Square Form

Although Square Form is seemingly abstract, many of Moore’s sources were representational. A frequently cited influence is ancient Mexican sculpture, in which he had been interested from the time of his earliest carvings. He explained, ‘I’ve always had a liking for squareness. The squareness of a right angle is a very vigorous action. This may be one reason why I appreciate Mexican and particularly Aztec sculpture.’ [1] His earlier carvings that demonstrate influence from Aztec sculpture seem to suggest that he did not have confidence in completely transforming a square block of stone into a figure. However, in Square Form he is consciously utilising the right-angles of the block as the fundamental aspect of the composition.

Moore carved four works titled Square Form in the 1930s in different stones. He described green Hornton stone as having the ability to be polished to a higher degree than brown Hornton stone, which he used for another Square Form. [2] He used this quality, and polished the sculpture to emphasise the roundness of its curves. Moore selected Hornton stone, which comes from a quarry in Oxfordshire, because at the time he believed that an English sculptor should use English materials. Furthermore, he wanted to use materials that were not typical for sculpture. [3] He discovered particular stones by visiting London’s Geological Museum (now the Natural History Museum). Another advantage may have been that the local stone was cheaper than an imported material more traditionally used for sculpture.

Read More