Cy Twombly Catalogue Raisonné of Sculpture Vol. I encompasses the period from Twombly’s earliest sculptures to 1997, the date of publication. The introductory text by Arthur Danto, “Monuments and Metamorphoses: The Sculptures of Cy Twombly,” centers on the transformations and metamorphoses Twombly enacted in producing his sculptures, offering a sustained consideration of the relationship between materiality and content. Danto characterizes Twombly as engaging in “transformative play” (16), allowing the sculptures to be simultaneously abstract and representational. He also considers Twombly’s use of found objects and refuse, the Platonic and Homeric references in the sculptures, and the relationships between Twombly’s much better-known paintings and the then-rarely exhibited sculptures. Danto argues that the sculptures assume a uniquely significatory role in Twombly’s practice, existing in more legible relationships to Twombly’s beloved myths and historical references than his work in other media through the transformations of readymade materials. This essay is likely to be of particular interest to scholars researching Cycnus (1978), which Danto considers throughout.

The entries in this volume of the catalogue raisonné will be of special interest to scholars and students researching Twombly’s recurring sculptural motifs, including panpipes, palm leaves, columns, and carts or chariots. The volume also highlights the many direct connections to his painting practice throughout the same time period, with the same subjects explored in multiple media: e.g., Orpheus serves as a subject of a 1979 sculpture as well as multiple paintings produced in the 1970s, and Twombly’s interest in boats surfaces in sculptures such as Winter’s Passage: Luxor (1985) synchronously with its sustained emergence in his paintings. Though his use of white to “unify” his sculptures—as Danto and others term it—is prevalent throughout, this volume also meticulously catalogues Twombly’s use of polychromy. This ranges from small traces on otherwise-white sculptures to other relatively unknown but exceptionally vibrant works. His engagements with both Greco-Roman antiquity—especially Homer—and Egyptian mythology are prevalent throughout. Eight entries of sculptures completed before 1950 also offer a rare glimpse into Twombly’s early practice.

The catalogue raisonné is an indispensable specialist resource for students and scholars researching any of these core features of Twombly’s practice. This volume is also particularly useful to those focusing on the artist’s time in Rome, Bassano in Teverina, Gaeta, and Jupiter Island, Florida; those focused on the artist’s time in Lexington, VA should primarily reference vol. II. For further reading, Kate Nesin’s Cy Twombly’s Things (2014) provides a foundational account of the sculptures and their materiality; the catalogues raisonnés and Nesin’s text together provide a vital orientation for scholars researching any component of Twombly’s sculptural practice. Achim Hochdörfer’s Cy Twombly: Das Skulpturale Werk (2001) also offers a detailed and productive account of the sculptures.
(Publication description by Jamie Danis)

Cy Twombly Catalogue Raisonné of Sculpture Vol. I. Edited by Nicola Del Roscio. Text by Arthur Danto. Munich: Schirmer/Mosel, 1997. English edition.