At A Glance
On extended loan from Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey Loria, the parents of a Penn student
Suggests an Old Testament monarch in a forceful stance with one foot forward, dressed in a robe
The hard angles and hollow curved spaces recalls the artist’s Cubist origins
The influential Cubist sculptor Alexander Archipenko did not normally work on a monumental scale. But shortly before his death in 1964 he completed a 4-foot King Solomon that was designed for enlargement. Instructions were left with his widow, who supervised the casting of a 14.5-foot, 1.5-ton version in 1968. In 1985 this majestic bronze came to the University of Pennsylvania campus on extended loan from Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey Loria, the parents of a Penn student. Mixing hard angles with hollow curved spaces, King Solomon clearly recalls Archipenko’s Cubist origins. The sculpture suggests a figure of the Old Testament monarch dressed in a robe, posed in a forceful stance with one foot forward.
Adapted from Public Art in Philadelphia by Penny Balkin Bach (Temple University Press, Philadelphia, 1992).
This artwork is part of the Around University City tour
