contemporaine : l’empreinte du doigt qu’on appose sur un document et qui tient lieu de signature, celle de l’écriture biométrique qui est en train de s’implanter comme mesure actuelle de contrôle sécuritaire. Les sceaux sont des morsures dans la matière.
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MATTA, Roberto (1911-2002) - The Widest Opening on the Cosmos
Mural painting, oil painting on laid down canvas - 245 x 550 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - December 1958
Acquisition made by UNESCO for the artistic decoration of its Headquarters in Paris in 1958.
Country of origin - Chile
In 1957, UNESCO's “Committee on Architecture and Works of Art” organized a competition for the decoration of the Organization's permanent headquarters in Paris; only eleven artists were selected, among which Roberto Matta. The Committee members included the building architects, Bernard Zehrfuss, Marcel Breuer, Luigi Nervi, and C. Para-Perez who presided the Committee of Art Advisors which included Georges Salles, Shahid Subrawardy and Herbert Read, selected to guide the choice of works
Alongwith paintings by Afro Basaldella and Karel Appel, Matta’s “The Widest Opening on the Cosmos” was chosen for the decoration of the 7th floor of the newly constructed Fontenoy building. This large painting, with its specific and original architectural space, reveals a “utopic spirit” which favors, according to the artist, “The Widest Opening on the Cosmos”. Surrealism, of which he claimed himself to be, was to him “the only discipline allowing constant transformation”. Desire and Eros are the lines of force in his cybernetic compositions, where insects, larvae, totems and strange machines create a perfectly controlled monumental delirium His works constitute a revolutionary saga which follow the struggle, throughout the world, against imperialism and the breach of human liberty.
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Anonymous - Fragment, Tomb of Princess Yong Tai, Tang Dynasty (618-907)
Fresco 67.5 x 47.5 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - January 1979
Donation made to UNESCO by China
Country of origin - China
Donating country - China
Yong Taï (whose real name was Li Xian), the Emperor Zhong Zong’s seventh daughter and granddaughter of the Empress Wu Zeitian (324-705), was known for her beauty which “could pale the plum blossom”. In 700, she married Wu Yanji, nephew of the Empress. At the age of 17, pregnant, she died poisoned by the Empress; her husband later suffered the same fate. The Emperor Zhong Zong named his daughter posthumously “Princess Yong Tai”, and ordered that she be buried alongside of her husband in the Qianling tomb.
Located in the Shaanxi province, Qianling is a funerary place, the construction of which spanned over a quarter of a century. The princess’s tomb is part of seventeen “satellite” tombs. The burial mound covering the underground tomb is shaped like a pyramid, 87.5 meters in length by 3.9 meters in width. The tomb is made up of a main passage, five doors, a corridor, eight small spaces, an antechamber and a main chamber, measuring 16.7 meters in depth. In front of the tomb are aligned a pair of lions, two pairs of stone statues and a pair of obelisks. A cobbled path, lined with eight small niches, leads to the tomb’s antechamber, accessed by a long corridor which descends underground and into the burial mound. Between 1960 and 1962, an excavation uncovered more than one thousand items in this sepulchre including ceramics, glazed or wooden statues. The antechamber’s walls are entirely decorated with frescoes representing court maidservants. Representations of dragons, white tigers and the guard of honor are found in the funerary chamber. The ceiling is covered with a fresco illustrating astronomical phenomenon.
In situ, the frescoes have since been replaced by replicas in order for the originals to be properly preserved at the Museum of History of Shaanxi. The museum's architecture was inspired by that of the Tang palaces; it is one of the largest state museums in China.
This fresco represents the portrait of the princess before her death. The beauty standards of the time defined Chinese artistic creation, especially with regards to a princess’s posthumous portrait. These frescoes represent a period during which artistic expression was being diversified, techniques developed, themes varied and the aesthetic aspect asserted.
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Anonymous - Tomb of the Princess Yong Tai, Tang Dynasty (618-907) - Partial reproduction of a fresco
Indian ink wash drawing on rice paper - 310 x 220 cm
Hall near Room X
Date of entry at UNESCO - January 1979
Donation made to UNESCO by China
Country of origin - China
Donating country - China
This work is a partial copy of a fresco which decorated one of the walls in the Princess Yong Tai’s tomb. It represents a procession of maidservants from the Tang court, the 13th Chinese dynasty (618-907 A.D).
Art from the Tang dynasty is one of the richest in Chinese history, as is shown by the ornamental sumptuousness of this tomb. In situ, the frescoes have been replaced by replicas in order to preserve the original paintings which may be admired at the Shaanxi History Museum, the architecture of which was inspired by Tang palaces; it is one of the largest state museums in China.
Yong Taï, the Emperor Zhong Zong’s seventh daughter and granddaughter of the Empress Wu Zeitian (324-705), was known for her beauty which “could pale the plum blossom”. In 700, she married Wu Yanji, nephew of the Empress. At the age of 17, pregnant, she died poisoned by the Empress; her husband later suffered the same fate. The Emperor Zhong Zong named his daughter posthumously “Princess Yong Tai”, and ordered that she be buried alongside of her husband in the Qianling tomb.
Located in the Shaanxi province, Qianling is a funerary place, the construction of which spanned over a quarter of a century. The princess’s tomb is part of seventeen “satellite” tombs; in front of it are aligned a pair of lions are aligned, two pairs of stone statues and a pair of obelisks. A cobbled path, lined with eight small niches leads to the tomb’s antechamber. Between 1960 and 1962, an excavation uncovered more than one thousand items in this sepulchre including ceramics, glazed or wooden statues. The antechamber’s walls are entirely decorated with frescoes representing court maidservants. Representations of dragons, white tigers and the guard of honor are found in the funerary chamber. The ceiling is covered with a fresco illustrating astronomical phenomenon.
The work at UNESCO reproduces a part of the scene located in the tomb’s antechamber, where a procession of young women are depicted gracefully holding different objects in their hands. The spectator in this manner discovers the daily life at the Tang Court, luxurious and full of pleasures. The maidservants’ role being to assist the Princess in her afterlife, they are shown baring various ritual objects.
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GUO, Yicong (1940 - ) - Mountain in full bloom
Indian ink wash drawing on rice paper - 250 x 130 cm
Executive Board area
Date of entry at UNESCO - November 1979
Country of origin - China
Donating country - China
Respectful of the traditions of Chinese painting, Guo Yicong here combines both the GongBi and XieYi techniques.
The name Gong Bi has multiple meanings. It can signify "refined", "thorough", or "delicate". Bi generally indicates the tools used for writing, but may also indicate the actual act of writing. The Gong Bi technique therefore looks for delicacy and detailed precision; it requires a good technique and, above all, patience.
"XieYi" signifies "to write" (Xie) and "meaning" (Yi). Zhang Daqian, an important master of Chinese painting, said that this technique draws upon the essence of beings. Xie Yi painting encompasses various calligraphy techniques that allow for spontaneity; such works are therefore executed very quickly, but require much practice.
Guo Yicong's preferred subject matters are flowers and birds; in this vertical composition, he depicts clusters of flowers using vivid hues of pink, green and blue. His technique consists of accentuating the outlines of the flowers and leaves, creating a pleasing decorative effect. The presence of a light green color lining the lilies at the center of the composition adds originality to the work and makes the flowers stand out. Thanks to Guo Yicong's extremely subtle and delicate use of ink, going from deep black to faded grey, this work reflects a magical moment in nature: spring bloom after winter.
© All rights reserved - Photo : UNESCO/ P. Lagès - Download023-love.jpg
QIU Zheng Ping - Love
India ink painting on rice paper, pasted on damask paper - 149 x 93.5 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - April 2006
Donation made to UNESCO by the artist on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of UNESCO
Country of origin - China
© All rights reserved - Photo: UNESCO - Download024-emei_mountain.jpg
SHANYUE, Guan (1912 - 2000) - The Emei Mountain
Indian ink wash drawing on rice paper - 187 x 390 cm
Sala XVI - Miollis
Date of entry at UNESCO - November 1979
Pintura con tinta de china sobre papel de arroz
Country of origin - China
Donating country - China
This work depicts the Emei Shan Mountain; situated in the Sichuan province and culminating at a height of 3 099 meters, it is among the sacred mountains for Chinese Buddhists.
Beyond the pinegrove and exuberant vegetation spreading across the hillsides, the artist reveals the mountain summits which seem to rise over the thick fog - as if carried by it - typically found over the Emei Mountain. Guan Shanyue paints a Buddhist temple at the top of the mountain with precision, sensitivity and lightness of touch. It is in this serene landscape that the first Chinese Buddhist temple was built in the 1st century. The number of temples has since multiplied, making the Emei Mountain one of the major sacred places in Buddhism. Among the mountain’s cultural treasures, one finds the extremely venerated Leshan Buddha statue. Inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1996, it is the largest representation of Buddha dating from before the 20th century; it was sculpted into the hillside in the 8th century.
This Indian ink on rice paper evokes the close relationship between Chinese and nature. Guan Shanyue's approach pulls the spectator into the landscape. Bathed in the misty and illusionistic atmosphere of the work, the spectator can almost hear nature’s sounds. The “breath” which animates each shape by giving it its own rhythm is particularly well depicted through this depiction of a highly symbolic place. This painting may be read like poetry or calligraphy; the brushstroke must always be a living composition.
The famous saying by Confucius, "The man of heart is enchanted by the mountain, the man of mind enjoys water" illustrates Guan Shanyue's work. For the Chinese, landscape painting is said to be the "painting of Mountain and Water"; it is a question of interiorizing the outside world in order to portray man in a spiritual way rather than a physical one. It is therefore not surprising that the artist here seems to include the spectator’s presence in his work.
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ZHU QIZHAN (1892-1996) - The pine of longivity
Indian ink wash drawing on rice paper - 250 x 130 cm
espacio del Consejo Ejecutivo
Date of entry at UNESCO - November 1979
Donation made to UNESCO by China in 1979
Country of origin - China
Donating country - China
Zhu Qizhan favors the use of slender forms laid-down on rice paper which rapidly absorbs Indian ink and is usually used for Chinese calligraphy.
In this work, two pines are represented slightly off-center, as if appearing from nowhere. The painted and empty spaces on the surface are both equally important and counter-balance each other. The tightened frame of the composition around both trees, contributes to the aesthetic effect of the work. The spectator must penetrate the work both physically and intellectually in order to recognize the message rather than read the painting.
Nature has been a central theme in East Asian art, where the artist attempts to evoke the harmony between man and nature; they greatly appreciate nature’s beauty and exceptional simplicity and believe nature and culture must coexist.
According to the Chinese concept of happiness, longevity is among the greatest privileges. By referring to longevity, prosperity and purity, the pine is a very symbolic tree in China. Eternally green, it lives for hundreds of years. Its persistent foliage symbolizes immortality. The pine here seems to spread out freely; the vertical shape of the work emphasizes its ascending movement and the idea of longevity. The artist’s approach is sensitive, personal, intimate. He offers the spectator an aesthetic experience.
"The ink, by soaking the paintbrush, must provide it with fluidity; the paintbrush, by using the ink, must endow it with spirit. The fluidity of the ink is a question of technical training; the spirit of the brush is a question of life."
(SHIH-T’AO, Comments on painting by the Bitter-Pumpkin monk, Herman, Paris, 1984).
© All rights reserved - Photo : UNESCO - Download
026-nymph.jpg
LIYOLO Limbé M'Puanga (1943- ) - The Nymph, 1986
Bronze sculpture - 91 x 90 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - January 1986
Donation made to UNESCO by the Democratic Republic of Congo on the occasion of the exhibition of the artist's work held at UNESCO Headquarters in 1986.
Country of origin - Democratic Republic of Congo
Donating country - Democratic Republic of Congo
This work by the Congolese artist Liyolo Limbé M’Puanga expresses both a strong dynamism and surprising force. The curved lines used by Liyolo to depict the nymph’s body give the sculpture an energetic impulse, amplified by the ‘floating’ hair which extends the body’s movement. An enthusiast for stylized representations of shapes, Liyolo here manages to give life to his semi-abstract, semi-real silhouette.
The bronze is worked minutely by Liyolo, who here creates a contrast between the hammered, almost rough, surfaces and the smooth, carefully polished ones. This careful attention to texture allows the light to play an active role in the work, as it reflects very differently depending on the area it falls on, hence bringing the sculpture to life. Certain anatomical elements - usually rarely accentuated in traditional sculpture - are particularly pronounced here. Such details guide the spectator’s gaze across the body and all the way to the tip of the hair. This work illustrates perfectly the creative abilities of this prominent contemporary Congolese artist, who keeps in mind ancestral African traditions.
© Me Liyolo Limbe M'Puanga - Photo: UNESCO - Download027-geos_volcans.jpg
CERSOSIMO, Emilia (1944-) - Volcano of Geos
Diptych, oil painting on canvas - 140 x 170 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - July 1994
Donation made to UNESCO by the artist on the occasion of the exhibition "Volcanos of Costa Rica" held at UNESCO Headquarters in 1994.
Country of origin - Costa Rica
Donating country - Costa Rica
This work is part of a series inspired by the volcanos found in Costa Rica.
© All rights reserved - Photo: UNESCO/R. Fayad - Download028-wounded_dove.jpg
BUIC, Jagoda (1930 - ) - Wounded Dove II, 1983
Three-dimensional wool tapestry - Polyptych in eight parts. Weight 450 kg - 250 x 1150 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - July 1999
Donation made to UNESCO by the Swiss Bank Corporation (UBS) following the exhibition "European South-East, crosswords of civilizations" of Jagoda Buic's work, held at UNESCO Headquarters in February 1998, in which the tapestry was presented.
Country of origin - Croatia
The monumental, three-dimensional tapestry “Wounded Dove II” is characteristic of Jagoda Buic’s work, and imposes itself in a space thanks to its size, rough texture and dark hues, as well as its physical weight (450 kg) and composition. An effect of scenography is created, and Buic manages to create the idea of an atmosphere simply with one tapestry. Jagoda Buic moreover carried out several set design and costume projects for theater, opera, ballet and cinema, starting in the 1950s. Her various creations for scenography, for which she undertook extremely contemporary spatial research, in part lead her to this “new tapestry” for which she was one of the main actors as of 1965. With these tapestries, Buic innovated on this art form’s traditional space and introduced a third dimension, hence allowing for a closer co-relation between the work and its surroundings.
The materials and weaving technique used by Buic reflect her sensitivity to her country’s textile tradition; for her works, she carries out traditional hand-woven techniques in a workshop with the collaboration of women coming from the country’s different regions, to which she incorporates her modernity. She has a clear preference for natural fibers which allow for a greater suppleness and precision than industrial ones when weaving by hand. Among the more used textiles one finds wool, as is the case for “Wounded Dove II”, as well as sisal, textiles to which she hopes to “give back” their autonomy by using them not only as a means of creating a tapestry but also for the color and texture that each can individually bring to the work. Buic places importance not only on the visual reality of her work but also on the material’s tactile aspect. Selecting these based on their natural textile characteristics is essential to her work.
The tapestry donated to UNESCO clearly reflects Buic’s artistic preferences, such as the predominant use of black, brown or earth tones, with the occasional touch of white or red, symbol for blood. Not only is her palette extremely limited, but her use of it is minimal, even non-existent in certain works. The primarily dark “Wounded Dove II” emphasizes the vertical red ‘trace’ that runs down the center of the composition, hence accentuating the works’ theme. The tapestry imposes itself thanks to its composition and dimension, as well as the choice of natural, rough and expressive textile.
© Jagoda Buic - Photo: UNESCO - Download029-territorial_waters.jpg
PEDRO, Luís Martínez (1910 - 1989) - Territorial waters, 1967
Oil on canvas, signed and dated lower right 'lmpedro 1967 HABANA' - 94.5 x 147 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - December 1980
Donation made to UNESCO by the artist through the Permanent Delegation of Cuba
Country of origin - cuba
Donating country - Cuba
Between 1963 and 1973, Luis Martinez Pedro carried out a series of works on the theme “Aguas Territoriales” (Territorial Waters). This composition, made up of a variation of blues, is composed around a central, light-colored circle. The perspective created by the “whirlpool” effect first attracts the spectator’s gaze to the light blue at the center, and only afterwards the surrounding composition. Thanks to its circular, swirling layout, the work makes the spectator feel immersed, even invaded, by the bluish ‘liquid’. Antagonistic sensations can be felt by the viewer; where some might experience a feeling of plenitude or tranquility, others might feel anxiety. Either way, this painting of indisputable force does not leave the spectator indifferent.
© All rights reserved - Photo: UNESCO/N. Burke - Download030-flowers.jpg
PORTOCARRERO, René (1912 - 1986) - Flores, 1964
Oil on canvas, signed lower left "Portocarrero 64" - 73.5 x 56 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - December 1968
Donation made to UNESCO by the artist
Country of origin - Cuba
Donating country - Cuba
© All rights reserved - Photo: UNESCO - Download031-rooster.jpg
RODRIGUEZ, Mariano (1912 - 1990) - Rooster, 1978
Acrylic painting on canvas, signed and dated lower left "Mariano 78" - 149 x 119 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - April 1980
Donation made to UNESCO by the Permanent Delegation of Cuba
Country of origin - Cuba
Starting in the 1940s, Mariano Rodriguez painted various “Rooster” series. These therefore exist in the different styles used by the artist and expressed, through their representations, the different periods of his life.
The rooster depicted here, tall, proud, head held high, is placed at the center of the composition and takes up a majority of the canvas. The manner in which it is painted could represent the artist’s state of mind at the time, as he was going through a very successful, glorious period in his career. The rooster’s slightly high position on the painting surface accentuates the image of strength and authority. Rodriguez here used lively colors such as pinkish-red, green and yellowish-orange. Thanks to his nuanced use of color, the ‘passage’ between these contrasting hues is visible yet not visually violent.
The rooster is a universal symbol, particularly representative of virility, authority, strength, patriarchy, courage … ; it can also stand as a sexual symbol. In this painting, one can sense the artist’s admiration and respect for this animal.
© All rights reserved - Photo: UNESCO - Download032-amphora.jpg
Anonymous - “V WARE”, Bi-chrome amphora, Cyprio-archaic period (6th Century B.C.)
Date of entry at UNESCO - November 1964
Donation made by the National Commission of Cyprus to UNESCO
Country of origin - Cyprus
Donating country - Cyprus
This Cypriot work, dating from the archaic period (6th century B.C.), is an amphora with a neck and two handles, very similar in shape to a “stamnos” (from the category of krater pottery). It would have been used for the storage or transport of merchandise, more specifically food commodities, and sealed by a stopper made of clay or a dried fig.
Thanks to the expansion of port cities, the island of Cyprus was trading with Syria, Palestine, Egypt, Crete and the Aegean as early as the Bronze Age (2000 B.C.). These exchanges intensified throughout the centuries and were founded on the diffusion of this type of pottery that would have been filled with provisions. The discovery of similar relics in Kilise Tepe (south-central Anatolia), Ras Shamra (northern Syria) and Ezbet Helmi (in the Egyptian delta), suggests a steady export of archaic Cypriot pottery to the continent. Due to its strategic position, Cyprus attracted Assyrian (709-560 B.C.), Egyptian (560-545 B.C.), and Persian conquerors for over two centuries, before being liberated by Alexander the Great in the 4th century B.C. During the Archaic period, the island found itself at the meeting point of Oriental, Phoenician, Aegean, Syrian, Palestinian, as well as Egyptian cultures and techniques, through which an art specific to Cyprus would emerge. Most of the discoveries of this type of turned bi-chromatic ceramic occur in Cyprus.
© All rights reserved - Photo : UNESCO/N. Burke - Download033-cells.jpg
GREGORIOU, Theodoulos (1956 - ) - Cells/choirokitia, 2009
Mixed media - cement and mineral oxides on plywood, ink on Plexiglass, signed and dated '09' on the right - 222 x 448 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - December 2010
Donated to UNESCO by the Republic of Cyprus in 2009.
Country of origin - cyprus
Donating country - Cyprus
The painting’s title “Cells/Choirokitia” refers to Choirokoitia, a Neolithic archaeological site in Cyprus inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1998. It is among the best preserved sites in the oriental region of the Mediterranean basin.
Occupied from the 7th to the 4th millennium B.C., this site has revealed abundant information regarding society at that time, such as ways of living in collective residences, raising livestock and culture. The circular structure of the houses on the site – the first to present this shape – set very close together, influenced Theodoulos Gregoriou’s work, who found them aesthetically similar to cellular or molecular forms. This is particularly striking when one has a global view of the site. He is inspired by such sites not only by their shape and composition, for which a parallel may be clearly made with the work at UNESCO, but also as a starting point for a more philosophical approach.
By basing his work on electronic analysis of the houses’ layout, as well as that of ancient writings, Gregoriou manages to ‘extract’ an abstract rhythm based on circular and/or molecular shapes. These scientific studies are the starting point for his painting, inciting connections between the invisible and visible world. His use of purely geometrical forms (sphere, cone, cube) which are both neutral and universal, allows him to blur the limits between the material and immaterial.
© Theodolous Gregoriou - Photo: Theodolous Gregoriou - Download034-untitled.jpg
JACOBSEN, Robert (1912 - 1993) - Untitled
Painted steel sculpture with bronze element - 550 x 240 x 240 cm
Main entrance of building, Place Fontenoy
Date of entry at UNESCO - April 1993
Donation made to UNESCO in 1993 by the Minister of Culture of Denmark, Mr. Grethe Rostbøll, in the presence of Her Majesty Margrete II, Queen of Denmark.
Country of origin - Denmark
Donating country - Denmark
After settling in Paris in 1947, Robert Jacobsen, who initially worked in wood and stone, turned to welded metal constructions, such as this sculpture, made out of in sheet steel and bronze. During these years in France, Jacobsen belonged to the group of abstract artists presented at the Denise René Gallery in Paris, alongside Dewasne, Magnelli and Vasarely, among other artists renowned for their work in abstract geometry.
Jacobsen’s work was very diverse and included rough iron sculptures that played on the juxtaposition of curves or shapes recalling nature, as well as simple-lined structures in black-painted iron, for which he is best known. All his creations however express a particular attention to rhythm and the importance of the empty space between shapes. His work became simplified and more geometric as time went on, as is illustrated by UNESCO’s sculpture; by the end of his career, almost all organic lines suggesting naturalism had been eliminated.
© Adagp, Paris 2012 - Photo: UNESCO/TFT - Download035-symbolic_globe.jpg
REITZEL, Erik (1941 - 2012) - The Symbolic Globe
Spheric aluminium structure, height of 12,80 m and diameter of 15 m. Assemblage of 10 000 ultra-resistant aluminium rods and joints.
Date of entry at UNESCO - November 1995
Donation made to UNESCO by the Danish Ministry of Culture.
Country of origin - Denmark
Donating country - Denmark
Erik Reitzel’s “Symbolic Globe” represents a synthesis between the functional and the aesthetic. Situated outside UNESCO’s main building, the “Globe”, surrounded by the flags of UNESCO’s Member States during the Executive Board and General Conference sessions, is symbolic on several levels: its shape, its meaning, and the circumstances of its creation.
Evoking the logo of the United Nations, the structure consists of an external transparent sphere that holds within it another smaller sphere, solid and golden. Conceived by the Danish engineer for the World Summit on Social Development held in Copenhagen in March 1995, the Globe was then transported to and mounted at UNESCO Headquarters on the occasion of the Organization’s 50th anniversary. Made up of 10,000 assembled aluminium rods, it represented the countries’ commitment to development through diversity and dialogue at the Summit. Though the work was initially put at the disposal of UNESCO by the Danish government for a period of five years, today it belongs to the Organization, having been donated by the government.
The immense structure, which is firmly anchored with cables, has a diameter of 15 metres and weighs four tons. It is representative of Reitzel’s theory on the identity of equations, developed in the early 1970s, that examines the correlation between the form of rupture lines and minimal structures. His research focuses on functional structures using a minimum of material, and on the combination of material with new methods of construction. The Symbolic Globe is a tribute to the marriage of the functional and the aesthetic, an alliance which is suited to both public and private sectors because it can be applied to all sorts of constructions, from big buildings to small structures. (Based on text by Marie RENAULT)
© Erik Reitzel. All rights reserved - Photo: Erik Reitzel - Download037-dona_deseada_sus_chucherias.jpg
DIAZ, Polibio (1952 -) - Dona Deseada Y Sus Chucherias
Photograph on paper laid down on Alucobond - 150 x 300 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - April 2012
Donation made to UNESCO by the artist and presented by the Dominican Republic in August 2009.
Country of origin - Dominican Republic
Donating country - Dominican Republic
This photo is part of a series entitled "Interiores", created between 2001 and 2004, which illustrate the interiors of Dominican working-class neighborhoods. The horizontal panels’ very large dimensions, close to those of the place that is depicted, actually combines several photos placed next to each other. Through these interiors, Polibio Diaz evokes the lifestyle of the Dominican Republic’s poorest inhabitants, who face economic hardships yet keep their characteristic cheerfulness and joie-de-vivre.
Influenced by an aesthetic inspired by contemporary art movements of the 20th century, such as Cubism or Surrealism, Polibio Diaz continually tries to process the images differently. He thus juxtaposes three or four pictures showing the interiors from different angles, which leads to a multiplication of perspectives and vanishing points. This treatment of space also allows him to simultaneously show both the interior and the exterior of Dominican houses, and use natural light, giving the spectators the impression that they are crossing through the houses. Diaz manages to assemble these images together so they form a coherent whole. The symmetrical composition and the use of color however show that Diaz does not seek to achieve something decorative. His use of color and light, and the accumulation of objects, give his interiors a baroque atmosphere.
Polibio Diaz’s particular approach stems from his desire to dramatize moments from the inhabitants’ daily lives; each image expresses a specific moment, as if Diaz were telling us a story. One finds in this photo a theme that has continuously interested the artist, namely the culture of the Dominican people, which he aims to photograph in their daily lives. "By making blacks and mulattos the subject of my work, I challenge the aesthetic Greco-Latin codes upon which seems to be founded the concept of Dominican beauty.
Some of these "Interiores" were presented at an exhibition at the Grande Halle de la Villette in Paris in 2009. On this occasion, Polibio Diaz presented his photos in the form of an installation with, in the background, a radio loudly set to AM station, which broadcasted "bachata" style music, which was born in the Dominican Republic. Hence both, the visuals and sound reinforced the evocation of Dominican culture.
© Polibio Diaz - Photo: UNESCO - Download036-como_mi_masa_ninguna.jpg
DIAZ, Polibio (1952 -) - Como Mi Casa Ninguna
Photographic triptych on paper laid down on Alucobond - 100 x 450 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - April 2012
Donation made to UNESCO by the artist and presented by the Dominican Republic in August 2009.
Country of origin - Dominican Rep.
Donating country - Dominican Rep.
This photo is part of a series entitled "Interiores", created between 2001 and 2004, which illustrate the interiors of Dominican working-class neighborhoods. The horizontal panels’ very large dimensions, close to those of the place that is depicted, actually combines several photos placed next to each other. Through these interiors, Polibio Diaz evokes the lifestyle of the Dominican Republic’s poorest inhabitants, who face economic hardships yet keep their characteristic cheerfulness and joie-de-vivre.
Influenced by an aesthetic inspired by contemporary art movements of the 20th century, such as Cubism or Surrealism, Polibio Diaz continually tries to process the images differently. He thus juxtaposes three or four pictures showing the interiors from different angles, which leads to a multiplication of perspectives and vanishing points. This treatment of space also allows him to simultaneously show both the interior and the exterior of Dominican houses, and use natural light, giving the spectators the impression that they are crossing through the houses. Diaz manages to assemble these images together so they form a coherent whole. The symmetrical composition and the use of color however show that Diaz does not seek to achieve something decorative. His use of color and light, and the accumulation of objects, give his interiors a baroque atmosphere.
Polibio Diaz’s particular approach stems from his desire to dramatize moments from the inhabitants’ daily lives; each image expresses a specific moment, as if Diaz were telling us a story. One finds in this photo a theme that has continuously interested the artist, namely the culture of the Dominican people, which he aims to photograph in their daily lives. "By making blacks and mulattos the subject of my work, I challenge the aesthetic Greco-Latin codes upon which seems to be founded the concept of Dominican beauty.
Some of these "Interiores" were presented at an exhibition at the Grande Halle de la Villette in Paris in 2009. On this occasion, Polibio Diaz presented his photos in the form of an installation with, in the background, a radio loudly set to AM station, which broadcasted "bachata" style music, which was born in the Dominican Republic. Hence both, the visuals and sound reinforced the evocation of Dominican culture.
© Polibio Diaz - Photo: UNESCO - Download039-untitled.jpg
GUAYASAMIN, Oswaldo ( 1919-1999) - Untitled
Silk-screen, signed at the bottom rignt: Guayasamin, and numbered at the bottom left: XL/C - 66.5 x 96.5 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - January 1997
Purchase made by UNESCO from the Guayasamin Foundation, Quito
Country of origin - Ecuador
© Fundación Guayasamín, Quito, Ecuador - Photo : UNESCO - Download040-untitled.jpg
GUAYASAMIN, Oswaldo ( 1919-1999) - Untitled
Silk-screen, signed lower right: Guayasamin and numbered lower left: XL/C - 69 x 99 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - January 1997
Purchase made by UNESCO from the Guayasamin Foundation, Quito
Country of origin - Ecuador
© Fundación Guayasamín, Quito, Ecuador - Photo: UNESCO/R. Fayad - Download042-untitled.jpg
GUAYASAMIN, Oswaldo ( 1919-1999) - Untitled
Silk-screen, signed lower right: Guayasamin and numbered lower left: XL/C - 69 x 99 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - January 1997
Purchase made by UNESCO from the Guayasamin Foundation, Quito
Country of origin - Ecuador
© Fundación Guayasamín, Quito, Ecuador - Photo: UNESCO - Download041-mothers_children.jpg
GUAYASAMIN, Oswaldo ( 1919-1999) - MADRES Y NIÑOS
Acrylic on wood panels of which three in relief; signed lower right 'GUAYASAMIN' - 472 x 600 cm
Hall near Room X
Date of entry at UNESCO - December 1993
Donation made to UNESCO by the Guayasamin Foundation , Quito (Ecuador)
Country of origin - Ecuador
Donating country - Ecuador
© All rights reserved - Photo: UNESCO/N. Burke - Download043-city_yss.jpg
ALDINE (Ala El Dine Abdellatif,1917- 1992) - The City of Yss, 1976
Oil painting on canvas, signed and dated lower right 'Aldine 1976' - 169 x 215 cm
Hall 2nd floor- Fontenoy
Date of entry at UNESCO - February 1978
Donation made to UNESCO by Egypt
Country of origin - Egypt
© All rights reserved - Photo: UNESCO - Download044-beer_brewer.jpg
Anonymous - Beer brewer, Fifth Dynasty (2400 B.C.)
Sculpture with important polychromic trace and hieroglyphs « fty mhy » inscribed on the base - 50 x 37 x 20.5 cm
6th floor corridor
Date of entry at UNESCO - November 1968
Donation made to UNESCO by Egypt in 1968.
Country of origin - Egypt
Donating country - Egypt
© All rights reserved - Photo : UNESCO - Download045-rebirth_nation_peace.jpg
HUEZO, Roberto (1947 - ) - Rebirth of a Nation in a Culture of Peace, 1992
Acrylic on canvas, signed and dated lower left 'R. Huezo 92' - 179.5 x 199 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - January 1994
Donation made to UNESCO by the Minister of Education of El Salvador
Country of origin - El Salvador
Donating country - El Salvador
Une jeune femme agenouillée à la poitrine dénudée et un enfant tenant à la main une sorte de cordon ombilical flottent dans cet espace indéfini d’un noir profond. Tandis que cette dernière se tourne du côté de ce fond sombre, similaire à un néant, l’enfant, quant à lui, regarde le spectateur. Le titre de l’œuvre, « Renaissance d’une nation dans une culture de paix », donne tout son sens à la composition. En effet, l’expérience même de la renaissance pourrait être incarnée par ce nourrisson tenant ce cordon ombilical, signe de vie. La jeune femme représente alors la nation qui se tourne vers un néant désormais derrière elle, et reprend confiance en l’avenir incarné par cet enfant. L’engagement politique de Roberto Huezo s’est déjà exprimé auparavant dans son œuvre. Il est probable que celle-ci, peinte en 1992, fasse allusion à la fin de Guerre Civile ayant dévasté le Salvador, son pays d’origine.
© All rights reserved - Photo: UNESCO - Download046-black_gazelle.jpg
MBOMIO NSUE, Leandro (1938 - 2012) - AYINGONO, Hommage to the black runner 'Black Gazelle'
Lost wax bronze sculpture, signed on verso "LEA Mbomio" - 106 x 44 x 45 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - March 2008
Donation made to UNESCO by the President of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea on 30th October 2007, during the 34th session of the General Conference held at UNESCO Headquarters.
Country of origin - Equatorial Guinea
Donating country - Equatorial Guinea
This work is representative of Leandro Mbomio Nsue’s art, who systematically depicts the human shape in an abstract manner. He does not consider the body as an indivisible whole but rather as an assemblage of various parts that may be taken apart and then put back together as he wishes. Thus, his sculptures are comprised of different blocks combined with each other and composed of diverse materials (metal, stone).
Recurring traits can be seen in his sculptures, such as the linearity of the plane, the graphic ornamentation, the volumes and also the representation of human heads or masks, without any cranial volume.
© All rights reserved - Photo: UNESCO/R. Fayad - Download047-sibelius.jpg
HILTUNEN, Elia (1922-2003) - Homage to Sibelius
Stainless steel sculpture - 160 x 200 x 120 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - December 1967
Donation made to UNESCO by Finland
Country of origin - Finland
Donating country - Finland
The work "Homage to Sibelius" is a small-scale model of the Sibelius Monument by the same artist inaugurated in Töölö, Helsinki (Finland) in 1967. As the last and definitive model, it is the one from which measurements were taken for the final work. Built in homage to the composer Jean Sibelius (1865-1957), the monument in Helsinki is also made of stainless steel, but measures 8,5 x 10,5 x 6,05 meters.
© Eila Hiltunen Estate - Photo: UNESCO - Download048-meridian.jpg
ADAM, Henri Georges (1904-1967) - Meridian, 1958
Wool tapestry (Aubusson school), signed and dated lower right "ADAM 58" - 150 x 790 cm
Room VI
Date of entry at UNESCO - December 1958
Donation made to UNESCO by France within the context of the artistic decoration of Room VI in the Fontenoy building in Paris
Country of origin - France
In 1958, Henri-Georges Adam created "Meridian" for UNESCO, as part of a global donation made by France for the interior design of Room VI at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris.
Adam became interested in tapestries in the 1940's, making black and white cartoons for tapestries woven in Aubsson worshops - such as this one - or in Beauvais and the Gobelins Manufactures.
"Meridian" is an abstract representation in which black lines divide the surface into monochromatic sections, producing a sober but dynamic composition of geometric shapes.
© All rights reserved - Photo: UNESCO/P. Lagès - Download049-composition_flowers.jpg
Alphonso Adolfo Feragutti VISCONTI (1850-1924) - Composition with flowers
Oil painting on panel, signed bottom left - 152 x 114 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - September 1993
Artwork included in the global donation made to UNESCO of the Château Bois du Rocher (France) by the Aschberg family in 1956, and entered in the Collection following the auction held in 1993.
Country of origin - France
Donating country - France
This work depicts a bouquet of flowers whose scattered stems are more or less held in a vase which is barely visible under the profusion of flowers. Interestingly, the artist has here represented an abundance of similar flowers, without diversifying the floral motifs, unlike the numerous Northern representations from the Golden Age. The bouquet in Visconti’s painting is almost exclusively made up of what seems to be peonies.
During the nineteenth century there was an abundance of flower painters, to the point that B. Elliot analyzes this art under the evocative title "The language of flowers in the nineteenth century" (in “The Floral Empire”, dir. Sabine van Sprang). Among many artists of this century to have contributed to the development of floral art, we can mention: Pierre-Auguste Renoir with his work “Gladiolas”, an oil on canvas from 1885 conserved in the Musée d'Orsay; Eugène Delacroix with “Bouquet”, an oil on canvas from 1848, today at the Museum of Fine Arts in Lille (France), and his yet more spectacular “Flowers Bouquet”, an oil on paper from approximately 1848 conserved in Paris, in the Graphic Arts Department of the Louvre Museum; and Gustave Courbet with his work “Le Treillis”, an oil on canvas from 1862, found at the Museum of Art of Toledo (Spain).
This work coming from the Aschberg donation hence reveals the popularity of floral art during the nineteenth century, a notoriety which seems to have originated in the School of the Salon of Flowers in Lyons (France). The popularity of this theme, as is illustrated by “Composition with flowers”, should also be carefully considered from written sources, which, as of the 1850s, multiplied and inspired the artists.
050-unesco_constellation.jpg
ARP, Jean (1886 - 1966) - Constellation UNESCO, 1958
Copper sculpture in four parts
Date of entry at UNESCO - December 1958
Acquisition made by UNESCO for the artistic decoration of its Headquarters in Paris in 1958.
Country of origin - France
In 1957, the UNESCO “Committee on Architecture and Works of Art”, in collaboration with the Committee of art advisors, chose eleven artists to undertake the task of decorating the permanent headquarters in Paris, inaugurated in 1958. Within this context, UNESCO commissioned Jean Arp for a sculptural work. Included therefore in the initial artistic decoration of the buildings, Arp’s "UNESCO Constellation" was placed on the exterior wall of the library until the 1970s, at which point it was moved inside and exhibited in the Executive Board hall, where it still remains today.
For this monumental work, Arp created an 'open' composition made up of four copper elements of 140 x 85 cm, 250 x 220 cm, 300 x 350 cm and 145 x 190 cm, that hang freely and separately on the wall, "like hats that could be picked up", according to the artist. The wall upon which the sculpture is exhibited is therefore an integral, variable element of the composition, acting both as support and background to the artwork.
This sculpture was created around the same period as several other public commissions that Arp received during the 1950s. These included works for Harvard University's Graduate Center (USA, 1950) or the University of Caracas campus (Venezuela, 1956), among others.
The bronze and wood working model made by Arp for "UNESCO Constellation" is also part of UNESCO's Collection.
© All rights reserved - Photo: UNESCO - Download
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ARP, Jean (1886 - 1966) - Model of Constellation UNESCO
Bronze sculpture pasted down on wood - 49.5 x 149.5 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - December 1958
Acquisition made by UNESCO at the time of the embellishment work of the building (the model was acquired along with the “CONSTELLATION UNESCO” of Jean ARP.)
Country of origin - France
In 1957, the International Committee of Art Advisors of UNESCO commissioned Jean Arp to decorate its Parisian headquarters building with a monumental relief.
The artist first created this maquette from which the big "UNESCO Constellation" was made.
This model is made up of five elements, of which one in bronze.
© Adgp, Paris - Photo: UNESCO - Download053-silkscreen.jpg
BAZAINE, Jean (1904-2001) - Silkcreen - 280/300, 1953
Color silk-screen, signed lower right 'Bazaine 53', numbered lower left '280/300' - 74.5 x 53.5 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - December 1959
Donation made to UNESCO by the artist Jean Bazaine upon the inauguration of the mosaic "Rythme d'eau" at UNESCO Headquarters.
Country of origin - France
© Adagp, Paris 2012 - Photo: UNESCO - Download052-rythme_eau.jpg
BAZAINE, Jean (1904-2001) - Rythme d'eau, 1959
Mosaic with enamels and natural stones, made with the mosaist Maximilien Herzélé. The pieces are cut and set unequally in order to play with the light. - 255 x 953 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - December 1959
Acquisition made by UNESCO upon the completion of the Fontenoy building in Paris
Country of origin - France
In 1957, the UNESCO "Committee for Architecture and works of art" commissioned Jean Bazaine for a mosaic that would decorate, alongside ten other works by international artists (such as Picasso, Calder, Afro, etc.), the Organization’s permanent headquarters in Paris. The committee members included the architects who built the buildings, Bernard Zehrfuss, Marcel Breuer, Luigi Nervi, as well as C. Para-Perez who chaired a committee of artistic advisers responsible for guiding the choice of works, which also included Georges Salles, Shahid Subrawardy and Herbert Read.
The monumental mosaic "Water Rhythms" was created in resonance with the Japanese garden. It is made up of “tesserae” (small pieces) of different materials such as enamel and stone. Bazaine was particularly sensitive to the expressiveness of materials, and creates here variations of blues, white/gray, red and yellow/orange. When looking at the mosaic up close, one finds that each shape has been made using a range of colors: for example, in the red shapes there are also burgundy and purple tiles. This combination of different materials and colors gives the mosaic a vibrancy that may be likened to water. In Bazaine's own words, the density and scale of these rhythms are meant to transcribe "the great vital signs that are the truth of Man and the Universe." In his writings and reflections, Bazaine meditated on the painter's approach, which is supposed to associate the creative act with the quest for the sacred; his work, full of emotional expression, tends towards the religious. For him, the essential resided in the "daily illumination, this eye open to the world, that is, increasingly, as we advance, but a glimpse inward, a self-examination.” Following in the wake of his teacher, Henri Matisse, who revealed to him a world that was both coherent and thrilling, Bazaine strove, in his own way, to search for "another fullness, another purity». “Water Rhythms” illustrates Bazaine’s sense of the monumental and movement, as well as his conception of touch, color and surface structure. Water is a recurrent theme in his work, and from 1936 until his death, he tirelessly sought to capture the movement, rhythm, light and depth of this element which fascinated him, through paintings as diverse as “Bath” (1939), “Divers” (1946), “Zeeland” (1957) and “Saint Guénolé” (1960). Metaphor of passing time but also unchanging time, water allowed Bazaine to play with different feelings (anger, joy), material and techniques (painting, drawing, collage, mosaic, etc.).
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BRAQUE, Georges (1882-1963) - House at Estaque
Color silk-screen, numbered lower left 'VI/XXIV', dated '45' lower right - 41.5 x 34 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - January 1965
Country of origin - France
The silk-screen print "Maison à l’Estaque" ("House at l'Estaque"), donated to UNESCO in 1965, was made after Braque’s original oil on canvas of the same name painted in 1908 and now exhibited at the Bern Fine Arts Museum (Kunstmuseum, Bern, Switzerland). L'Estaque is a fisherman’s village in the surroundings of Marseille and is well-known for its fabulous landscapes celebrated by the French painter Paul Cézanne. Considered as the precursor of Cubism, Cézanne painted many views from this very port as shown in his painting « Le Golfe de Marseille vu de L'Estaque » (1878-1879), now in the Musée d'Orsay in Paris.
© Adagp, Paris 2012 - Photo: UNESCO - Download
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DELAUNAY, Sonia (1885-1979) - After plate 5 of the portfolio "Poetry of Words, Poetry of Colors", 1961
Silk-screen, no. 70/80, signed and dated lower right - 65 x 50 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - January 1965
Country of origin - France
The original in gouache that this silk-screen print is done after is found at the Centre Pompidou (National Museum of Modern Art, Paris, France), and is part of a portfolio that includes a series of 6 plates, one title page, 7 poems and a 'page de justification' in a canvased cardboard casing.
© L&M SERVICES B.V. The Hague 20120805 - Photo: UNESCO - Download056-spiral_staircase.jpg
HERVE, Lucien (1910 - 2007) - Building of UNESCO Headquarters, 1955-1958
Date of entry at UNESCO - November 2008
Donated to UNESCO by Ms Judith Hervé in 2008, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the construction of the Organization's Headquarters and according to Lucien Hervé's wish.
Country of origin - France
Donating country - France
21 photographs on paper
In 1953, Lucien Hervé accepted UNESCO’s commission to undertake the photographic documentation of the construction of the Organization’s Headquarters, working alongside Marcel Breuer, Luigi Nervi and Bernard Zehrfuss – the project’s architects – as well as Le Corbusier, member of the Committee on Architecture and Works of Art. From 1953 to 1958, Hervé documented the construction of the site once a week, hence bearing witness through his photography to the controversial introduction of modern architecture in the heart of Paris.
This body of work constituted over a period of several years of construction allows us today to observe and understand the process behind the creation of UNESCO’s Headquarters. Thanks to multiple and fragmentary photos of the whole of the construction, Hervé brings forth the beauty and lyricism of the material and structure,
© Lucien Hervé - Photo Lucien Hervé. Fireman stairs, Secretariat Building, 1958; 23,5 x 16,5 cm. - Download057-tower_sun.jpg
LURÇAT, Jean (1892 - 1966) - The tower of the sun, 1964
Wool tapestry ('Tabard frères et sœurs' workshop, Aubusson); signed lower left "Lurçat" - 440 x 350 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - January 1968
Country of origin - France
Woven on a low-warp loom by the 'Tabard Frères et Sœurs' workshop at Aubusson, this tapestry depicts in a stylized manner the sun, the moon and ivy leaves around a tower-like structure. Based on a cartoon by Jean Lurçat, this work includes symbols that often recur in his compositions, among which most importantly the sun. Lurçat had even said of his work: "It seems to me that a tapestry or a wall, or even a jewel, is only a decorative object and lacking in substance if I have not added a sun, stars or the moon."
Essentially a symbolist, Lurçat often repeated the same symbols, such as the rooster, associated with vigor, courage, valiance, pride and pretention, or the sun, associated with notions of strength and life (for if the sun vanished, or its rays could reach us no more, life on Earth would stop). On occasion extremely sophisticated, these symbols are often accentuated by a clear and richly stylized representation. Lurçat often used plant-like motifs to decoratively fill surfaces, as is shown by the ivy in this tapestry. The solid black backgrounds of his compositions further accentuate the stylization of his drawing.
© Fondation Lurçat - Académie des Beaux-Arts, Paris - Photo: UNESCO/A.N. Vorontzoff - Download058-canal_venice.jpg
PAGUENAUD, Jean - Canal in Venice, 1912
Oil painting on canvas, signed bottom right "Jean PAGUENAUD, 1912" - 112 x 202 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - September 1993
Artwork included in the global donation made to UNESCO of the Château Bois du Rocher (France) by the Aschberg family in 1956, and entered in the Collection following the auction held in 1993.
Country of origin - France
Donating country - France
This painting by Jean-Louis Paguenaud is a picturesque scene which takes place along the water of the Grand Canal in Venice. Paguenaud was interested in the water’s movement as well as the reflections from the boats and facades, and represented this Venetian atmosphere with a steady yet expressive stroke that reveals a certain quickness in his technique. Some areas are painted more thickly and give volume to this large-scale oil on canvas. The impastos in the upper part of the work form thick white layers which illuminate the work and attract the spectator’s eye. His technique of accentuating and enhancing the work recalls that of his contemporaries, especially Fernand Maillaud. The work illustrates Paguenaud’s sense of observation, as well as his talent as a colorist and skill for composition.
The date and signature allows us to confirm the affiliation of the painting to Jean-Louis Paguenaud. The signature is accompanied by a distinctive sign made up of two interlaced anchors that indicate the artist’s hesitation between two vocations, that of painter or sailor. The date of execution, 1912, corresponds to a specific artistic period, during which Paguenaud exhibited at the French Artists Salon in Paris.
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PANDANINI - Walk in the woods
Watercolor on paper, signed bottom left - 60 x 43 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - September 1993
Artwork included in the global donation made to UNESCO of the Château Bois du Rocher (France) by the Aschberg family in 1956, and entered in the Collection following the auction held in 1993.
Country of origin - France
Donating country - France
© All rights reserved - Photo : UNESCO/R.Fayad - Download060-ecuyere.jpg
VILLON, Jacques (1875-1963) - L'écuyère, after a painting from 1950
Color silk-screen on paper, numbered 100/250 lower left, signed lower right - 56.5 x 76 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - January 1965
Country of origin - France
© Adagp, Paris 2012 - Photo: UNESCO - Download061-death_ritual.jpg
VOISIN, Gérard (1934-) - Death ritual
Wood installation 200 x 400 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - September 2005
Donation made to UNESCO by the artist
Country of origin - France
« Rite de la Mort » est une sculpture en bois construite autour du thème funéraire africain, la scène représentant une statuette allongée encerclée par plusieurs sculptures de différentes tailles.
Cette scène est tirée d’une cérémonie funéraire en Afrique où les rites consistent à fixer le défunt dans sa dernière demeure, à le contenter, à lui faire comprendre que désormais il appartient à l’autre monde.
D’autant plus que ce « Rite de la Mort » permet de passer de la vie à la mort et d’accéder au statut d’ancêtre, le rite initiatique est tout autant un rite de passage qui assure la transmission du savoir, permettant également à l’enfant de passer dans l’âge adulte pour faire partie intégrante du fonctionnement social de la communauté. Il est considéré que « ce qui rend l'initiation privilégiée, c'est qu'elle se situe (presque) tout entière du côté de la culture, donc du groupe qui oriente son destin tandis que naissance et mort comportent un aspect "naturel", donc subi. (…) Si l'initiation maîtrise le temps, la naissance et la mort, par le jeu de rites qu'elles suscitent, s'efforcent de le surmonter".(«La terre africaine et ses religions, Louis Vincent Thomas et René Luneau, L'Harmattan, Paris, 1995)
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LAMMEYER, Prof. F. (1899-1995) - Untitled, 1963
Wool tapestry, after a design by Prof. F. Lammeyer (Editors G. Mohrhart and I. Richter) - 150 x 1250 cm
Room VIII
Date of entry at UNESCO - June 1967
Donation made to UNESCO by Germany as part of the global donation of Room VIII
Country of origin - Germany
© All rights reserved - Photo: UNESCO - Download064-family.jpg
METZKES, Harald (1929-) - The family
Oil painting on canvas, signed upper left - 131 x 130 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - January 1987
Country of origin - Germany
In this realistic work, Harald Metzkes allows us to penetrate into a family’s intimacy. Placed at the center of the composition, a child seems to take her first steps, under the caring, watchful eye of a young woman, probably her mother or sister. Despite the simplicity of the composition and the sobriety of the setting, the warm hues as well as the figures’ gestures create a soft and inviting atmosphere.
© All rights reserved - Photo: UNESCO - Download065-encounter_heart_painting.jpg
SCHUHR, Helga (Germany) & FATIS, Youssef (Libya) - Encounter at the heart of painting, 1998
Diptych- acrylic and fine paper on watercolor paper, signed and dated 28.9.1998 lower right on each painting - 210 x 300 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - December 2002
Donation made to UNESCO by Libya
Country of origin - Germany
Donating country - Libya
This artwork is the result of the artistic collaboration between two painters of different origin and culture: the German artist Helga Schuhr and the Libyan artist Youssef Fatis. On the occasion of her trip to Libya, Schuhr expressed her desire to collaborate with artists from that country and invite them to exhibit in a gallery in the Neuchâtel region, in Switzerland. It is within this context that Fatis and Schuhr met and built a friendship, expressed through these works they created together.
For this project, Fatis worked in Schuhr’s studio in Chez-le-Bart, Switzerland. They combined their techniques and cultures, creating not only a work full of spontaneity and life but also with the goal of communicating a message of peace thanks to their “encounter” through art. They “conversed” by means of their paintbrushes in order to transmit a message of hope, where one is not threatened by the person opposite him/her, but sees them rather as a source of encouragement. In this work, Fatis has lightened his intense palette of color as well as his usually more violent content, embracing Schuhr’s luminous colors. One can admire the strong red hues which contrast with the light blues found mostly in the background. Silhouettes of various figures, delicately outlined in black, are found on both parts of the painting; they seem to subtly emerge from the contrasting colors, pulling the spectator into a variation of repeated patterns, of simultaneously musical and visual rhythms. The close, intertwining silhouettes illustrate the feeling of proximity, dialogue and encouragement between human beings.
It is possible to distinguish two distinct techniques used for the silhouettes, some being uniquely composed of an outline whilst others, more detailed, allow the spectator to make out specific aspects of the figure, such as the face, mouth, etc. Schuhr’s style is recognizable in the less detailed, more expressive and rounded silhouettes, whereas Fatis’s drawings are more detailed.
© Youssef Fatis and Helga Schuhr - Photo: UNESCO/R. Fayad - Download066-funerary_ekythos.jpg
Anonymous - Funerary LEKYTHOS, 4th century B.C.
Alabaster Height 120 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - May 1979
Donation made to UNESCO by Greece
Country of origin - Greece
Donating country - Greece
The lekythos, according to its size, can serve various functions, and may be destined either for body care, or for funerary rituals, the latter being the case for this particular piece. Extremely popular during the Archaic (6th and 5th centuries B.C.) and Classical (5th and 4th centuries BC) periods, Athenian potters often made white lekythoi of significant size, i.e. over one meter, and usually out of marble. These would substitute the funerary steles in cemeteries, and help distinguish male tombs from female ones, female tombs being usually marked by amphorae with low handles. Some of these are still on location in the Ceramic Cemetery in Athens (located in to the West of the city); others may be found in certain museums, such as the Athens National Museum or Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
On this lekythos are portrayed two women discussing, one sitting whilst holding her veil, the other holding a pyxis (box) and bringing her other hand to her chin in sign of mourning. Engraved on the lekythos, the name ‘Nicomachus’ undoubtedly refers to the deceased.
This type of lekythos may be left empty or, in the case of a cremation, contain the ashes. During the same period, another type of double-handled vessel, the loutrophorus, also served the same funerary purposes. There also exist lekythoi with an average height of 15 to 50 centimeters, dating as early as the Geometric period (8th and 7th centuries B.C.), and usually containing ointments and essential oils for body care. These lekythoi were manufactured extensively in Attica between the 6th and 4th centuries BC, with a large variety of shapes and decorations, themes and compositions. Traditionally they were narrow, with one handle, a long neck, wide mouth and small base, such as the lekythos presented here. One variety of lekythoi however, the aryball, had a rounded vessel, a flat mouth and could be hung by a strap.
© All rights reserved - Photo: UNESCO/N. Burke - Download067-eolian_signals.jpg
TAKIS, Vassilakis (1925 - ) - Aeolian Signals, 1993
Five monumental mobile sculptures in black metal, with polychrome extremities on the arms
Date of entry at UNESCO - December 1993
Donation made to UNESCO by Greece
Country of origin - Greece
Donating country - Greece
Dimensions:
Green sculpture: 500 x 500 x 31 cm
Yellow sculpture no.1: 500 x 500 x 24 cm
Blue sculpture: 630 x 500 x 38 cm
Yellow sculpture no.2: 252 x 500 x 30 cm
Red sculpture: 630 x 500 x 38 cm
The "Aeolian Signals", an ensemble of five sculptures placed between the Fontenoy building and Noguchi’s Garden of the Peace, are the work of Vassilakis Takis, a self-taught Greek artist. Like a windmill, these mobile structures are in perpetual movement thanks to the wind. The minimalistic, simple shapes and primary colors of these sculptures are characteristic of his work. Takis studies immaterial sources of energy (such as wind, sound, light...) so as to see how they may be integrated into his creations. The strong creativity developed by Takis gives poetic force to his work.
The first of Takis’s "Signals" date from 1954 and consist of rods made with piano cords that create musical vibrations when colliding because of the wind. As of 1980, he began creating large-scale "Signals" and installing them outdoors. This also reflects Takis’s interest in the urban environment; other than the "Signals" at UNESCO, Takis has also installed a ‘forest’ of “aeolians” on the La Defense piazza in Paris, between 1984 and 1987.
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Anonymous - Jesus discussing among the doctors
Mosaic with frame, replica done in 1727 of a mosaic dating from the 5th century - 71 x 61 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - June 1980
Donation made to UNESCO by his Holiness the Pope Jean Paul II on the occasion of his first visit to Paris on June 2nd 1980.
Country of origin - Holy See
Donating country - Holy See
Dating from 1727, this work is a replica of a fifth-century mosaic found on the main arch of the Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica in Rome (Italy) illustrating the well-known passage where Jesus, at the age of twelve, is conversing with doctors (Luke 2, 46). At the center of the composition, the Christ is surrounded by the doctors, of which we see only hands and parts of their clothing. They are represented with tesserae – small cubic pieces of stone or marble – of light or reddish color in order to emphasize the Christ, depicted in more marked and diversified hues. Even if the lines are still slightly awkward, there is a semblance of depth as well as thought-out movement, where the hand gestures animate the work and seem to answer each other.
© All rights reserved - Photo: UNESCO/M. Claude - Download069-dreamers.jpg
MEJIA, Byron (1979- ) - Dreamers, 2012
Mixed media on canvas: acrylic, natural pigments, charcoal, ash - 120 x 170 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - December 2014
Donated to UNESCO by the Government of Honduras in September 2013
Country of origin - Honduras
Donating country - Honduras
« Dreamers » refers to the condition known to endless immigrants who every day leave their homes in order to walk down the long path of dreams in search of a better future; a future that no longer exists in their countries of origin, forgotten, set in indifference, the poor economy plunging them into wandering solitude. Mejía’s work captures this energetic burden through the colors created with natural pigments which also recall the organic, and our beginnings.
This painting belongs to a series in which Mejía expresses the tragic side of humanity and the inability of people to ensure the happiness of others above and before their own desire for material things and power. In this expressionist-style painting, he manages to create an oppressive and distressing atmosphere.
© All rights reserved - Photo: UNESCO - Download070-san_antonio_oriente.jpg
VELÁSQUEZ, Tulio E. (1940-) - San Antonio de Oriente
Oil on canvas, signed bottom left: TULIO E. VELÁSQUEZ Honduras, C.A. 1991 - 48.5 x 43.5 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - September 1993
Donation made to UNESCO by the Minister for Culture of Honduras
Country of origin - Honduras
Donating country - Honduras
© Tulio E. Velasquez - Photo: UNESCO - Download162-liberty.jpg
ABELARDO Espejo Tramblin (1946-) - Liberty, 1990-1993
Solid bronze sculpture - 37 x 19 x 4.5 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - December 1993
The sculpture "Liberty" was selected by UNESCO as symbol of the meeting "Peace the Day After" organized at Granada (Spain) in 1993.
Country of origin - Spain
The sculpture "Liberty" was received by Yasser Arafat and Shimon Peres during the UNESCO Conference "Peace the Day After" held in Granada in 1993. This sculpture was offered to Yasser Arafat, Shimon Peres,Federico Mayor Zaragoza , Javier Solana, Manuel Chaves and Jesus Quero among others. A smaller sculpture of 13 cm in height was offered as well to all the intellectual participants.
© Abelardo Espejo Tramblin - Photo: UNESCO/D. Matar - Download163-puerta_del_perdon.jpg
ABELARDO Espejo Tramblin (1946-) - Puerta Del Perdon, 2009
Bronze sculpture, numbered 8/11, signed and dated "Abelardo Espejo Tramblin, Paris XI-2009" - 19.5 x 13.5 x 10.5 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - December 2009
Donation made to UNESCO via the World Heritage Center by the "Junta de Castilla y Leon". The sculpture is part of a series commissioned in commemoration of the "Xacobeo 2010", and depicts Door of Forgiveness from the Church of Santiago de Villafranca del Bierzo.
Country of origin - Spain
Donating country - Spain
© Abelardo Espejo Tramblin - Photo : UNESCO - Download164-paz_sol.jpg
CARBONELL, Xavier (1942-) - La Paz y El Sol
Oil painting on canvas - 112 x 161 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - May 1989
Donation made to UNESCO by the artist trough the spanish Permanent Delegation on the occasion of the 50th Anniversary of UNESCO
Country of origin - Spain
Painted by Xavier Carbonell in 1988, the oil on canvas « Peace and sun » was donated to UNESCO the following year. This work represents, in a frontal position, four young individuals wearing their traditional African clothes. They are shown wearing different outfits, some decorated with a pattern of colored circles, other with more geometric patterns. They seem to gaze fixedly at the spectator, looking straight into their eyes. Their faces do not seem to express anything in particular and appear almost lifeless; only their eyes give any sign of expression.
The flight of several doves is intertwined with these four figures. The five birds of peace move towards the left of the work. The painting’s warm hues are highlighted by the white doves, which leave behind them a kind of clear aura, represented through small specks of white paint. They are like mystical beings, almost unreal; they sparkle over the entire scene, lighting the painting and giving it a touch of mystery.
Tones of orange and ochre are predominant in this work. The sky, brighter than the rest, extends over the entire upper half of the painting. More pronounced forms appear in the lower part of the work, where one can imagine a village. The colors are browner and separated by lines. A singular element of this composition should also be noted as it contrasts with this otherwise quiet, almost mystical representation: the number “555”, annotated at the bottom center.
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CHILLIDA, Eduardo (1924-2002) - Study for wind comb VI, 1968
Iron sculpture - 176 x 239 x 138 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - December 1970
Acquisition made by UNESCO in December 1970.
Country of origin - Spain
The theme of “Study for wind comb VI" is reccurrent in Chillida's work. One of his major artworks has the same title and is installed at Donostia-San Sebastian, upon three rocks directly connected to the sea. It is through his constructions, continually linked to the natural environment, that Chillida expressed his desire to be in total harmony with nature in order to find appeasement and rest. His art transcribes his utopic thoughts concerning a world at peace with itself.
The relation between the natural heritage and the one built by Man is also key for Chillida, who was constantly striving to reproduce nature’s perfection. Through a play on shape, volume and voids, he wished to recreate the natural environment upon which he builds his works. This was perhaps also a way for him to represent the feelings the landscape creates in him.
The theme of the wind comb is in this sense quite symbolic. Why build a comb for the wind? Is it to calm it down, control it, or disentangle it in order to bring back a lost harmony? It is important to note that the comb’s teeth are not all going in the same direction and do not all have the same shape. One could then wonder if it is really the comb which controls the blowing wind, as it should, or if on the contrary, it is the wind that has shaped - with its comings and goings- the teeth of the comb depicted here? This lyricism is used by Chillida to show the spectator that the heritage built by Man really takes on its meaning in accordance with the landscape and nature that surrounds it.
This sculpture was exhibited at the Musée du Jeu de Paume of Paris during the first anthological exhibition dedicated to Chillida (June - September 2001) , later held in Munich followed by Mexico in 2002
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FENOSA, Appel Les (1899-1988) - "Wrath", "Sylvia", and "Young woman walking"
Bronze sculptures
Date of entry at UNESCO - December 1998
Donation made to UNESCO the artist's widow
Country of origin - Spain
Dimensions
"Wrath" (1959), signed and numbered IV 5/59, 18x7x7,5 cm
"Sylvia" (1972), signed and numbered IV 5/72, 22x7x5 cm
"Young Woman Walking (1945), signed, 16x4,5x7 cm
The six bronze works acquired by UNESCO in 1998 (of which three are represented here), thanks to the donation made by the artist’s widow, represent the course of Fenosa's work. One can see his fantasy-like world in which female figures are gradually transformed into natural elements. This metamorphosis of female characters into spirits, mythical creatures that seem directly taken from Ovid's "Metamorphosis", appears to be the most recurrent theme in Fenosa's work. He was furthermore particularly sensitive to mythology or to precious shapes which only nature is capable of creating.
The great technical achievement in Fenosa’s work is in the fact that his bronze sculptures seem to come alive and be in perfect harmony with nature. The six statues also express the direction gradually taken by Fenosa, showing an increasingly important synthesis of form, even to the point of abstraction.
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FENOSA, Appel Les (1899-1988) - "The olive tree", "Beryl" y "Altaïr"
Bronze sculptures
Date of entry at UNESCO - December 1998
Donation made to UNESCO the artist's widow
Country of origin - Spain
© Fondation A. Fenosa - Photo: UNESCO/P. Lagès. "The Olive Tree" (1981) by A. les Fenosa - Download168-tauromaquia.jpg
GOYA, Francisco (1746-1828) - La tauromaquia (Bullfighting), 1816
Album of 33 etchings (+ 7 additional plates, number 47/150 of the Edition published by the Calcografía Nacional of Madrid in 1990. The first album was published by the artist himself in 1816 - 30.8 x 44.5 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - January 1990
Donation made to UNESCO by Spain
Country of origin - Spain
Donating country - Spain
“La Tauromaquia” by Francisco Goya is an album of 33 etchings first published by the engraver himself in 1816. Several other editions followed. As of the third edition by Loizelet in Paris in 1876, the series included seven additional plates, inventoried A to G. The series that belongs to UNESCO is set No. 47 of the 150 published by the Calcografia Nacional of Madrid in 1990.
For this series, Goya had executed 50 preparatory red chalk drawings, which he engraved in two steps: first a few trial proofs taken from the pure etching state, then with the aquatint in order to vary lighting and dramatize the scene. By basing his series on the historical text by Moratin to trace the evolution of these races from their origin until 1800, Goya was addressing aficionados of the theme. He also depicted the exploits of the most famous bullfighters of his time: Pedro Romero, inventor of the classic rules, Ceballos, from Argentina, Martincho, well known for his acrobatics and Pepe Illo, illustrious for his exuberance. After the sarcasm in his “Caprichos” and the tragedy of his “Disasters”, Goya illustrated a more serene inspiration coming from his childhood memories. He recreated with precision the graceful gestures of “lidia”, or chose in “suertes” the most emotional moment.
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GUINOVART, Josep (1927-2007) - Terra vertical
Mixed media - 242 x 124 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - December 1989
Donation made to UNESCO by the Generalitat of Catalonia
Country of origin - Spain
As most of Josep Guinovart’s works, Terra Vertical is designed following the traditional principles of composition and structure of shapes and colors. Gifted to UNESCO in 1989 by the Generalitat of Catalonia, the work is composed by two rectangular panels of wood connected together. The look is first attracted to the central white pyramid-like mass structured by painted pieces of wood. The background consists in patches of acrylic browns and ochers flats punctuated by black and white geometric shapes marked with chalk. The verticality of the wood in the center of the composition accentuates the monumental effect of the whole artwork.
© Mercedes de Josep Guinovart - Photo : UNESCO - Download170-rose_black_outline.jpg
HERNÁNDEZ PIJUAN, Joan (1931-2005) - Rose in black outline, 1989
Indian ink painting on paper, signed and dated lower right - 186 x 94 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - November 1990
Donation made to UNESCO by the Generalitat of Catalonia
Country of origin - Spain
Donating country - Spain
Réalisé en 1989, Rose au trait noir de Joan Hernández-Pijuan, fût offerte l’année suivante à l’initiative de la Generalitat de Catalogne, (Espagne) généreuse envers l’UNESCO en matière de donation d’œuvres d’art. La pureté émane de cette œuvre ; celle d’un trait noir à l’encre de Chine travaillé à l’épaisseur sur papier blanc, technique évoquant le savoir faire ancestral de la calligraphie chinoise. Au sein d’une composition très épurée, la rose se déployant sur toute la hauteur de la feuille, exerce un mouvement ascendant accentuant la verticalité du support. L’œuvre est datée et signée en bas à gauche.
Imprégné par la nature et ses ressources durant toute sa carrière, l’artiste en livre des « portraits » conceptuels ; des paysages très épurés où les aplats de couleur dégradés sont nuancés par des éléments de graphisme. Dans l’œuvre que nous décrivons ici c’est l’acte de création qui prévaut sur les moyens d’expression plastiques, le dessin au trait unique mettant en exergue le geste de l’écriture.
© HERNÁNDEZ PIJUAN, S.L. - Photo: UNESCO/D. Matar - Download171-del_apats.jpg
LANUZA, Adrià (1940 - ) - Del Apats
Oil painting on canvas - 160 x 195 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - March 1989
Country of origin - Spain
© adrià lanuza - Photo: UNESCO/N. Burke - Download172-seated_couple.jpg
LAVERON, Elena (1938-) - Pareja Sentada (Seated couple)
Bronze sculpture with green patina, signed "Laveron" and numbered "3/3" on verso - 166 x 182 x 103 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - December 1992
Donation made to UNESCO by the Spanish partners in the UN Pavilion following the exhibition of the sculpture in the United Nations Pavilion at the Universal World Fair in Seville (Spain) in 1992.
Country of origin - Spain
Pareja Sentada (« Couple Assis ») d’Elena Laverón a été dévoilée pour la première fois lors de l’Exposition Universelle de 1992 à Séville au pavillon des Nations Unis. Accueillit à l’UNESCO la même année, elle orne désormais l’une des cours du bâtiment de l’Organisation situé rue Miolis (XVe arrondissement de Paris). Le couple se compose de deux figures assises sur un banc, l’une féminine et l’autre masculine. Tandis que l’homme semble enlacer sa compagne en passant son bras par dessus l’épaule de cette dernière, la femme répond à ce geste de tendresse en se tournant légèrement vers lui. Leurs épaules et leurs jambes se confondent au centre de la composition, le couple ne formant qu’une seule et même entité, traversée par des surfaces vides.
© Elena Laveron - Photo: UNESCO/N. Burke - Download174-moon.jpg
MIRO, Joan (1893-1983), with José Llorens ARTIGAS - The moon, 1958
Ceramic mural - 220 x 750 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - December 1957
Acquired by UNESCO for the artistic decoration of its Headquarters in Paris in 1958.
Country of origin - Spain
In 1957, UNESCO's “Committee on Architecture and Works of Art” organized a competition for the decoration of the Organization's permanent headquarters in Paris, inaugurated in 1958. Only eleven artists were selected, among which the Spanish painter and sculptor Joan Miró for the execution of a ceramic mural, a project for which he received the Guggenheim Prize the same year. The work is composed of two murals, the “Wall of the Moon” and “Wall of the Sun” placed perpendicular to each other . Initially placed outdoors, the works were later covered for conservation purposes.
These works were conceived during a period when the artist was interested in ceramics and abstract painting. Miró had made his first ceramics in 1944, in collaboration with the ceramist Josep Llorens Artigas. Their research mostly concerned the contrast between the rigidity of the material used and the naïve drawing made with sinuous lines. For his works at UNESCO, Miró primary concern was to integrate them into the architectural context of the buildings. His polychrome murals were meant to answer the coldness and rigidity of the buildings.
© UNESCO all rights reserved and J. Gardy Artigas - Photo: UNESCO - Download173-sun.jpg
MIRÓ, Joan (1893-1983) avec José Llorens ARTIGAS - The sun, 1958
Ceramic mural, made up of 585 ceramic tiles - 220 x 1500 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - December 1957
Acquired by UNESCO for the artistic decoration of its Headquarters in Paris in 1958.
Country of origin - Spain
In 1957, UNESCO's “Committee on Architecture and Works of Art” organized a competition for the decoration of the Organization's permanent headquarters in Paris, inaugurated in 1958. Only eleven artists were selected, among which the Spanish painter and sculptor Joan Miró for the execution of a ceramic mural, a project for which he received the Guggenheim Prize the same year. The work is composed of two murals, the “Wall of the Moon” and “Wall of the Sun” placed perpendicular to each other . Initially placed outdoors, the works were later covered for conservation purposes.
These works were conceived during a period when the artist was interested in ceramics and abstract painting. Miró had made his first ceramics in 1944, in collaboration with the ceramist Josep Llorens Artigas. Their research mostly concerned the contrast between the rigidity of the material used and the naïve drawing made with sinuous lines. For his works at UNESCO, Miró primary concern was to integrate them into the architectural context of the buildings. His polychrome murals were meant to answer the coldness and rigidity of the buildings.
© UNESCO all rights reserved and J. Gardy Artigas - Photo: UNESCO/G. Nicolas - Download175-icarus_fall.jpg
PICASSO, Pablo (1881-1973) - The fall of Icarus, 1958
Acrylic on forty wooden panels, covering a surface of circa 90 m² - 910 x 1060 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - December 1958
Acquisition made by UNESCO for the artistic decoration of its Headquarters in Paris in 1958.
Country of origin - Spain
In 1957, the UNESCO “Committee on Architecture and Works of Art”, in collaboration with the Committee of art advisors, chose eleven artists to undertake the task of decorating the permanent headquarters in Paris, inaugurated in 1958. In this context, UNESCO commissioned a painted mural from Pablo Picasso. The artist began his studies for the decoration of the new Parisian building in December 1957 and filled two notebooks with sketches of bathing figures and nudes, in the style of his series of Bathers from 1956. On January 29, 1958, the artist completed the final scale model for this immense work. Two months later, the mural was presented to Luther Evans (1902-1981), UNESCO’s Director General from 1953 to 1958, in the presence of the President of the UNESCO Executive Board, as well as Georges Salles (1889-1966), the second President of the ICOM from 1953 to1959 and Vice President of the Committee of art advisors.
The mural is made up of forty wooden panels painted in acrylic, covering a surface of almost one hundred square meters. It represents a beach scene, with standing and reclining figures, animated by a figure falling, arms and legs flailing, towards the imposing blue surface of the ocean. Initially titled «The Forces of Life and the Spirit Triumphing over Evil », the composition was renamed in 1958 by George Salles, who preferred the current title, “The Fall of Icarus”.
© Succession Picasso 2012 - Photo: UNESCO/J.-C. Bernath - Download176-soleil_eclatant.jpg
PUJOL-AVELLANA - Soleil éclatant, 1970
Acrylic on canvas, signed lower right - 175 x 195 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - December 1981
Donation made to UNESCO by the artist
Country of origin - Spain
© Pujol Avellana - Photo: UNESCO - Download177-accent_rosa.jpg
RAFOLS-CASAMADA, Albert (1923-2009) - Accent rosa, 1983
Acrylic painting on canvas - 102 x 83 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - November 1990
Donation faite à l'UNESCO par la Generalitat de Catalogne
Country of origin - Spain
© All rights reserved - Photo: UNESCO/TFT - Download178-barcelona.jpg
SOLER, Cachi (1936-) - Barcelona
Oil painting on canvas - 73 x 100 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - March 1994
Donation made to UNESCO by the artist
Country of origin - Spain
© All rights reserved - Photo: UNESCO - Download179-totes_coses.jpg
TAPIES, Antoni (1923 -2012) - Totes les coses (All the things)
Painting and mixed media on hessian - 250 x 450 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - December 1995
Donation made to UNESCO by the artist on the occasion of the the Organization's 50th anniversary.
Country of origin - Spain
It was during an interview in the artist's studio that Mr. Federico Mayor, Director General of UNESCO from 1987 to 1999, asked Antoni Tàpies if he would create a work for UNESCO. In 1995, on the occasion of UNESCO’s 50th anniversary and during a ceremony at which Tàpies received an award, he presented his work, "Totes les coses" (All the Things) as a donation to the Organization.
This canvas appears to gather all the objects and symbols that the painter likes to use in conveying his message – a message of which he said in his text “The practice of art” (1970): “If the public at large reaches a point where they are in perfect harmony with certain artistic mediums, it is because these mediums, having become too satisfactory, have lost all virulence. Without shock, art cannot exist”. Rightly enough, his mix of techniques and materials, often said to be poor or elementary, create shock. In "Totes les coses", Tàpies mixes calligraphic elements along with thick strokes of black paint for the cross (the most recurrent symbol in his work), or diluted ink. Clay dust is used for the ochre background of the painting, against which the artist places neutral objects from daily life, including the broom on the left, which seems to have served as a paintbrush for the cross, or the lid from a can of paint - the only white element in the work
© All rights reserved - Photo: UNESCO/ N. Burke - Download180-painting.jpg
VILA-GRAU, Joan (1932-) - Pintura (Painting), 1979
Mixed media on wood, signed lower left - 74 x 62 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - December 1989
Donation made to UNESCO by the Generalitat of Catalonia
Country of origin - Spain
Donating country - Spain
"Pintura"("Painting") represents only one aspect of Joan Vila-Grau's prolific career. Signed on the bottom left, this work of art belongs to a series of paintings called « Tanques » created during the 1970’s. Arranged in two successive levels, this piece is entirely made of wood, the artist’s first material of choice. Created in 1979, it results from his in-depth thinking about the blending of shapes and colors into a traditional two-dimensional support. The title "Pintura" is supposed to underline his concept of mixing the traditional base of the canvas and using wood to somehow “paint” on it.
As an architect his logical mind drove him to think about how to combine shapes onto a limited space. In this case, the anthropomorphic sculpture formed by gathered pieces of wood, arises from the limited ground. This figure is composed by a wide and imposing torso with two arms and a head, looking like a primitive totem.
© Joan Vila Grau - Photo: UNESCO - Download181-walking_man.jpg
GIACOMETTI, Alberto (1901 - 1966) - Walking man I, 1960
Bronze sculpture, inscribed 'Alberto Giacometti' and 'Epreuve de l'UNESCO' (UNESCO proof) on the base; with foundry mark Susse Fondeur Paris - 183 x 25.5 x 95 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - December 1970
Acquisition made by UNESCO in 1969.
Country of origin - Switzerland
Alberto Giacometti created a filiform and stylized figure, whose limbs seem to stretch out endlessly, as a symbol of the human being. A combination both of strange fragility and strong determination is expressed in this unrealistic figure.
Impenetrable yet disconcerting, Giacometti’s male figure has no individualized aspect; he is depicted only with his strangely uneven skin. Because of the lack of specific identification on his face, this figure exalts a universal impact which exerts an intriguing fascination on the spectator. Through this sculpture, Giacometti managed to capture the decisive moment where a man reveals an internal strength which stems from his own energy and momentum.
Alberto Giacometti’s walking man does not ask himself any questions; he simply comes from somewhere and is on his way elsewhere. His gaze fixed on the horizon, he strides decisively, forward in order to discover, to understand, as if he has a goal to pursue. With an awakened conscience, he travels through time to observe the world. His feet, anchored in the ground, connect him inevitably to the earth with which he is one. It is the whole body which here moves through an oblique force, towards a future to be created.
© Succession Giacometti (Fondation Giacometti, Paris & ADAGP, Paris) 2012 - Photo : UNESCO/R. Fayad - Download182-wool_tapestry.jpg
LE CORBUSIER (1887 - 1965) - UNESCO, 1956
Wool tapestry ('Pinton Frères' workshop, Aubusson Manufacture) - 350 x 680 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - September 1962
Donation made to UNESCO by Switzerland in 1962.
Country of origin - Switzerland
Donating country - Switzerland
This work, donated by Switzerland and included into UNESCO’s Collection in 1962, is a tapestry executed by the Pinton Frères workshops in Aubusson, in 1956, based on a cartoon by Le Corbusier.
Originating in Asia and North Africa, the art of tapestry-making is said to have been practiced in Aubusson from the 15th century onward, and was particularly renowned during the reign of Louis XIV, when the Prime Minister Colbert designated Aubusson as a royal tapestry manufacture. This artistic technique later fell into obscurity, and was only properly rediscovered in the 1930s, thanks to the painter Jean Lurçat.
This tapestry by Le Corbusier represents, in an abstract manner, the layout of the buildings at UNESCO's headquarters in Paris. Its pure composition resembles the architectural works of Le Corbusier, who is particularly known for his efforts for refined and simple designs, rendering his style clear, organized, and orderly.
Le Corbusier here applies colors solidly, juxtaposing vibrant, pure hues in his composition. These colors are presented in the form of uniform layers. Side by side on the surface, they at once contrast violently with the neighboring colors and the white background. The lines on the tapestry, of varying thickness, alternate between straight and curved, giving the composition a balanced sense of construction and fluidity. The forms seem to complete and respond to each other, and the observer perceives an alternation between the empty and filled spaces.
© F.L.C./Adagp, Paris - Photo : UNESCO/J.C. Bernath - Download183-untitled.jpg
Makonde Art - Untitled
Black ebony sculpture, in the Ujamaa style of Makonde art - 150 x 35 x 30 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - October 1994
Donation made to UNESCO by the United Republic of Tanzania
Country of origin - Tanzania Un. Rep.
Donating country - Tanzania Un. Rep.
Makonde culture currently extends along the Rovuma River, on the border between Tanzania and Mozambique. The Makonde people are today internationally renowned for their sculpture, thanks to the extremely contemporary style they have developed by moving away from traditional forms of sculpture yet keeping the cultural aspects of Central-African traditions in their themes.
The sculpture in UNESCO’s collection is representative of the Ujamaa style. Also known as Dimongo, Ujamaa designates all family duties that are shared and performed in common. This type of sculpture is characterized by the representation of intertwined human figures performing chores, presented in a tall, round shape. This composition is often organized around a central patriarchal figure; in some cases the center is hollowed out, and the silhouettes intertwine around a hollow centre instead of a figure. These sculptures can also evoke more dramatic themes or allegories of social situations.
184-thailand.jpg
POO-AREE, Manit (1935-) - Thailand
Lithograph, number 1/1 monotype - 27.94 x 36.83 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - January 1966
Country of origin - Thailand
Donating country - Thailand
© All rights reserved - Photo: UNESCO - Download185-tapa_cloth.jpg
Anonymous - Tapa Cloth
Tongan Tapa cloth; fabric made out of beaten tree bark - 140 x 370 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - December 2008
Donated to UNESCO by Tonga, and presented by the President of the 31st session of the World Heritage Committee, Mr. Tumu te Heuheu, on the occasion of the inauguration of the 34th UNESCO General Conference on October 16, 2007.
Country of origin - Tonga
© All rights reserved - Photo: UNESCO - Download072_1-composition.jpg
VASARELY, Victor (1906-1997) - Composition (no. 240/250 (1))
Silk-screen, signed lower right, numbered "240/250" lower left - 99 x 99 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - May 1979
Acquisition made by UNESCO in 1979
Country of origin - Hungary
© Succession Vasarely - Photo: UNESCO/ D. Roger - Download081-composition.jpg
VASARELY, Victor (1906-1997) - Composition (no. 240/250 (4))
Silk-screen, signed lower right, numbered "240/250" lower left - 77,5 x 77,5 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - May 1979
Acquisition made by UNESCO in 1979
Country of origin - Hungary
© Succession Vasarely - Photo: UNESCO/ D. Roger - Download080-composition.jpg
VASARELY, Victor (1906-1997) - Composition (no. 240/250 (2))
Silk-screen, signed lower right, numbered "240/250" lower left - 97 x 97 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - May 1979
Acquisition made by UNESCO in 1979
Country of origin - Hungary
© Succession Vasarely - Photo: UNESCO/D. Roger - Download082-composition.jpg
VASARELY, Victor (1906-1997) - Composition (no. FVP 11/25)
Silk-screen, signed lower right, numbered "FVP 11/25" lower left - 54.8 x 54.8 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - December 1985
Donation made to UNESCO by the artist
Country of origin - Hungary
© Succession Vasarely - Photo: UNESCO - Download71-composition_purple.jpg
VASARELY, Victor (1906-1997) - Composition in purple
Silk-screen, un-signed - 80 x 80 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - December 1985
Country of origin - Hungary
© Succession Vasarely - Photo: UNESCO/R.Fayad - Download072-composition.jpg
VASARELY, Victor (1906-1997) - Composition (no. 245/250)
Silk-screen, signed lower right, numbered "245/250" lower left - 84 x 84 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - May 1979
Donation made to UNESCO by the artist
Country of origin - Hungary
© Succession Vasarely - Photo: UNESCO - Download073-composition.jpg
VASARELY, Victor (1906-1997) - Composition (no. EA I/XX)
Silk-screen, signed below center, numbered "E.A. I/X" - 82 x 76 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - May 1985
Donation made to UNESCO by the artist
Country of origin - Hungary
© Succession Vasarely - Photo: UNESCO - Download083-city_neu.jpg
VASARELY, Victor (1906-1997) - City-Neu, 1985
Acrylic painting on canvas, signed lower right - 220 x 801 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - December 1985
Acquisition made by UNESCO in 1985
Country of origin - Hungary
© Succession Vasarely - Photo: UNESCO/A.N. Vorontzoff - Download084-composition_babel.jpg
VASARELY, Victor (1906-1997) - "BABEL-3"
Silk-screen from "Babel-3" series - 91 x 71 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - December 1985
Donation made to UNESCO by the artist
Country of origin - Hungary
© Succession Vasarely - Photo: UNESCO - Download073_1-composition.jpg
VASARELY, Victor (1906-1997) - Compostion (no. EA III/XX)
Silk-screen, signed and numbered "E.A. III/XXX" below center in pencil - 59.8 x 46 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - December 1985
Donation made to UNESCO by the artist
Country of origin - Hungary
© Succession Vasarely - Photo: UNESCO - Download086-composition.jpg
VASARELY, Victor (1906-1997) - Composition (no. 240/250 (3))
Silk-screen, signed lower right, numbered "240/250" lower right in pencil - 97 x 97 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - May 1979
Acquisition made by UNESCO in 1979
Country of origin - Hungary
© Succession Vasarely - Photo: UNESCO/D. Roger - Download087-composition.jpg
VASARELY, Victor (1906-1997) - Composition (no. 75/100)
Silk-screen, signed lower right, numbered "75/100" lower left in pencil - 29.9 x 26.8 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - December 1985
Donation made to UNESCO by the artist
Country of origin - Hungary
© Succession Vasarely - Photo: UNESCO - Download089-composition.jpg
VASARELY, Victor (1906-1997) - Composition (no. EA V/X)
Silk-screen, signed and numbered below in pencil "EA V/X" - 40 x 30 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - December 1985
Donation made to UNESCO by the artist
Country of origin - Hungary
© Succession Vasarely - Photo: UNESCO - Download085-composition.jpg
VASARELY, Victor (1906-1997) - Composition (no. 236/250)
Silk-screen, signed lower right, numbered "236/250" lower left - 97 x 97 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - May 1979
Donation made to UNESCO by the artist
Country of origin - Hungary
© Succession Vasarely - Photo: UNESCO/D. Roger - Download088-composition.jpg
VASARELY, Victor (1906-1997) - Composition (no. 244/250)
Silk-screen, signed lower right, numbered "244/250" lower left - 80 x 80 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - December 1985
Donation made to UNESCO by the artist
Country of origin - Hungary
© Succession Vasarely - Photo: UNESCO - Download075-composition.jpg
VASARELY, Victor (1906-1997) - Composition (no. 220/250)
Silk-screen, signed lower right, numbered lower left "220/500" - 46 x 28 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - December 1985
Donation made to UNESCO by the artist
Country of origin - Hungary
© Succession Vasarely - Photo: UNESCO - Download078-composition_red.jpg
VASARELY, Victor (1906-1997) - Composition in red
Silk-screen, signed bottom center - 80 x 80 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - December 1985
Country of origin - Hungary
© Succession Vasarely - Photo: UNESCO/R.Fayad - Download079-composition.jpg
VASARELY, Victor (1906-1997) - Composition FV.30/40
Silk-screen, signed lower right and numbered "30/40" lower left - 58 x 118 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - December 1985
Donation made to UNESCO by the artist
Country of origin - Hungary
© Succession Vasarely - Photo: UNESCO - Download074-composition.jpg
VASARELY, Victor (1906-1997) - Composition (no. 240/250 (5))
Silkscreen on paper, signed lower right, numbered "240/250" lower left - 99 x 99 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - May 1979
Acquisition made by UNESCO in 1979
Country of origin - Hungary
© Succession Vasarely - Photo: UNESCO/R.Fayad - Download077-composition.jpg
VASARELY, Victor (1906-1997) - Composition (no. 239/250)
Silk-screen, signed lower right and numbered "239/250" lower left - 97 x 97 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - January 1985
Donation made to UNESCO by the artist
Country of origin - Hungary
© Succession Vasarely - Photo: UNESCO/D.Roger - Download076-composition_yellow.jpg
VASARELY, Victor (1906-1997) - Composition in yellow
Silk-screen, un-signed - 80 x 80 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - December 1985
Country of origin - Hungary
© Succession Vasarely - Photo: UNESCO/R.Fayad - Download091-homage_van_gogh.jpg
ERRO (1932-) - Homage to Van Gogh, 2008
Color silkscreen on paper, numbered "1/25"lower left, signed "Erro 2008" lower right - 71.5 x 105 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - September 2008
Donated to UNESCO by the artist on the occasion of the official inauguration of his work "Thor's Story" offered by the Governement of Iceland.
Country of origin - Iceland
Donating country - Iceland
On the occasion of the unveiling of his painting “Thor’s Story” – donated by Iceland in 2007 - at UNESCO Headquarters, Erró donated another of his works, the silkscreen “Homage to Van Gogh”. This work entered UNESCO’s collections in September 2008; it is meant as a tribute to one of the most famous figures of Dutch painting, which he has always admired.
The composition is organized according to the linear principles of perspective: the vanishing point, situated in the center of the composition, just above the mountain summit, is made clearly visible thanks to a series of portraits and the constructed, three-dimensional architectural elements. Although a great figure of Post-Impressionism, Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890) is also famous for the legendary image of him as a tortured and misunderstood artiste, a myth especially built up after his death. Erró here wanted to depict the different aspects of his life and work.
© Erró - Photo: UNESCO/R.Fayad - Download092-thor_story.jpg
ERRO (1932-) - THOR'S Story, 1999
Alkyd paint on canvas - 220 x 340 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - December 2007
Donation made to UNESCO by the Ministry of Culture, Education and Science of Iceland in 2007, in recognition of UNESCO and the important work carried out by the Organization in its areas of competence these past 60 years.
Thor’s Story, painted by the Icelandic artist Erró in 1999, was integrated into UNESCO’s Collection in December 2007 after having been presented to the UNESCO Advisory Committee on Works of Art during its second meeting.
This work can be placed within the school of Narrative Figuration, which started in France in the 1960s. Erró here depicts a mythological theme: the story of the god Thor and his last battle against the giant serpent that will bring him to his death. As all Nordic gods, Thor is mortal, his end being foretold during a big cataclysm, the day of Ragnarök. Son of Odin (king of the gods) and Jord (incarnation of Earth), Thor is the god of physical strength and thunder. Protector of man against the giants, he was amongst the most worshipped of Nordic gods, and remains even today one of the most well-known.
© Erró - Photo: Erró - Download093-gandhi.jpg
SWAMY, S.N. - GANDHI
Oil painting on canvas, signed lower right "Swamy" - 128 x 98 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - April 1957
Donation made to UNESCO by India
Country of origin - India
Donating country - India
© All rights reserved - Photo : UNESCO - Download094-borobudur.jpg
Indonesian craftsmen - Temple of Borobudur
Miniature model in solid oak of the Borobudur Temple - 133 x 133 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - October 1978
Country of origin - Indonesia
Donating country - Indonesia
© All rights reserved - Photo: UNESCO/R.Fayad - Download095-death_kumbakarna.jpg
MANDRA, Nyorman - The death of KUMBAKARNA
Acrylic painting on canvas, in the classic Balinese style - 148.5 x 198 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - October 1977
Country of origin - Indonesia
Donating country - Indonesia
© All rights reserved - Photo: UNESCO - Download096-sea_voices.jpg
ASSAR, Nasser (1928 - 2011) - Sea Voices, 1964
Oil painting on canvas, signed and dated lower left "N. ASSAR 64" - 89 x 116 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - December 1989
Country of origin - Iran
© Adagp, Paris 2012 - Photo: UNESCO/R.Fayad - Download097-message_mesopotamia.jpg
AL-KAABI, Saadi (1937-) - Message from Mesopotamia
Mixed media - 250 x 250 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - October 2001
Donation made to UNESCO by the Permanent Delegation of Irak
Country of origin - Iraq
Donating country - Iraq
© All rights reserved - Photo: UNESCO/P.Lagès - Download098-iraq_relics.jpg
Antiquities - Relics from Iraq, dating from 3000 to 1700 B.C.
Clay tablets (2036-1985 B.C.), hematite cylinder-seal(circa 1700 B.C.) and flat stone seal (3000 B.C.)
Date of entry at UNESCO - December 1971
Donation made by Iraq on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of UNESCO in 1971.
Country of origin - Iraq
Donating country - Iraq
Clay tablets
Shown in photo (from left):
- Rectangular clay tablet bearing an adminstrative text concerning state grain revenue, dating from the reign of Shu-sin (2036-2028 B.C.). H 11 x W 7 x D 1,5 cm;
-Rectangular clay tablet bearing an adminstrative text concerning state livestock revenue, dating from the reign of Ishbi-Irra (2017-1985 B.C.). H 9 x W 6 x D 1,5 cm
The apparition of clay tablets dates back to the 4th millennium B.C. and is linked to the birth of the first Sumerian writing, proto-cuneiform writing. These tablets are shaped like small square or rectangular (occasionally round) cushions and are flat on the front and rounded on the back. The technique consisted of tracing the cuneiform characters in the soft clay using a sharp reed. The text was written either in squares or horizontal lines, laid out in one or several columns on the front, back and often sides of the tablet.
© All rights reserved - Photo: UNESCO. Clay tablets bearing cuneiform writings, dating between 2036 and 1985 B.C. - Download099-door_peace.jpg
GHANI, Mohammed (1929-2011) - The door of peace
Door sculpted in high-relief with frame in gaboon wood; signed lower right 'M GHANI' - 228 x 161 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - January 1987
Country of origin - Iraq
These wood elements were offered by the Republic of Iraq in 1986 to decorate a door frame and two door panels. The Iraqi sculptor Mohammed Ghani wanted a space free of other decoration so that his « Door of Peace », or « Door of Paradise », would stand out. Made of okoumé wood, a light, soft wood with uniform grain, coming from Gabon, this work was sculpted directly in the workshops of UNESCO’s Headquarters, where Ghani worked during five weeks. Through its undulating and stylized patterns which evoke a bird - probably a dove as symbol of Peace - nestled in a rhythmic network of foliage, this door gives off a sense of life and energy.
© All rights reserved - Photo: UNESCO/C. Bablin - Download100-wave_mesopotamia.jpg
SALIM, Leila - A wave from Mesopotamia, 1998
Oil painting on canvas - 79 x 89.5 cm
Hall 2° piso, Fontenoy
Date of entry at UNESCO - October 2001
Donation made to UNESCO by Iraq
Country of origin - Iraq
© All rights reserved - Photo: UNESCO - Download101-tolerance_square.jpg
KARAVAN, Dani (1930 -) - Tolerance Square
Environmental installation
Date of entry at UNESCO - May 1996
Donation made by the state of Israel and the artist, inaugurated May 1st, 1996, dedicated to the promotion of Peace by UNESCO and in hommage to the Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, who had a significant role concerning peace in the Middle East, assasinated November 4 1995.
Country of origin - Israel
The "Tolerance Square" by Dani Karavan is a donation made by the artist and the State of Israel. Its construction was undertaken at UNESCO Headquarters from 1993 to 1996, next to the Japanese Garden and the work "Aeolian Signs" (1993) by Vassilakis Takis.
This monument, dedicated to the promotion of Peace by UNESCO, is composed of several elements. An olive tree has been planted on an artificial hill, both as a symbol of peace but also an element referring to Karavan’s personal biography. "Everything I do comes from my personal story," says Dani Karavan, "My father was a gardener and landscape artist for the city of Tel Aviv. He transplanted an old olive tree in our garden and I grew up with it, it became my friend and has always accompanied me until today.
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AFRO BASALDELLA (1912-1976) - Jardin de l'espérance (Garden of hope), 1958
Oil painting on laid down canvas, signed and dated lower right "Afro 1958" - 290 x 700 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - January 1958
Acquisition made by UNESCO for the artistic decoration of the Headquarters building in Paris, in 1958
Country of origin - Italy
In 1957, UNESCO’s "Committee for Architecture and works of art" organized a competition for the artistic decoration of the Organization’s permanent headquarters; only eleven artists were selected, among which Afro Basaldella. The committee members included the architects who built the buildings, Bernard Zehrfuss, Marcel Breuer, Luigi Nervi, as well as C. Para-Perez who chaired the “Committee of Art Advisors” responsible for guiding the selection of works, and which included Georges Salles, Shahid Subrawardy and Herbert Read.
Afro Basaldella’s "Garden of Hope" was selected along with works by Roberto Matta and Karel Appel, in order to decorate the 7th floor at the time of the construction of the Fontenoy Building.
Afro’s work represents the hope of Humanity following its escape from the horror of 1945: the hope of leaving behind the chaos and the barbarism, in the search for harmony and joy. This hope is found in the preamble of the United Nations’ Charter, which begins with: "We, the peoples of the United Nations determined to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war...” As for the Preamble of UNESCO’s Constitution, one can read that Peace "must be founded, if is not to fail, upon the intellectual and moral solidarity of mankind." Thus, UNESCO’s mission, within the United Nations system, is to strengthen human solidarity by acting in its fields of competence: education, science, culture and communication, in order to allow peace to take root.
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AJOLFI, Elia (1916-2001) - Composition with exotic birds
Bronze sculpture, numbered 1/3 - 180 x 101 x 35 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - September 1986
Donation made to UNESCO by the Holy See
Country of origin - Italy
Donating country - Holy See
This sculpture by Elia Ajolfi entitled “Composition with exotic birds” represents three birds as symbols of education, science and culture - UNESCO's areas of action - as well as emblems of freedom, love and peace.
In mythology, the bird is generally a symbol of the spirit, rebirth and light. Throughout history, humans have attributed to the bird a wide range of popular and lyrical imagery. Emblem of hope and liberty, it is capable of shouldering all man’s aspirations, and thus also reflects what UNESCO strives for through its activities and actions worldwide.
© L&G Ajolfi - Photo: UNESCO/TF - Download104-arrow.jpg
POMODORO, Arnaldo (1926-) - La freccia (The Arrow) 1993-1995
Bronze sculpture, signed, dated and numbered "Arnaldo Pomodoro, 1993/95, 2/2" - 198 x 468 x 167 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - November 2003
Donation made to UNESCO by the President of the Italian Republic
Country of origin - Italy
Donating country - Italy
This sculpture was donated to UNESCO on the occasion of the visit of the President of the Italian Republic, Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, during UNESCO’s 31st General Conference held in November 2003. It was first placed in the Fontenoy Piazza and then moved in October 2004 to the Bonvin Piazza. Another version of "La Freccia" was exhibited at the Museo d'Arte Moderna in Lugano (Switzerland) from 26 March to 13 June 2004.
Pomodoro’s work surprises the spectator because of the paradox he creates between the geometric importance of the sculpture and his work on the inside of the material. The bronze in “La Freccia" gives the impression of having been ripped open, leaving apparent cracks and suggesting the fragility of the material.
© Arnaldo Pomodoro - Photo: Arnaldo Pomodoro - Download106-meditation_space.jpg
ANDO, Tadao (1941-) - Chairs, Meditation Space
Cast iron chairs - 131.5 x 49.5 x 42.5 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - December 1995
Donation made to UNESCO by the artist after the construction of the "Meditation Space"
Country of origin - Japan
Inside the "Meditation Space", the visitor can sit upon one of those identical cast-iron chairs with extremely high and steady backs. Once seated upon one of these chairs, the rigidity of the back forces one to keep straight, in a solemn posture. This incites a contemplation upon oneself.
© Tadao Ando. All rights reserved - Photo : UNESCO/N. Burke - Download105-meditation_space.jpg
ANDO, Tadao (1941-) - Meditation Space
Raw concrete cylindrical structure of 33 m²; ground and basin made granite exposed to radiation during the bombing of Hiroshima on August 6th 1945, later decontaminated and used here. Entire site circa 350 m²; ground surface circa 33m²; height circa 6,5m.
Date of entry at UNESCO - October 1995
Commissioned by UNESCO in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the adoption of the Organization’s Constitution and financed thanks to numerous Japanese donors. The work was inaugurated on the 25th of October, at the opening of the 28th session of the General Conference at UNESCO.
Country of origin - Japan
This architectural structure was commissioned to symbolize peace and commemorate the 50th anniversary of the adoption of the UNESCO's Constitution. Tadao Ando’s “Meditation Space” was chosen from amongst numerous projects submitted by architects worldwide. A self-taught architect, Tadao Ando has won several awards, among which the prestigious Pritzker Architecture Prize in 1995, as well as receiving a gold medal from the French Academy for Architecture.
Beyond the simplicity and refinement characteristic of his architecture, Tadao Ando here creates a symbolic work by using the irradiated granite coming from Hiroshima. Through this, he invites the visitor to reflect on the horror of Hiroshima and hence to meditate upon the destructive power of human kind.
© Tadao Ando. All rights reserved - "Meditation Space" by T. Ando - Download107-1-pair_vases.jpg
Anonymous - Pair of bronze vases, Meiji period (Japan, 1868-1912)
Cast bronze vases, height 152 cm and diam. 105 cm each.
Date of entry at UNESCO - June 2014
Donation made to UNESCO by the Khalili Family Trust in 2014 in honour of UNESCO
Country of origin - Japan
Donated in 2014 by the Khalili Family Trust, at the initiative of the UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador Professor Nasser David Khalili, this pair of large Meiji-era Japanese bronze vases in high relief present bodies and necks of concave form ending with petal-shaped lips. Elements in relief include birds, some with wings outstretched, perching on thick branches, as well as foliage covering most of the feet and the branches.
These pieces, previously part of the Vanderbilt estate, are truly rare examples of Japanese metalwork. Usually reserved for Imperial commissions and world expositions, bronze pieces of this magnitude rarely ever appeared in the form of vases. Known, and costly for the sheer amount of material and work, as usually being made into large koros (incense burners) and decorative sculptures, is it very unusual for a workshop to choose the vase form. The high relief and detail on these vases add to the artistic value of this complex and unusual work.
The Khalili Family Trust donation also includes a pair of Meiji-era cloisonné enamel vases
© All rights reserved - Photo: Khalili Family Trust - Download109-nagasaki_angel.jpg
Anonymous - Nagasaki Angel
Sculpture carved in high relief - 40 x 28 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - January 1976
Donation made to the UNESCO by the city of Nagasaki (Japan)
Country of origin - Japan
Donating country - Japan
This miraculously salvaged sculpture previously adorned a cathedral in Urakami Shudo (Nagasaki, Japan).It was destroyed when the bomber B-29 dropped an atomic plutonium bomb on August 9th, 1945 at 11:02 am. At the time of the explosion, mass was taking place in the cathedral and many lives were lost as a result. The city’s inhabitants hoped to keep a souvenir of their church, but almost nothing was left. Nevertheless, certain statues of saints and angels remained undamaged, as was the case for this particular face of an angel. Called “The Nagasaki Angel”, this fragment was donated to UNESCO in 1976, in Paris, on the occasion of its 30th anniversary. This angel is a symbol of Peace and hope in Humanity's future.
Nagasaki is famous not only for having been the target of the second atomic bomb at the end of the Second World War, but also for having remained, during two centuries, the point of contact between Japan and the rest of the world, as well as for its Christian minority that has remained active over time.
© All rights reserved - Photo : UNESCO/M. Ravassard © UNESCO - Download108-junihitoe.jpg
Anonymous - Junihitoe
Silk miniature of a junihitoe - 50 x 52 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - March 2000
Donation made to UNESCO by Hakubi Kyoto Kimnon Gakuin
Country of origin - Japan
Donating country - Japan
"Junihitoe" is the name of a ceremonial Japanese court robe which is made up of at least twelve kimono layers, the number of which depends on the rank of the person wearing the robe. Furthermore, the different colors present in the various layers of the "junihitoe" always have a meaning.
This type of dress dates from the Japanese 'Golden Age', the Heian period (794-1192). Today the "junihitoe" is still worn by the imperial princess during her wedding or at the coronation of the new emperor of Japan.
© All rights reserved - Photo : UNESCO - Download107-pair_vases.jpg
Anonymous - Pair of vases, Meiji period (Japan, 1868-1912)
Cloisonné enamel vases worked in silver and gold wire, copper alloy rim and foot. H 145 cm and diam. 52 cm each.
Date of entry at UNESCO - June 2014
Donation faite à l’UNESCO par le Khalili Family Trust en 2014 en l’honneur de la Directrice générale
Country of origin - Japan
Donated in 2014 by the Khalili Family Trust, at the initiative of the UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador Professor Nasser David Khalili, this pair of large Meiji-era Japanese cloisonné enamel vases present ovoid bodies and long trumpet shaped necks. The bodies decorated with large pink and white chrysanthemums, brown and green foliage and grey stems worked in gold and silver wire against a dark blue ground. Applied with copper alloy rims and feet.
This is a rare example of a piece of cloisonné enamel by one of several workshops in Japan that specialized in this type of ware. These were usually made under Imperial patronage and received high praise and accolades in Industrial Expositions. It is rare to find pieces of this size due to the practicality of the enameling process, which, in this case, would have required very large kilns. Mistakes and wasted material being costly on vases of this proportion, pieces of this type had to be worked out in fine detail in order to achieve the quality demonstrated here.
The Khalili Family Trust donation also includes a pair of Meiji-era bronze vases.
© All rights reserved - Photo: Khalili Family Trust - Download110-dove_peace.jpg
HAMANO, Toshihiro (1937-) - Dove of Peace
Bronze sculpture with gold leaf, on stone base - 55 x 55 x 18 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - December 2007
Donation made to UNESCO by the artist, Toshihiro Hamano, through the Permanent Delegation of Japan, on the occasion of the exhibition of his work, entitled "Zen", held at UNESCO Headquarters from June 4 to 15 2007.
Country of origin - Japan
Donating country - Japan
The sculpture "Dove of Peace" by the artist Toshihiro Hamano entered UNESCO’s Patrimonial collection following the Advisory Committee on Works on Art 2nd meeting, held on 20 December 2007.
The work is a miniature (1/10) of a monumental sculpture of the same name, created by Hamano for the Great Catholic Jubilee held in Japan (Kagawa) in 2000. On this occasion, Hamano proposed a new direction for his art. He managed to create with this work an original two-dimensional vision of this bird of peace, giving it force and a particular significance.
The dove is here not only a symbol of peace, but also a means for the artist to incorporate an impression of plenitude thanks to his personal, esthetic way of representing this subject. He values reconciliation and harmony between different cultures, and hopes to be an instigator of a spirit of osmosis and understanding between peoples.
© All rights reserved - Photo: UNESCO - Download111-cambria.jpg
IMAMURA, Yukio (1935-) - Cambria 202173, 2001
Oil painting on canvas, signed and dated "2001 Imamura" lower left, annotated "Cambria 202173" lower right - 142.5 x 289 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - October 2001
Donation made to UNESCO by the artist
Country of origin - Japan
The oil on canvas “Cambria 202173” by Yukio Imamura was donated to UNESCO in 200. It is part of a series called “Cambria” which includes an ensemble of abstract paintings depicting spots of different colors which converge in the middle of the composition.
In “Cambria 202173”, these blue “spots” bear a resemblance to reptilian scales or cells observed through a microscope. Imamura creates an optical illusion by using cold colors, metallic hues and an abundance of circular and irregular shapes covering the entirety of the canvas. He also painted two columns each made up of three circles in the middle of the canvas, one in pale pink and the other in a bright yellow. The yellow being the only warm color in the whole painting, catches the spectator’s gaze before it wanders over the immensity of the surrounding blue. The illusion is made more spectacular when moving away from the canvas, where the three-dimensionality appears much more clearly.
© All rights reserved - Photo: UNESCO/P.Lagès - Download112-untitled.jpg
MATSUI, Morio (1942-) - Untitled, 1996
Oil painting on canvas, signed and dated "Matsui 96" lower right - 129.5 x 184.5 cm
Hall ascensor, 7° piso
Date of entry at UNESCO - September 2003
Work donated to UNESCO by the artist on the occasion of the exhibition of his work held at UNESCO Headquarters in 2003
Country of origin - Japan
Donated by the Morio Matsui in 2003, this painting is characteristic of his work, whichcan be categorized both as figurative or abstract. Here, the background was first painted with projections of dark, grey shades and splatters of yellow and black. Matsui then used a very thin paintbrush to animate the canvas with white arabesques and ornamental patterns. The detailed lines recall the art of calligraphy and also reinforce the impression of an abstract design. As in all of his works, Matsui wants to reveal his perception of the world but, more importantly, he wants the public to feel free to interpret its significance according to one’s own story, without needing a key to understanding the painting’s profound meaning.
© All rights reserved - Photo: UNESCO - Download113-wall_memory_pax.jpg
MUTO, Junkyu (1950-) - Wall of Memory Max 2001, Birth of Light
Mixed media on canvas - 199.5 x 199.5 cm
Pasillo 6°piso
Date of entry at UNESCO - March 2002
Donation made to UNESCO by Mr. Soichiro Ito, former President of the Chamber of Deputies of Japan
Country of origin - Japan
A feeling of plenitude dominates the atmosphere of this work by Junkyu Muto. "The birth of light" is also life that comes from nothing. The shades of blues and purples that are used and the indistinct form which begins to take shape fascinate the eye. The texture of the surface in a way defines the color. Indeed, every fraction of blue takes on a different texture and the subtle additions of yellow and red form a vaporous mass that seems to extend over the entire surface. Muto, a sculptor by education, is able to create a third dimension within the flat plane of the painting. Thanks also to its imposing size, the work produces a certain surrounding, an atmosphere which pulls in the viewer, who becomes witness to the birth of light, and so his own birth. Muto hence depicts the timelessness of an event while incorporating a mixture of poetry and mysticism.
© All rights reserved - Photo: UNESCO - Download114-sea-rocks.jpg
NAMIKAWA, Banri (1931-) - The sea and the rocks
Framed photograph, stamped lower left - 74.5 x 85 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - May 1993
Donation made to UNESCO by the Prefecture of Shimane (Japan)
Country of origin - Japan
© All rights reserved - Photo: UNESCO - Download116-ritual_dance_cave.jpg
NAMIKAWA, Banri (1931-2006) - Ritual dance in a cave
Framed photograph, stamped lower right - 74.5 x 85 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - May 1993
Donation made to UNESCO by the Prefecture of Shimane (Japan)
Country of origin - Japan
© All rights reserved - Photo: UNESCO - Download117-japanese_house.jpg
NAMIKAWA, Banri (1931-2006) - Japanese house
Framed photograph, stamped lower left - 74.5 x 85 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - May 1993
Donation made to UNESCO by the Prefecture of Shimane (Japan)
Country of origin - Japan
© All rights reserved - Photo: UNESCO - Download115-rice_field.jpg
NAMIKAWA, Banri (1931-2006) - Rice field
Framed photograph, stamped lower left - 74.5 x 85 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - May 1993
Donation made to UNESCO by the Prefecture of Shimane (Japan)
Country of origin - Japan
© All rights reserved - Photo: UNESCO - Download118-fountain_peace.jpg
NOGUCHI, Isamu (1904-1988) - Fountain of Peace and Japanese Garden
Sculpted granite, weight of 7800 kilos - 362 x 165 x 58 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - December 1957
Donation made to UNESCO by Japan within the context of the global donation of the Japanes garden - also designed by Isamu Noguchi- during the construction of the Fontenoy Building in Paris.
Country of origin - Japan
In 1957, the UNESCO "Committee for Architecture and works of art" organized a competition for the artistic decoration of its permanent headquarters. The committee members included the architects who built the buildings - Bernard Zehrfuss, Marcel Breuer, Luigi Nervi - as well as C. Para-Perez, who chaired a Committee of art advisers responsible for guiding the selection of works; this Committee included Georges Salles, Shahid Subrawardy and Herbert Read as members.
Isamu Noguchi was among the artists selected by UNESCO, who, represented by Marcel Breuer, commissioned him for the Japanese garden located at the Organization’s Headquarters in Paris.
The Japanese garden, located at the foot of the UNESCO buildings, occupies 1700 square meters of land. It offers a haven of peace and meditation in the heart of Paris. A stream, a lake, a bridge, shrubs and trees form this rigorous creation. The cherry trees, plum trees and magnolias were imported from Japan by specialized gardeners who assisted Noguchi in the realization of his work. It should be noted that every stone, every blade of grass, every river has its own place and is integrated within a whole through harmony and serenity. Every detail has been thought both for itself and in relation to the other element, and can but lead to contemplation.
"The Fountain of Peace" completes this composition. Noguchi, primarily a sculptor, here plays with the empty and full space as well as the spatiality of isolated forms. This sculpture is made of gray granite rock and incised with the word "Peace" in Japanese characters, placed backwards so that it is correctly reflected in the water that flows at the foot of the fountain. The sculpture is part of a group of stones, each with its own mystical meaning: the Permanent stone, the Small Mountain of the Waterfall, the Side of the Mountain, the Beach of Sand, the Close Mountain and the Far Mountain, the Adoration Stone...
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NOGUCHI, Isamu (1904-1988) - Fountain of Peace and Japanese Garden
Sculpted granite, weight of 7800 kilos - 362 x 165 x 58 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - December 1957
Donation made to UNESCO by Japan within the context of the global donation of the Japanes garden - also designed by Isamu Noguchi- during the construction of the Fontenoy Building in Paris.
Country of origin - Japan
In 1957, the UNESCO "Committee for Architecture and works of art" organized a competition for the artistic decoration of its permanent headquarters. The committee members included the architects who built the buildings - Bernard Zehrfuss, Marcel Breuer, Luigi Nervi - as well as C. Para-Perez, who chaired a Committee of art advisers responsible for guiding the selection of works; this Committee included Georges Salles, Shahid Subrawardy and Herbert Read as members.
Isamu Noguchi was among the artists selected by UNESCO, who, represented by Marcel Breuer, commissioned him for the Japanese garden located at the Organization’s Headquarters in Paris.
The Japanese garden, located at the foot of the UNESCO buildings, occupies 1700 square meters of land. It offers a haven of peace and meditation in the heart of Paris. A stream, a lake, a bridge, shrubs and trees form this rigorous creation. The cherry trees, plum trees and magnolias were imported from Japan by specialized gardeners who assisted Noguchi in the realization of his work. It should be noted that every stone, every blade of grass, every river has its own place and is integrated within a whole through harmony and serenity. Every detail has been thought both for itself and in relation to the other element, and can but lead to contemplation.
"The Fountain of Peace" completes this composition. Noguchi, primarily a sculptor, here plays with the empty and full space as well as the spatiality of isolated forms. This sculpture is made of gray granite rock and incised with the word "Peace" in Japanese characters, placed backwards so that it is correctly reflected in the water that flows at the foot of the fountain. The sculpture is part of a group of stones, each with its own mystical meaning: the Permanent stone, the Small Mountain of the Waterfall, the Side of the Mountain, the Beach of Sand, the Close Mountain and the Far Mountain, the Adoration Stone...
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SATO, Churyo (1912 - 2011) - Young girl in boots, 1984
Bronze sculpture, signed and dated "1984 Churyo" - 175 x 82 x 28 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - July 1987
Donation made to UNESCO by the artist
Country of origin - Japan
"Young Girl in Boots" by Churyo Sato represents a standing figure of a young woman in modern clothing and wearing boots. Hands placed on her waist, she looks towards her left, with a gentle smile on her face. This sculpture is an image characteristic of a period during which women are attempting to find their place in modern society. Here, her tomboy look simply emphasizes her feminine shape. This sculpture was put on loan for the “Modernité Japonaise” Exhibition held at the Monnaie de Paris from 25 March 2000 to 16 April 2000.
© Tatsuro Sato - Photo: UNESCO/M.Claude - Download121-lamb.jpg
SHUN SOH, Machy (1922-1995) - The Lamb
Indian ink on rice paper - 122 x 100 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - June 1978
Donation faite à l'UNESCO par le Japon.
Country of origin - Japan
© All rights reserved - Photo: UNESCO - Download123-bow_violin.jpg
Anonymous - Bow and Violin
Wood sculpture
Date of entry at UNESCO - December 2002
Country of origin - Kazakhstan
© All rights reserved - Photo: UNESCO - Download122-kobyz.jpg
Anonymous - Kobyz, Kazak musical instrument
Musical instrument with two chords and a bow, made of dark wood with silver elements, ivory inlay and animal skin. - 39.5 x 11.5 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - December 2003
Donation made to UNESCO by the Delegation of Kazakhstan
Country of origin - Kazakhstan
Donating country - Kazakhstan
Made out of dark wood, this Kazakh string instrument rests upon a silver-plated base and is decorated with silver-work as well as ivory inlays and stretched leather.
The kobyz is a double-stringed instrument that is played like the cello. It is carved out of the wood of a tree chosen by the shaman according to signs sent to him by the spirits. This musical instrument is an essential attribute of the baksy, which he plays in accompaniment of his songs. The baksy, or shaman, receives his strength and spirit thought family heritage; they are called upon to diagnose and cure illnesses.
These instruments may also be adorned with small bells or have a mirror placed inside the cavity, into which the baksy gazes while playing the kobyz. This instrument bears witness to the importance of music in the nomadic lifestyle of the Kazakh people.
© All rights reserved - Photo: UNESCO/P.Lagès - Download124-enyamuchera.jpg
ONG'ESA, ELKANA - Enyamuchera (Bird of Peace in Kisii)
Kenyan marble sculpture, signed and dated on the back - 142 x 136 x 100 cm
Miollis Entrance
Date of entry at UNESCO - October 1980
Donation made to UNESCO by Kenya
Country of origin - Kenya
Elkana Ong'Esa spent two years, from 1976 to 1978, working on "Enyamuchera", which has been part of UNESCO’s collection since 1980. Through the abstract representation of a bird, more specifically a magpie shrike, Ong’Esa looks to symbolize peace in the world. This sculpture is made of soapstone, or steatite. This stone is close to both talc, which is however less dense, as well as serpentine or green marble. It bears its name because of the feeling one gets when touching the stone, and because it is easy to cut using a metal object. The smoothness of the stone enhances the fluidity of the lines cut by Ong'Esa and gives greater purity to the shape.
© 1978 ELKANA ONG'ESA - Photo:UNESCO/M. Claude - Download125-cadmus_signs.jpg
El-RAYESS, Aref (1928 - 2005) - The Signs of Cadmus, 1958
Wool tapestry (Editor- Loggia), signed and dated "Rayess 1958" lower left - 160 x 382 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - January 1959
Donation made to UNESCO by the Lebanese government in January 1959.
Country of origin - Lebanon
Donating country - Lebanon
The tapestry "The Signs of Cadmus" by the Lebanese artist Aref El-Rayess was commissioned by the Lebanese government in 1958 and offered to UNESCO.
The composition used for this tapestry is representative of El-Rayess’s desire to give rhythm to his works through a play of vertical and horizontal lines. The dimensions and composition of the work insist upon the horizontality of the space. The stylization of the drawing along with the use of patterns emphasizes the idea of rhythm. The richness of the palette gives a powerful brightness to the work, culminating with the brilliance of the sun, at the center of the composition.
The title of the work, "The Signs of Cadmus" refers to an episode of Greek mythology having as its central character Cadmus, or Kadmos, a prince from Phoenicia (current-day Lebanon) who, according to the estimations of Herodotus, would have lived around 2000 B.C. A semi-mythical character, and legendary founder of the city of Thebes, he is also known for having introduced the Phoenician alphabet in Greece. The tapestry abstractly narrates the story of Cadmus and his adventures. The different elements of the composition – the half-horse, half-fish-like dragon, the choice of Phoenician characters, etc. – like signs, evoke various parts of the story.
El-Rayess kept a ‘constant’ in his oeuvre thanks to a force expressed in his works emanating from his “inner voice”. According to Nicole Malhamé Harfouche (Dean of the Lebanese School of Fine Arts, University of Balamand, Lebanon), it consists of “a work that is thought-out and felt before being created”. Rich with meaning and symbols, his tapestry reflects a subtle blend of painting and poetry.
© Hala Aref El Rayess - Photo: UNESCO/R. Fayad - Download126-encounter_heart_painting.jpg
FATIS Youssef (Libya) and SCHUHR Helga (Germany) - Encounter at the heart of painting, 1998
Diptych- acrylic and fine paper on watercolor paper; signed and dated 28.9.1998 lower right on each painting. - 210 x 300 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - April 2002
Donation made to UNESCO by Libya
Country of origin - Libya
Donating country - Libya
This artwork is the result of the artistic collaboration between two painters of different origin and culture: the German artist Helga Schuhr and the Libyan artist Youssef Fatis. On the occasion of her trip to Libya, Schuhr expressed her desire to collaborate with artists from that country and invite them to exhibit in a gallery in the Neuchâtel region, in Switzerland. It is within this context that Fatis and Schuhr met and built a friendship, expressed through these works they created together.
© Youssef Fatis and Helga Schuhr - Photo: UNESCO/R. Fayad - Download127-receptacle_honey.jpg
Zafimaniry community - Receptacle for honey
Carved wood receptacle - 33 x 21 x 13.5 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - December 2004
Country of origin - Madagascar
Donating country - Madagascar
© All rights reserved - Photo: UNESCO/D. Matar - Download128-ship_3masts.jpg
Anonymous - Ship with three masts
Model of a ship with three masts, made of light wood with mahogany-colored stain. - 60 x 80 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - October 1991
Donation made to UNESCO by His Excellency Mr.Parsuramen, Minister of Education of Mauritius.
Country of origin - Mauritius
Donating country - Mauritius
© All rights reserved - Photo: UNESCO - Download129-mayan_procession.jpg
Anonymous - Mayan procession
Copper high-relief with silver plating - 46.5 x 105.5 cm
Waiting room of Director General , 6th floor
Date of entry at UNESCO - October 2005
Donation made to UNESCO by H. E. Mr. Tamez, Minister of Education of Mexico
Country of origin - Mexico
Donating country - Mexico
© All rights reserved - Photo: UNESCO - Download130-promotheus_bring_fire_mankind.jpg
TAMAYO, Rufino (1899-1991) - Prometheus bringing fire to mankind, 1958
Fresco,signed lower right 'Tamayo 9-58' - 500 x 450 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - December 1958
Acquisition made by UNESCO on the occasion of the artistic decoration of Room II upon the completion of the Fontenoy building at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris in 1958. The fresco was executed in situ.
Country of origin - Mexico
In 1957 the International Committee of Art Advisors of UNESCO commissioned Rufino Tamayo to decorate the Room of Commissions (Room II today) with a mural in the newly built UNESCO headquarters in Paris. A preparatory sketch, kept in a private collection in Paris, showed how Tamayo meticulously prepared the composition of the two principal figures, Prometheus and man, geometrically drawn, but also of the substructure of well defined partitions to break up the different colours. In 1958, Rufino Tamayo painted his fresco : on the scaffolding installed in the Room of Commissions, he faced the wall and painted on the plaster while it was still wet. Because the subject, Prometheus bringing the fire to mankind, imposed the colour red, Tamayo’s fresco seems to be an exaltation of this colour through its different tones: the carmines and the vermilions bring the fire to life. This perception seems to be confirmed by Tamayo’s own words, when he writes of his own mural : «That the light that seems to irradiate out of the fire of my badly lit ‘Prometheus’ may illuminate the spirits of those who are in charge of the tremendous task of unifying the world through culture ».
© All rights reserved - Photo: UNESCO/N. Burke - Download131-untitled.jpg
DIATO, Albert (1927-1985) - Untitled
Ceramic mural - sandstone and polychrome glaze; signed and dated lower right "Albert Diato 1960". White monochrome ceiling, stucco and mixed media, 672 x 450 cm - 260 x 70 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - January 1960
Country of origin - Monaco
Donating country - Monaco
In 1960, the Principality of Monaco, like other UNESCO Member States, donated a room to the Organization’s Headquarters in Paris, by handling both its construction and decoration. The Principality commissioned Albert Diato for a ceramic mural which, like a decorative panel, would occupy an entire wall.
© Sandro Agénor - Photo: UNESCO/R. Fayad. Detail of the work - Download132-morin_khuur.jpg
Anonymous - Morin Khuur
Traditional Mongolian vielle of trapezoidal form with bow; varnished and un-varnished wood, with plant and foliage decor. - 104 x 27 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - December 2001
Country of origin - Mongolia
Donating country - Mongolia
© All rights reserved - Photo: UNESCO - Download133-bayan_mongol.jpg
BYAMBARENCHIN, Bayart-Od (1970 - ) - Bayan Mongol (Rich Mongolia)
Oil painting on silk canvas, signed lower right - 136 x 188 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - December 2002
Donation made to the UNESCO by Mongolia
Country of origin - Mongolia
Donating country - Mongolia
© All rights reserved - Photo : UNESCO/N. Burke - Download134-set_moroccan_pottery.jpg
Anonymous - Set of traditional morrocan pottery, late 18th century
Hand-painted terra cotta pottery
Date of entry at UNESCO - February 1999
Donation made to UNESCO by Morocco
Country of origin - Morocco
Donating country - Morocco
Although they have different motifs, these three dishes correspond to a specific North African ceramic style. The decoration of these objects generally does not have a naturalistic origins, but is rather based on geometrical models of the Middle East, already used on the majolica dishes during the Renaissance and Hispano-Moresque lustered ceramics during the fifteenth century. This adorns various everyday objects in Morocco, such as plates, bowls, jugs, and oil jars.
A dominance of blue characterizes the pieces during the eighteenth century, later supplanted by emerald green in the following century. The decor of the circular surfaces follows a composition which radiates from a central star-shaped motif, and combines geometrical and plant-like elements. In the central ceramic, architectural details are also taken from oriental arcades (Diour). The floral interlacing and the tulip and carnation motifs reflect a probable Turkish, Chinese or Indian influence. The blue color is due to the use of cobalt, many deposits of which were found around the city of Fez as well as Meknes, Salé and Safi.
We here have clay ceramics made on the wheel in workshops placed under the authority of a master craftsman. The shapes would undergo an initial firing at low temperatures before being immersed in a glaze which made them watertight. After drying, the designs were drawn with a brush usually made of mulehair, and then the color added and fixed thanks to a second firing.
The development of ceramic with a blue monochrome or polychrome decoration applied to an opaque white glaze consisting of an aqueous mixture of tin oxide, lead and sand is currently attributed to the seventeenth century.
Such pieces, most of which were used for food, are, with a few exceptions, neither signed nor dated. Such dishes, whether large or small, are cone-shaped with a small base (Mokhfia), a flat bottom and concave (Tobsil) or hollow edge (gohtar).
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LABIED, Miloud (1939-2008) - Untitled, 1996
Oil on canvas, signed and dated lower left 'Miloud 1996' - 149.5 x 119 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - October 2005
Donation made by Morocco on the occasion of UNESCO's 60th anniversary, in October 2005
Country of origin - Morocco
Donating country - Morocco
Miloud Labied’s painting seems to be an abstract composition. However, as in most of his works, Labied combines abstraction and figuration, often inserting fragments of the human figure in his paintings; indeed, one can here distinguish the outline of a woman’s profile.
Like his other works, this painting remains untitled. Labied believed that the pictorial language was clear and efficient enough in itself.
One of the characteristics of his work, which we find here, is the circular line which seems to swirl in the center of the composition. These round shapes contrast with the relatively straight lines drawn along the edges of the canvas.
Although black and white are omnipresent, Labied also inserted touches of blue, green, yellow and red that give liveliness and dynamism to the work.
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MALANGATANA, Valente Ngwenya (1936-2011) - Youth and Peace, 1997
Oil painting on canvas, signed lower right - 200 x 400 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - November 1997
Donation made to UNESCO by the artist on the occasion of his nomination as «UNESCO artist for Peace» during the 29th session of the General Conference. The work was created in situ at UNESCO by the artist, and donated in the presence of the President of Mozambique.
Country of origin - Mozambique
© All rights reserved - Photo: UNESCO - Download136-1_siva.jpg
Anonymous - Toranatham Siva
Architectural element in sculpted wood - 140 x 14 x 13 cm
no pública
Date of entry at UNESCO - November 1978
Donation made to UNESCO by Nepal
Country of origin - Nepal
Donating country - Nepal
Siva is the third of the Hindu trinity. He is the destructor and regenerator of the universe and has several avatars (or incarnations), always marked by the ambivalence of his personality. Like Buddhism, Sivaïsm is firstly an ascetic religion. Siva is the Great Yogin, master of knowledge who liberates people from Maya (illusions). This piece shows him as Siva Yogeshvara: “Lord of Yogis”, or “God of Yoga”. The sculpture is not dated; it does however show signs of previous breaking and erosion. Wood being extremely vulnerable, well-preserved figures only date back as far as the 14th century, during the Malla period (Malla referring to the monarchs who reigned on the Katmandu valley from the 11th to the 17th century). Ever since that period, carved and sculpted wood has been an integral part of Nepali architecture
© All rights reserved - Photo: UNESCO/N. Burke - Download136-2_vishnu.jpg
Anonymous - Vishnu Narayana Anantasayin
Architectural element in sculpted wood - 130 x 17 x 15 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - November 1978
Donation made to UNESCO by Nepal
Country of origin - Nepal
Donating country - Nepal
Vishnu is the second of the Hindu trinity. Governor of the universe and preserver of the world’s order, he is incarnated on earth under different aspects, or avatars. The holy texts reveal ten of these. Here, he is incarnated as Nârâyana Anantasayin. The sculpture is not dated; it does however show signs of previous breaking and erosion. Wood being extremely vulnerable, well-preserved figures only date back as far as the 14th century, during the Malla period (Malla referring to the monarchs who reigned on the Katmandu valley from the 11th to the 17th century). Ever since that period, carved and sculpted wood has been an integral part of Nepali architecture. This voluminous piece of wood with a flat backside was meant to frame a door or window, or perhaps be applied to a wall. Vishnu Nârâyana is lying on a bed of eleven interlaced serpents that turn into the cosmic serpent Ananta (also called Sesa or Seth).
© All rights reserved - Photo: UNESCO/P. Lagès - Download137-1_rencontre_printemps.jpg
APPEL, Karel (1921-2006) - Rencontre du printemps, 1958
Oil on canvas, signed and dated lower right "Appel 58" - 248 x 417 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - January 1958
Acquisition made by UNESCO for the artistic decoration of its Headquarters in Paris in 1958.
Country of origin - Netherlands
In 1957, UNESCO's “Committee on Architecture and Works of Art” organized a competition for the decoration of the Organization's permanent headquarters in Paris, inaugurated in 1958. Only eleven artists were selected, among which Karel Appel. The Committee members included the building architects, Bernard Zehrfuss, Marcel Breuer, Luigi Nervi, and C. Para-Perez who presided a Committee of art advisors which included Georges Salles, Shahid Subrawardy and Herbert Read, selected to guide the choice of works. Initially created for the restaurant on the 7th floor of the main UNESCO building, “Rencontre du printemps” (Spring Encounter) was transferred to its current location in the Conferences Foyer in 2009.
© Karel Appel Foundation - Photo : UNESCO/R. Fayad - Download137-sword_el-saif_style.jpg
Anonymous - Sword in El Saif style from the 17th century
Traditional sword with double-sided blade, handle made of hammered and repoussé-worked silver; leather sheath. Length 94 cm.
Date of entry at UNESCO - December 2002
Donation made to UNESCO by the Sultanate of Oman on the occasion of the Director General of UNESCO's official visit to Oman in December 2002.
Country of origin - Oman
Donating country - Oman
© All rights reserved - Photo: UNESCO/P. Lagès - Download138-sohar_ship.jpg
BASSANT, Norman Victor (1932-) - Sohar Ship
Silver model of the ship 'Sohar' on a polished mahogany base. In 1980, 'Sohar' navigated from Mascate (Oman) to Canton (China), following the path taken by Sindbad the sailor. - 80 x 98 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - October 1989
Country of origin - Oman
Donating country - Oman
© All rights reserved - Photo: UNESCO - Download139-puruchucu_shroud.jpg
Anonymous - PURUCHUCU Shroud, Pre-colombian era (recent intermediary period, 1350-1450)
Fabric composed of eight narrow bands woven individually and sewn together length-wise. - 212 x 136 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - December 1968
Donation made to UNESCO by Peru on the occasion of the Organization's 20th anniversary.
Country of origin - Peru
Donating country - Peru
This shroud comes from Puruchuco, meaning “god with a feathered hat”, the name of a prolific archaeological site in the outskirts of Lima, Peru. 1300 funerary bales have been uncovered in this perimeter. The bale, also called “funerary bundle”, is a sort of canvas sarcophagus generally used for one or more mummies or simply for a “symbolic burial”. It includes pieces of white cotton canvas of varying size, painted or embroidered tunics (dyed cotton or wool), unkuns made of parrot feathers and totora thread (aquatic plant of South America). The bale therefore corresponds to several textile layers - such as this one- piled one on top of the other in order to form a conically-shaped bundle covering one or several mummified bodies and their offerings. These burial shrouds usually contained not only the body but also coca pouches including magic seeds, corn cobs, pacae leaves and occasionally animal hides (fox), mummified dogs or birds, bone or reed flutes, jewelry and other ornaments.
© All rights reserved - Photo: UNESCO/C. Bablin - Download140-earth_dream.jpg
QUINTANILLA del MAR, Alberto (1934-) - Earth's Dream, 1965
Oil on canvas - 130 x 163 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - November 2012
Donation made to UNESCO by Peru in October 2012.
Country of origin - Peru
Donating country - Peru
“El Sueño de la Tierra” should be understood as a waking dream. Intentionally sober, there is no false modernity or realism in “The Earth’s Dream”, only a creation coming from a vision. It could be the vision of a child who has later become Peruvian artist Alberto Quintanilla del Mar. His universe is nourished by the mythology of his South American origins. In this dream, the Earth is personified by a women peacefully falling asleep on a bed, slowly lulled by a soft melody. Music is represented by a two-headed creature playing the flute that emerges from the bed, looking at the viewer as if he was inviting him to join this sweet reverie. The winged dog, open-mouthed, the most faithful companion of man, is also watching over the Earth.
© Alberto Quintanilla - Photo: UNESCO - Download141-prawn_catchers.jpg
JUSON, Alfredo "Fred" (1944-) - Prawn catchers
Acrylic painting on canvas - 60 x 74 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - December 1989
Donation made to UNESCO by the President of the Republic of the Philippines, Ms. Corazon C. Aquino, in 1989
Country of origin - Philippines
Donating country - Philippines
© Alfredo "Fred" Juson, "Prawn catchers" - Photo : UNESCO - Download142-anna.jpg
ABAKANOWICZ, Magdalena (1930 - 2017) - ANNA, 1965
Tapestry and mixed media - 300 x 400 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - May 1979
Donation made to UNESCO by Poland
Country of origin - Poland
Donating country - Poland
"Anna" is part of the first original series of tapestry works by Magdalena Abakanowicz at the béginning of the 1960s. Referring back to her own name, this term encompasses the large tapestry-installations consisting of supple sculptures that she created as of the 1960s. It here comprises of a structured canvas – or flexible, sculpted forms - of jute, wool, horsehair … various materials that refer back to the animal world as much as the plant one.
Abakanowicz uses various tapestry-making and embroidery techniques, as well as more modern ones, in order to weave her works. When explaining her Abakanys in the documentary “Interiors, Exteriors” by Thierry Spitzer in 1999, she says:
“In the 1960s, the Abakanys were a step. Many complex reasons gave birth to their creation. But above all, there was this need to prove to myself and to others that I could cross the boundaries of traditional weaving; to make it sublime, transcend it in order to make it art in its purest form.”
© m.abakanowicz - Photo : UNESCO - Download143-composition.jpg
TARASIN, Jan (1926 - 2009) - Composition, 1960 (2)
Oil on canvas, signed and dated lower right 'J Tarasin 1960' - 110 x 90 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - January 2003
Country of origin - Poland
Using tones of ocher, gray and brown, Jan Tarasin has here organized his composition with simple, well-defined shapes. Tarasin plays on texture and color in order to create different planes and levels. His paintings are inspired by mathematics, understood not as a world of figures but as a source of imagination. Jan Tarasin uses this as a guide for ever-changing phenomena. His shapes can be very stable, such as rectangles around which his composition is centered, or very mobile, such as the elongated spots of color that seem to float in the background.
© All rights reserved - Photo: UNESCO/TFT - Download144-composition.jpg
TARASIN, Jan (1926 - 2009) - Composition, 1960 (1)
Oil on canvas, signed and dated upper left 'J Tarasin 60' - 99 x 80.5 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - January 2002
Country of origin - Poland
Using tones of ocher, gray and brown, Jan Tarasin has here organized his composition with simple, well-defined shapes. Tarasin plays on texture and color in order to create different planes and levels. His paintings are inspired by mathematics, understood not as a world of figures but as a source of imagination. Jan Tarasin uses this as a guide for ever-changing phenomena. His shapes can be very stable, such as rectangles around which his composition is centered, or very mobile, such as the elongated spots of color that seem to float in the background.
© All rights reserved - Photo: UNESCO/TFT - Download146-registos_provisorios.jpg
MOLDER, Jorge (1947-) - De la série Registos Provisorios, 2003
Photo sur papier mat archival, signée et numérotée au dos "1/3" tirée en 3 exemplaires. - 102 x 102 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - March 2013
Donation faite par le Portugal en 2011.
Country of origin - Portugal
Donating country - Portugal
Acquise en 2011 à l’initiative de la délégation permanente du Portugal auprès de l’UNESCO, cette photographie est issue de la série, « Documents Provisoires » produite en 2003. L’œuvre est très évocatrice et représentative de la production intrigante de Jorge Molder. Hanté par les tréfonds de l’âme, l’artiste n’hésite pas à user de la multiplication de sa propre image pour explorer les différentes facettes de la psychologie humaine.
La puissance créatrice se lit dans le visage de Jorge Molder: le caractère osseux de sa figure, creusée par des pommettes saillantes et de profondes orbites dissimulent l’intensité de son regard sous d’épais sourcils noirs et broussailleux.
© UNESCO - Jorge MOLDER « Documents Provisoires » - Photo: UNESCO - Download147-unesco_prize.jpg
POTEIRO, Antonio (1925-2010) - The UNESCO Prize
Painting on canvas, signed and dated lower right - 119.5 x 119.5 cm
Corridor 4th floor
Date of entry at UNESCO - December 2002
Donation made to UNESCO by the artist
Country of origin - Portugal
“The UNESCO Prize”, was painted by the Portuguese artist Antonio Poteiro in 2002 and donated by him the same year; it has since been part of UNESCO’s Works of Art Collection.
In a naïve style painting, Poteiro depicts a scene divided into several enclosed areas. The work follows a horizontal composition and is divided into three parts. In the lower three-quarters of the painting, multitudes of characters are depicted performing different actions. Each group is clearly delimited by a border and the use of different colour, giving the work a fragmentary aspect.
© Instituto Antonio Poteiro - Photo: UNESCO - Download148-passaro_amarelo.jpg
RESENDE, Julio (1917 - 2011) - Passaro Amarelo
Oil painting on canvas - 156 x 130 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - May 1989
Donation made to UNESCO by Mr. Joao de Deus Pinheiro, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Portugal, on behalf of the Portuguese Government.
Country of origin - Portugal
Donating country - Portugal
© Júlio Resende - Photo : UNESCO/N. Burke - Download149-celado_vase.jpg
Anonymous - Celadon Vase
Ceramic vase made of celadon-glazed sandstone - 24 x 39 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - December 2002
Donation made to UNESCO by the Republic of Korea
Country of origin - Rep. Korea
This “Celadon Vase” from Korea decorated with floral motifs probably dates from the 10th or 11th century. It is also known as the Maebyong vase, the name of which is the Korean transcription of the famous Chinese term “meiping” (“plum-shaped vase”). Already prized by the Chinese Northern Song (960-1127 AD), this type of work is considered a veritable achievement by potters under the Koryo dynasty (918-1392), whose fame is universal.
© All rights reserved - Photo : UNESCO/ D. Matar - Download150-power_youth.jpg
KANG, Ik-Joong (1960-) - Power of Youth, 2007
Mixed media - crayon, rice paper and plastic on wood - 211 x 211 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - December 2007
Donation made to UNESCO by the artist through the Permanent Delegation of the Republic of Korea, to celebrate and share the spirit of the Korean alphabet, Hangul.
Country of origin - Rep. Korea
Donating country - Rep. Korea
This work was made by the artist Ik-Joong Kang in February 2007. It entered UNESCO’s works of Art Collection at the end of the same year, after having been presented at the UNESCO Advisory Committee for Works of Art 2nd meeting.
The work "Power of Youth" is composed of an assemblage of small 7,5cm cubes. These are aligned vertically and horizontally on a main panel, and separated from each other by a slight gap. This 7,5 x 7,5 cm format, initially used by Kang for practical reasons, became a standard format for many of his creations.
© All rights reserved - Photo: UNESCO/P. Lagès - Download151-mou_ak.jpg
KIM, Ki-Chang (1914 - 2001) - MOU-AK
Indian ink painting on paper - 220 x 169 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - November 1982
Donation made to UNESCO by the Republic of Korea
Country of origin - Rep. Korea
Donating country - Rep. Korea
This painting, although a figurative work, was created during Kim Ki-Chang's abstract period, in the second half of the 1950s. During this period, the artist painted a series of works dedicated to the kummando and masked dances, his thick, expressive brushstrokes taking on more of an abstract significance rather than specific form and movement. In its representation of a traditional dance, Mou-Ak is hence more of an illustration that groups together characteristics stemming from various traditional Korean dances.
Korean dance can be divided into three categories: the traditional court dance, modern dance and traditional folk or ritual dance.
© All rights reserved - Photo : UNESCO - Download152-towards_nature.jpg
KYOUNG-KAP, Min (1933-) - Towards nature, 2001
Korean ink on paper - 99 x 84 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - September 2002
Donation made to UNESCO by the artist, through the delegation of the Republic of Korea, on the occasion of the exhibition of his work at UNESCO Headquarters.
Country of origin - Rep. Korea
Donating country - Rep. Korea
This work by Min Kyoung-kap is entitled "Towards Nature" and dates from 2001. Nature is at the center of Kyoung-Kap’s work, who, through his paintings, recalls the environment and geography of the country, focusing particularly on mountains.
One can imagine that the imposing mass of white mass in this work depicts a mountain. It does not seem to represent a specific mountain, as all distinguishable features have been eliminated. Only the essential, the permanent aspects of Korean mountains has been shown in order to give the work its simplicity. Nature seems lightweight, restricted to an almost entirely geometric shape.
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PARK, Kwang-jin (1935) - Wild grass and wind, 1997
Oil on canvas - 60.6 x 90.9 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - November 2000
Donation made to UNESCO by the artist following the exhibition of his work at UNESCO Headquarters in November 2000.
Country of origin - Rep. Korea
Park Kwang-Jin is one of those painters who, despite artistic innovations that reject the painted image, chose to remain faithful to the treatment of appearances and the traditional practice of painting. However, regardless of the way he depicts the visible, Park gives primacy to emotion, all the while conveying his own stylistic concept. He is first inspired from nature, of which he keeps the realism while at the same time adding his own graphic touch. With simple yet very accurate brushstrokes, he transcribes shapes and impressions which give life to the painting. This work is a sample of Park’s world.
© All rights reserved - Photo : UNESCO/N. Burke - Download154-vase_cucuteni_trypollian_civilization.jpg
Anonymous - Vase from Cucuteni-Trypollian civilisation
Polychrome terra cotta vase - 58 x 37 x 22 cm
Corridor 6e étage
Date of entry at UNESCO - November 1971
Country of origin - Romania
Donating country - Romania
This terracotta vase belonging to objects of cult or everyday use, comes from the "Cucuteni" culture. The Cucuteni-Trypollian civilization (between 4500 and 2850 BC) was the last great Chalcolithic civilization of Europe; it spread from south-eastern Transylvania to Ukraine (current-day Romania).The ceramics, many of which remain in quite a good state of conservation, are what there is of most representative of this civilization. They may be linked to Asian and southern Mediterranean polychrome pieces.
© All rights reserved - Photo : UNESCO/D. Roger - Download155-traces_water.jpg
HAJDU, Etienne (1907-1996) - Traces of water
Aluminium high relief - 198.5 x 95 x 20 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - December 1995
Donation made to UNESCO by the artist
Country of origin - Romania
Abstraction appears in Etienne (or Istvan) Hajdu’s work as of 1932-1934, but it is essentially from the 1950s onward that he truly defines his own style. Hajdu has made sculptures, low and high reliefs, out of wood, marble and onyx, bronze, lead, aluminum and copper.
Passionate about biology, he primarily drew his inspiration from nature. Through his use of curved and spiral-like lines, he created strong and dynamic organic shapes, such as those found in his work "The Traces of Water" located at UNESCO.
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MARGINEAN, Viorel (1933-) - Rythms, 1992
Oil painting on canvas, signed and dated lower right - 190 x 290 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - December 1993
Donation made to UNESCO by Romania, on the occasion of the exhibition of the artist's work, held at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris
Donation made to UNESCO by the artist
Country of origin - Romania
Viorel Marginean’s work focuses on the landscapes of his native country. He here depicts almost bare trees, except for a few green shoots placed towards the center of the composition. This is perhaps meant to represent life and hope in an otherwise wintery scene. The composition of thin and intertwined tree trunks and branches defines the vertical movement of the work. The sharpness of the dark branches against the white background creates a dynamic work, and the absence of shadows and depth gives it a stylish and decorative look.
© Viorel Marginean - Photo: UNESCO - Download157-love_peace.jpg
BENN (1905 - 1989) - Love and Peace, 1985
Triptych - acrylic painting on canvas - 250 x 700 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - January 1987
Donation made to UNESCO by the artist in 1987
Country of origin - Russian Federation
Ever since 1966, Benn had wanted to create a work in homage to UNESCO. In 1979, after an exhibition on the “Foundation for Peace” held at UNESCO, he created the poster “Justice and Peace Kissing” for the Organization, for which he received the International Poster Prize in 1983. In 1982, Benn exhibited his seventy-two “Premonitory drawings” in which he illustrated all the horrors of war. Held within the framework of UNESCO, this exhibition had a large impact, even more so because of the large-scaled work that Benn had decided to include on the theme of “Love and Peace”.
The mural painting “Love and peace” in UNESCO’s collection was painted in 1985. Spirituality is here combined with conciseness; the three individual sections keep the same composition but present variations in the color scheme. The hues are soft and the shapes light and simple, so as to communicate an atmosphere of peace and love. Whether on a Biblical or secular level, the two themes remained among Benn’s main concerns.
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GLAZOUNOV, Ilya Sergeyevich (1930-) - The contribution of the peoples of the USSR to world culture and civilization
Oil on canvas - 212 x 647 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - March 1980
Donation made to UNESCO by the Russian Federation
Country of origin - Russian Federation
This painting, made specifically for UNESCO in 1980 and donated by the (ex-)U.S.S.R., is currently exhibited in the entrance hall of the building located next to the Japanese Garden designed by Isamu Noguchi. Despite some opposition at that time between the communist authorities and Glazounov, this collaboration was made possible thanks to the artist’s strong nationalistic feeling. Together, they wanted through this work to express the importance of Soviet culture within the general context of world civilization. The painting brings together various people, coming from different eras and social classes, all in a genuine desire to display the glory of what was at the time the USSR. It is interesting to note that the artist included elements coming from the fields of education, science and culture. One can observe, among others, the presence of several illustrious characters from Russian culture such as Dostoyevsky for literature, the astronaut Yuri Gagarin for science, Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff for music, but also St. Basil’s Cathedral on the Red Square for architecture. Moreover, the wide variety of costumes represented reflects the cultural wealth of the Soviet Union and its contribution to History. Indeed, at the time, the U.S.S.R. covered almost one sixth of the earth's landmass.
Two of the artist’s favourite themes are present in this work: History and religion. Icons, a great inspiration to the artist, are represented here and testify his attachment to the Orthodox religion.
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Anonymous - Kava bowl or TANO'A
Wood bowl with four legs and decorative carvings, used to prepare and serve kava (beverage consumed during a traditional ceremony). Diameter 40 cm , height 14,5 cm.
Date of entry at UNESCO - December 2002
Country of origin - Samoa
Donating country - Samoa
© All rights reserved - Photo: UNESCO - Download160-nafissatou.jpg
FALL, Mar (1944 - ) - Nafissatou, Queen of the waters
Wool tapestry - 152 x 190 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - December 1994
Donation made on the occasion of the Prime Minister of Senegal's visit to UNESCO in 1994.
Country of origin - Senegal
The symbolism in Mar FALL’s tapestry is always inspired from African spiritual traditions. Special circumstances have led Africans to occasionally reach a consensus on certain spiritual issues in order to identify with their traditional cults. According to the Senegalese linguist and political scientist Pathé Diagne, the deities from the North-West Atlantic, area of the Lebu fishermen, are always feminine. They are served by women who sacrifice a black bull during a ceremony which usually takes place when the star announcing winter waters (the rainy season) appears. In the delta of the Senegal river, the dominant traditional figure of worship was the famous Penda Saar, from the Ngawle village. Sailors out at sea still invoke her today, whatever their difficulties, as she knows everything and is capable of anything on water.
Mar Fall belongs to the group of contemporary Senegalese artists who carried out their oil paintings on cardboard (Aubusson technique) in order to then have their works woven in the Tapestry Manufacture, or "Manufacture of Decorative Arts in Thies". The Manufacture of Thies became a Regional Cultural Centre where one may also admire ceramics, hand painted textiles and watercolors.
© Adagp, Paris 2012 - Photo: UNESCO - Download161-ndaanaan.jpg
NIANG, Modou (1945 - ) - NDAANAAN
Wool tapestry - 298 x 231 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - December 1978
Donation made to UNESCO by Leopold Sédar Senghor, President of Senegal from 1960 to 1980.
Country of origin - Senegal
This tapestry was donated in 1978 by Léopold Sédar Senghor (1906-2001), poet, first president of Senegal, as well as creator of the Senegalese Decorative Art Manufactures (MSDA).
Freedom, the concept of negritude, the dialogue between France and its former colonies, the hope of establishing a Universal Civilization... So many notions which seem implied in tapestries by the Senegalese artist Modou Niang. Designed by Niang and woven by the Senegalese Decorative Art Manufactures, this prestigious wool tapestry is representative of the artists’ work. The title "Ndaanaan" means 'artist' in wolof (Senegalese).
Niang’s preferred subject matter is the bird as a symbol of freedom; it is represented here by the wide-spread wings in the lower part of the composition. The tapestry seems divided in two with, on the one hand, the imaginative depiction of a white bird, and on the other hand a series of geometric shapes in the upper part of the composition which intrigue the spectator. From these geometric shapes emerge three faces whose eyes seem mechanical, as if enslaved. Floral patterns ‘scattered’ across the tapestry's’ surface lighten the composition and link the different areas of lively colors, which in turn bring gaiety and optimism to the work. Niang’s composition is also dominated by rhythm, which L.S. Senghor had defined as :
« The architecture of the being, the internal dynamism which embodies it, the system of vital waves, waves which it emits towards Others, the expression of vital force ».
© All rights reserved - Photo : UNESCO/N. Burke - Download078_1-composition_blue.jpg
VASARELY, Victor (1906-1997) - Composition in blue
Silk-screen, un-signed - 80 x 80 cm
Delegates Bar
Date of entry at UNESCO - December 1985
Country of origin - Hungary
© Succession Vasarely - Photo: UNESCO/R.Fayad - Download074_1-composition.jpg
VASARELY, Victor (1906-1997) - Composition (no. F.V. 65/65)
Silk-screen, signed on lower right, numbered "F.V. 65/65" lower left - 60 x 109 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - December 1985
Country of origin - Hungary
© Succession Vasarely - Photo: UNESCO - Download090-composition.jpg
VASARELY, Victor (1906-1997) - Composition (no. V.V. 1)
Silk-screen, signed and numbered "V.V.1" below in pencil - 52 x 52 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - December 1985
Donation made to UNESCO by the artist
Country of origin - Hungary
© Succession Vasarely - Photo: UNESCO - Download186_diana_huntress.jpg
Anonymous - Diana Huntress, end of 2nd century A.D.
Anonymous - DIANA HUNTRESS, end of 2nd century A.D.
Roman mosaic in the floral style of El Djem (ancient city of Thysdrus) - 164.5 x 248 cm
Hall de la Salle I
Date of entry at UNESCO - June 1972
Donation made to UNESCO by the Minister of Culture of Tunisia on June 29, 1972.
Country of origin - Tunisia
Donating country - Tunisia
Coming from El Djem (ancient city of Thysdrus), this 2nd century AD roman mosaic personifies the goddess Diana. It is particularly representative of the art of the Roman Empire, distinguishable by its rich iconographic repertoire. The Romans had, at this time, managed to spread the technique of mosaic craft across the Mediterranean basin, largely thanks to "nomadic" workshops; since that time, all the provinces bordering the Mare Nostrum adopted this art, which was particularly valued in regions profiting from extensive sunlight, notably in Africa, the Near East, and Spain.
This particular mosaic style, characterized by floral embellishments, developed in Italy under the Antoninus and Severan dynasties (IInd -IIIrd centuries AD), and primarily reinterpreted classical themes highlighting flora and fauna. From the 2nd century onward, an “African school” began to develop and experiment new methods of representation. This artistic movement is particularly well illustrated by the production of Thysdrusian workshops. In a way, one witnesses in these works a transposition of painting to mosaic.
© All rights reserved - Photo: UNESCO/D. Roger - Download187_memory_bosnian_women.jpg
AKYAVAS, Erol (1932-1999) - In memory of Bosnian Women
Color silkscreen, signed lower left 'E.A.' - 75 x 90 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - December 2002
Donation made to UNESCO by Turkey upon the inauguration of the exhibition "Seventeen Engravings for Peace".
Country of origin - Turkey
Donating country - Turkey
© All rights reserved - Photo: UNESCO - Download188_circular_plate.jpg
Anonymous - Circular plate, 1981
Siliceous ceramic of seldjoukide inspiration, with polychrome decor of branches, flowers and birds.
Diameter 68 cm, depth 0,65 cm.
Date of entry at UNESCO - April 1983
Donation made to UNESCO by Turkey
Country of origin - Turkey
Donating country - Turkey
This Turkish ceramic plate is of Seljuk inspiration. The Art of ceramics, considered one of the "arts of fire", is one of the main artistic mediums in Islamic countries. It is divided into two general categories: shaped pieces (including tableware) and tiles for walls. Ceramic underwent two significant changes between the ninth and fifteenth century. Under the reign of the Abbasids (ninth-tenth centuries) a claylike material was used, composed mainly of clay and a degreasing element, such as sand. However it is under this dynasty that two revolutionary techniques appeared for the first time: firstly, earthenware which allowed the clay to be covered by an opaque, generally blue, glaze in order to imitate Chinese porcelain, very popular in the European countries; and secondly, metallic luster, which is meant to mimic metal by incorporating metal salts into already fired clay objects. The luster can take on several colors, going from brown to red or even gold.
© All rights reserved - Photo: UNESCO/N. Aftis - Download189_holograms.jpg
Ukrainian Holograms
Holograms - 40 x 28 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - June 1981
Donation made to UNESCO by the Ukrainian delegation
Country of origin - Ukraine
© All rights reserved - Photo : UNESCO - Download190_blossoms.jpg
MESHKOVA, Liudmila (1938 - ) - Earth sends the fluids of life and blossoming to the worlds of the Universe, 1987
Ceramic mural - 299 x 1400 cm
Hall behind Conference Bar, Floor 1
Date of entry at UNESCO - May 1987
Donation made to UNESCO by Ukraine
Country of origin - Ukraine
Donating country - Ukraine
191_reclining_figure.jpg
MOORE, Henry (1898-1986) - Reclining figure
Roman travertine marble sculpture - 400 x 500 x 285 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - December 1958
Acquisition made by UNESCO for the artistic decoration of its Headquarters in Paris in 1958.
Country of origin - United Kingdom
In 1957, the UNESCO “Committee on Architecture and Works of Art”, in collaboration with the Committee of art advisors, chose eleven artists to undertake the task of decorating the permanent Headquarters in Paris, inaugurated in 1958. This Committee included the building’s architects, Bernard Zehrfuss, Marcel Breuer, Luigi Nervi, as well as C. Para-Perez who presided over a committee of art advisors responsible for providing guidance in the choice of works. In this context, UNESCO commissioned a sculpture from Henry Moore to be placed at the center of the piazza in front of the newly built headquarters building. In 1965, on the occasion of the extension of the Organization’s office space, the sculpture was moved next to one of the Building IV patios (located in the piazza).
From the beginning, Moore felt that his sculpture and the architecture of the UNESCO building ought to be in harmony. The preparatory drawings for this sculpture kept by the British Museum (London) or the working models kept at Tate Modern (London) or the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto (Canada) illustrate Moore’s decision to apply to his sculpture a horizontal treatment coherent with the horizontal lines of the building in the background. The travertine marble, often used in the building, created a contrast with the shadowy reflections of the work in the windows behind. In Querceta in Italy, at the foot of the Carrara mountains, Henry Moore worked for about a year on his sculpture. "Reclining Figure", the biggest sculpture Moore ever made, had to be transported to Paris in four pieces.
© All rights reserved - Photo: UNESCO/M. Claude - Download192_spirale.jpg
CALDER, Alexander (1898 - 1976) - Spirale, 1958
Mobile sculpture made of black steel consisting of steel plates bolted together to the stable part and stainless steel and aluminum blades attached to articulated stainless steel bars for the mobile part.
Date of entry at UNESCO - December 1958
Acquisition made by UNESCO for the artistic decoration of its Headquarters in 1958
Country of origin - United States
© All rights reserved - Photo: UNESCO/M. Claude - Download193_blue_green.jpg
KELLY, Ellsworth (1923-2015) - Blue Green, 1969
Acrylic painting on canvas, two joined panels - 464.8 x 457.2 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - May 1970
Commissioned by UNESCO in 1969
Country of origin - United States
© Ellsworth Kelly - Photo: UNESCO/N. Aftis - Download194_ladders_stars.jpg
MALINA, Frank Joseph (1912-1981) - Ladders to the stars III, 1965
Kinetic painting, Lumidyne system – metal, glass, mechanical system with electrical motor and fluorescent tube lighting - 100 x 200 x 15 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - December 1967
Country of origin - United States
The work "Ladders to the Stars III" by Frank Joseph Malina (1912-1981), dating from 1965, is one of the “Lumidyne system” paintings, in which he introduced electrical movement as of 1958.
© Malina family - Photo: UNESCO - Download195_jornadas.jpg
RAUSCHENBERG, Robert (1925-2008) - "JORNADAS SOBRE LA PROTECCIÓN DEL ARTISTA", 1988
Color silk-screen on paper, signed and dated lower center "Bob Rauschenberg 88" and dedicated "For Federico Mayor" - 130 x 90 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - December 2002
Silk-screen created by the artist on the occasion of the "International Meeting on the Protection of the Artist" held in Madrid from November 7 to 10 1988, and dedicated to Mr. Federico Mayor, Director-General of UNESCO from 1987 to 1999.
Country of origin - United States
© All rights reserved - Photo: UNESCO - Download
196_mausoleum_samarkande.jpg
ALIKULOV, Alisher (1966-) - The mausoleum Gour Emir Samarkande
Oil on canvas - 171 x 131 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - April 1996
Country of origin - Uzbekistan
Donating country - Uzbekistan
The work "Gur Emir Mausoleum Samarkand" was donated to UNESCO by Uzbekistan in 1996. The artist, Alisher Alikulov, follows the tradition of Uzbekistan history painters, who are inspired by national history as well as the material and spiritual traditions of Uzbekistan. The realism, fine detail and clarity of his painting technique reinforce the expressive, dramatic and even theatrical character of the work.
Alikulov often includes architectural elements in his compositions, particularly some of his country’s historical monuments. In the case of this painting, Alikulov has focused his interest on the Gur Emir Mausoleum in Samarkand, the Timurid family vault. This is more specifically the 'tomb of the sovereign' ("Gur Emir") Tamerlane, Emir of Transoxiana. Born in 1336, he was a fearsome warlord who created an immense empire; he passed away in 1405 and was buried in this mausoleum built on his grandson’s order, Mohammed Sultan, who died in 1403.
The use of harmonious colors, the central position of the architecture on the canvas, the precision of the external blue-glazed mosaic tiles which decorate the facade as well as the glazed bricks on the ribbed dome, all contribute to giving a historical, heroic and majestic character to the monument.
© Alisher Alikulov - Photo : UNESCO - Download197_physichromie.jpg
CRUZ-DÍEZ, Carlos (1923-) - Physichromie
Diptych : Acrylic painting and metal - 150 x 294 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - March 1978
Acquisiton made by UNESCO in 1978
Country of origin - Venezuela
Influenced by the work of Jesús Rafael Soto, Carlos Cruz-Díez began studying the physical properties of color, developing his own theories during the 1950s, which he puts to practice as of 1959 with his “Physichromies”.
This “Physichromie” is a diptych composed of metal and acrylic paint. The artist essentially uses three pastel colors: blue, pink, and yellow. With these colors as his starting point, he fractures the form of the painting, transforming a flat, painted surface into a succession of vertically positioned, parallel lines.
These alternating and discontinuous geometric shapes emerge, intensify, change, and dematerialize, depending on the position and the movement of the spectator. The work is thus inscribed in an interpretation of movement and transformation, visually provoked by the thin bands of painted metal lines. In this manner, the painter reveals the vibration of light and the infinite variety of colors perceptible in his inert images.
© Carlos Cruz-Díez. All rights reserved - Photo: Atelier Cruz-Diez - Download198_begin_ceremony.jpg
HERNANDEZ, Luis Alberto (1950-) - To begin the ceremony, 2000
Mixed media and gold leaf on canvas, signed by logogram and dated lower right 'LAH, V-MM' - 250 x 180 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - January 2002
Donation made to UNESCO by the artist on the occasion of his exhibition "Poetic of the Sacred" at UNESCO in January 2002. The painting belongs to a series called the "Codes of Saint Augustine".
Country of origin - Venezuela
For Luis Alberto Hernandez, art mimics "religious mystery" in all its diversity. Hernandez brings together all major religions and popular beliefs of mystical order, the sacred hence holding a central place in his work which represents the syncretism between the mystical and the real, the irrational and rational. At a time of globalization, Luis Alberto Hernandez insists upon cultural diversity through his inspirations and representations.
The poignancy of his work comes from his use of color and material. He accumulates layers of paint creating several levels of interpretation. He often uses tones of gold, ocher, black, blue and red; each color is used for itself, for what it intrinsically evokes, and therefore exceeds purely aesthetic considerations. Gold should therefore be interpreted as the symbol of what men have always wanted; red recalls the color of blood as well as passion, blue refers to the depth of the oceans, but can also signify, as it does in China, spirituality. This second interpretation reinforces even more the mysticism in Hernandez’ work.
For each sign included in his compositions, he simultaneously discloses and conceals. He allows writing - central element in his work –to reach an iconic status, even if it is taken from his imagination.
© Luis Alberto Hernández - Photo: UNESCO - Download199_matter.jpg
SOTO, Jesús Rafael (1923-2005) - Matter, Space and Time are One, 1969
Two-part installation: Yellow section-2,38 x 11,85 x 1,50 m; Blue section-2,03 x 10,40 x 2,58 m
Date of entry at UNESCO - September 1970
Acquisition made by UNESCO in 1970
Country of origin - Venezuela
These installations represent the convergence of all of Jesús Rafael Soto’s research relating to time, space and movement. This establishes the subtle meeting between his works and the laws and phenomena of nature.
Many of Soto’s works are intended to be integrated into the environment; the names of his works are characteristic of his message: "extension", "growth", "vibrant interference", or "volume". These titles qualify a work that is always evolving, moving and never static. Soto does not wish to represent an instant or freeze a particular moment, on the contrary: he aims for eternity, which is made possible thanks to the different spectator’s gaze who, in order to appreciate the work, must immerse themself in it. For Soto, art must live on after its creator through the public’s eyes.
In the work "Matter, space and time are one," Soto wants to show how the elements evolve with each other to form one whole, hence the explicit title. It is through an optical effect, obtained by the spectator’s movement around the work, that Soto creates virtual volumes that seem suspended in space. His work allows for the creation of apparently three-dimensional structures obtained thanks to a variation of vertical and horizontal fringes of color.
Soto himself said at the end of his life: "Tomorrow, as yesterday, my art will remain linked to the random, keeping from trying to express the definitive, the immutable. (...) The world, for me, is random. My work should also be the same."
UNESCO/N. Burke - Download200_sword.jpg
Anonymous - Sword with silver hilt, 17th century
Sword in silver-decorated leather sheath. Length 80 cm.
Date of entry at UNESCO - January 2006
Country of origin - Yemen
Donating country - Yemen
© All rights reserved - Photo: UNESCO/P. Lagès - Download201_culture_petrified.jpg
OVIEDO, Ramon (1927-2015) - Culture petrified
Oil on canvas, signed on upper left "Oviedo" - 156 x 467 cm
Date of entry at UNESCO - January 1991
Donation made to UNESCO by the Dominican Republic
Country of origin - Dominican Rep.
Donating country - Dominican Rep.
Works by Ramón Oviedo are great in emotion as they play with the contrast between a balanced visual aspect and imbalanced figures, often inserted into an ambiguous space. In "Cultura Petrificada" the half-ghost, half-mummy-like figures are immobilized in unreal postures upon a red-orange background. The references to Taino art -the name of the people of the great West Indies from the ninth to late fifteenth century- are visible through the facial features but also the general atmosphere of the painting that balances between mysticism and a surrealist approach.
© All rights reserved - Photo : UNESCO - Download