Capote

In the oeuvre of Antwerp sculptor Oscar Jespers (1887–1970), Capote (De kapmantel) from 1922 occupies a special place. This Flemish Masterpiece, acquired as early as 1926, was created at a turning point in Jespers' career—during a period in which his artistic vision underwent a profound transformation and he began carving directly into stone for the first time, a method known as taille directe. No more small-scale modeling or working in plaster for him. For Capote, he chose white French limestone from Euville in the Meuse Valley. Jespers sought to break away from sculpture as a "naturalistic representation" and believed that the material itself had a commanding role. In the legendary television program Ten huize van in 1958, he expressed it as follows: “To us, the surface of life was not everything. The result was: expressionist images in stone.”

Capote presents a remarkable synthesis between “human” and “geometry”: on the one hand, it is figurative—a woman in a wide hooded cloak—yet on the other hand, it is highly stylized. The cloak reveals nothing of the human form beneath. In the TV interview, Jespers reacted irritably when asked whether his sculptures were realistic: “Realistic? What do you mean by realistic? A copy? That is not what an artist makes. A sculpture is always a synthesis... a synthesis of twenty different forms, brought into unity. A sculpture is always more than nature; otherwise, it does not exist.” It is no coincidence that poet Paul Van Ostaijen referred to Jespers as “the thinking sculptor.”

Despite not being very large—just 89 centimeters tall—Capote is a monumental work. The austere volume might have felt oppressively heavy if the sculptor had not introduced an almost playful interplay of lines: he carved elegant, refined vertical folds that, through the play of light, lend the piece a subtle dynamism. A few diagonal folds and the lifted edges of the cloak add to this impression of movement: the cloak seems to rustle slightly as the woman turns her head sideways. She looks over her shoulder, not straight ahead. Could the sculptor have been guided in the position of her head—nearly sunken into the cape—by the form, the “demands,” of the stone block?

By polishing the central part of the cape and adding a narrow border with horizontal folds, Jespers created contrasts that gave the heavy volume a certain lightness. He extended the motif of the folds into the headpiece, resulting in a remarkable unity.

The woman’s face is also strongly stylized. Much has been said about the almond-shaped eyes, which are thought to be influenced by African art, including the wooden sculptures of the Luba people. But don’t the eyes also reveal the influence of Modigliani’s portraits? Is there not also a reference to Egyptian statuary in Capote? And to the Art Deco style that emerged in the 1920s?

This article previously appeared in ZAAL Z, the museum's magazine. For as little as 35 euros you will receive four editions that will immerse you in the fascinating world of the museum and its magnificent collection.