Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 12

Enrico Baj
Italian Surrealist Aquatint Etching Enrico Baj Pop Art Nude Mod Cherubs Angels

c.1980's

$450
£342.35
€400.31
CA$629.34
A$707
CHF 376.26
MX$8,742.30
NOK 4,584.72
SEK 4,432.77
DKK 2,985.92
Shipping
Retrieving quote...
The 1stDibs Promise:
Authenticity Guarantee,
Money-Back Guarantee,
24-Hour Cancellation

About the Item

Enrico Baj (1924-2003) Italian, limited edition print. Hand signed and numbered in pencil from limited edition of 100 Aquatint etching Image size: cm 39.5 x 29.5, sheet cm 53 x 39 Italian artist Enrico Baj (1924-2003) was born in Milan into a wealthy family, but left Italy in 1944 having upset the authorities and to avoid conscription. He studied at the Milan University law faculty and the Brera Academy of Art. Italian Surrealist Pop Art. Artist, attorney, ironist, writer, sharp critic, and political dissenter, Enrico Baj brought an urgent, refreshing and unique voice to the art of his time. In 1951 he founded the Movimento d'Arte Nucleare (the Nuclear Art Movement, or Art for the Nuclear Age) with Sergio Dangelo whose manifesto stated that its members "desire to demolish all the 'isms' of painting that inevitably lapses into academicism, whatever their origins may be." Baj took inspiration from the most radical notion of Surrealism (he joined the COBRA Group in the late 1940s), adhered to Ubu's sardonic and rocambolesque spirit and André Breton (in Le Surréalisme et la peinture) claimed him for his movement. His work was acclaimed by Gillo Dorfles as kitsch pioneer and embraced by artists like Asger Jorn, Marcel Duchamp Andy Warhol and Max Ernst. Baj's work reflected a necessity for continuous re-evaluation and renovation in which the experimental process took precedent over the realized objects. Enrico Baj was one of the most important contemporary Italian artists. Playing a leading role in the Fifties and Sixties avantgarde alongside Lucio Fontana, Asger Jorn, Manzoni and Yves Klein, Baj established close ties with Max Ernst, Marcel Duchamp, E. L. T. Mesens, and other artists of the Cobra group, Karel Appel and others, with New Realism, Surrealism and Pataphysics. Baj's output includes his Modificazioni paintings (1959-60), a visual farce in which Baj modified kitschy commercial paintings in order to push further still the Dada anti-art idea, and his Idraulica series (2002) consisting of sculptures and assemblages made from hydraulic plumbing fittings. Baj's Generali, gorilla-like figures with ferocious expressions, laid down upon a floral fabric background, whose effeminacy clashes with the general's predatory qualities, making them even more absurd and demonstrating both the comedy and the tragedy of the frail human ego as it searches for validation and self-worth. A series of his portraits, assemblages in which Baj address the absurdity of human self-perception and a critic to the provincialism of the Italian bourgeoisie will also be exhibited. Previous main exhibitions include: The Art of Assemblage, MoMA, New York, 1961; Pittura a Milano dal 1945 al 1964, Milan, 1964; XXII Biennale di Venezia, Venice, 1964; Baj's at Marconi, Studio Marconi, Milan, 1967; Gemeentemuseum, L'Aja, 1967; Palazzo Grassi, Venice, 1971; Museum of Contemporary Art of Chicago, 1971; Enrico Baj. Opere 1951-2001, Palazzo delle Esposizioni, Roma, 2001/2002. Many of his works show an obsession with nuclear war. He created prints, sculptures but especially collage. He was close to the surrealist and dada movements, and was later associated with CoBrA. As an author he has been described as a leading promoter of the avant-garde. He worked with Umberto Eco among other collaborators. He had a long interest in the pseudo-philosophy 'pataphysics. In 1951 he founded the arte nucleare movement with Sergio D'Angelo, which unlike abstract art was overtly political. Baj himself was aligned with the anarchist movement. His most well-known pieces are probably the series of "Generals": absurd characters made from found objects such as belts or medals. This one has nude angel cherubs and nudes, mildly erotic, cartoon imagery. He made numerous works using motifs from other artists, from Leonardo da Vinci to Pablo Picasso. Sometimes he recreated entire works of other painters. Baj had his debut in New York in 1960, as part of the exhibition Surrealist Intrusion in the Enchanters’ Domain, organized by Marcel Duchamp and André Breton at D’Arcy Galleries. The following year, his work was included in the influential exhibition Art of Assemblage (1961), organized by William Seitz at the Museum of Modern Art, New York. In 1964 a room devoted to Baj’s work was presented in the 22nd Venice Biennial, and three major retrospectives followed in 1971, held at Palazzo Grassi, Venice; Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; and Musée de l’Athénée, Geneva. Recent exhibitions were held in the following venues, among others: the 55th Venice Biennial (2013), Fondazione Arnaldo Pomodoro, Milan (2013), and Palazzo delle Esposizioni, Rome (2001-2002).
  • Creator:
    Enrico Baj (1924-2003, Italian)
  • Creation Year:
    c.1980's
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 15.36 in (39 cm)Width: 20.87 in (53 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
  • Gallery Location:
    Surfside, FL
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU38215668382

More From This Seller

View All
Italian Surrealist Aquatint Etching Enrico Baj Pop Art Nude Mod Cherubs Angels
By Enrico Baj
Located in Surfside, FL
Enrico Baj (1924-2003) Italian, limited edition print. Hand signed and numbered in pencil from limited edition of 100 Aquatint etching Image size: cm 39.5 x 29.5, sheet cm 53 x 39 ...
Category

20th Century Surrealist Figurative Prints

Materials

Etching, Aquatint

Italian Surrealist Aquatint Etching Enrico Baj Pop Art Nude Mod Cherubs Angels
By Enrico Baj
Located in Surfside, FL
Enrico Baj (1924-2003) Italian, limited edition print. Hand signed and numbered in pencil from limited edition of 100 Aquatint etching Image size: cm 39.5 x 29.5, sheet cm 53 x 39 ...
Category

20th Century Surrealist Figurative Prints

Materials

Etching, Aquatint

Italian Surrealist Aquatint Etching Enrico Baj Pop Art Nude Mod Cherubs Angels
By Enrico Baj
Located in Surfside, FL
Enrico Baj (1924-2003) Italian, limited edition print. Hand signed and numbered in pencil from limited edition of 100 Aquatint etching Image size: cm 39.5 x 29.5, sheet cm 53 x 39 ...
Category

20th Century Surrealist Figurative Prints

Materials

Etching, Aquatint

Italian Surrealist Aquatint Etching Enrico Baj Pop Art Nude Mod Cherubs Angels
By Enrico Baj
Located in Surfside, FL
Enrico Baj (1924-2003) Italian, limited edition print. Hand signed and numbered in pencil from limited edition of 100 Aquatint etching Image size: cm 39.5 x 29.5, sheet cm 53 x 39 ...
Category

20th Century Surrealist Figurative Prints

Materials

Etching, Aquatint

Italian Surrealist Aquatint Etching Enrico Baj Pop Art Nude Mod Cherubs Angels
By Enrico Baj
Located in Surfside, FL
Enrico Baj (1924-2003) Italian, limited edition print. Hand signed and numbered in pencil from limited edition of 100 Aquatint etching Image size: cm 39.5 x 29.5, sheet cm 53 x 39 ...
Category

20th Century Surrealist Figurative Prints

Materials

Etching, Aquatint

Italian Surrealist Aquatint Etching Enrico Baj Pop Art Nude Mod Cherubs Angels
By Enrico Baj
Located in Surfside, FL
Enrico Baj (1924-2003) Italian, limited edition print. Hand signed and numbered in pencil from limited edition of 100 Aquatint etching Image size: cm 39.5 x 29.5, sheet cm 53 x 39 ...
Category

20th Century Surrealist Figurative Prints

Materials

Etching, Aquatint

You May Also Like

Return, O Shulamite
By Salvador Dalí­
Located in London, GB
Original Etching from the series ‘The Song of the Songs of King Solomon’ in colours with stencil on Arches wove paper. signed and numbered by the artist Paper size: 57.1 x 38 cm Edi...
Category

1970s Surrealist Figurative Prints

Materials

Etching

Thou art all faire, my love: there is no spot in thee, Etching by Salvador Dali
By Salvador Dalí­
Located in Long Island City, NY
An original hand-signed Dali etching framed in a museum white-gold leaf frame with silk matting and silver bevel. Artist: Salvador Dali Title: Thou art all faire, my love: there is ...
Category

1970s Surrealist Nude Prints

Materials

Etching

Finis le Paradis, Surrealist Etching by Jan Peter Tripp
By Jan Peter Tripp
Located in Long Island City, NY
Finis le Paradis Jan Peter Tripp German (1945) Date: 1994 Etching, signed, numbered, dated, and titled in pencil Edition of 6/66 Image Size: 39 x 20 inches ...
Category

1990s Surrealist Figurative Prints

Materials

Etching

The Journey to India, Etching by Jan Peter Tripp
By Jan Peter Tripp
Located in Long Island City, NY
The Journey to India Jan Peter Tripp German (1945) Date: 1986 Etching, signed, numbered, dated, and titled in pencil Edition of 46/300 Image Size: 15 x 18 inches Size: 21.5 x 24.5 in...
Category

1980s Surrealist Figurative Prints

Materials

Etching

Figurative Picasso Etching, 'Sculpteur et Modèle Debout', 1933
By Pablo Picasso
Located in New York, NY
Pablo Picasso's "Sculpteur et modèle debout" (1933), (which translates to "Sculptor and Model Standing") is a striking example of his exploration of the human form and his innovative...
Category

1930s Surrealist Figurative Prints

Materials

Etching, Paper

Leonor Fini Erotica I etching
By Leonor Fini
Located in Paonia, CO
An etching by Leonor Fini depicting three men and three woman interacting in various ways and one of the woman sitting in the foreground is playing the lute. This is a signed limited edition etching numbering 68 out of 100. There is also a signature by the artist embossed in the paper just below the pencil signature. The paper is very fibrous and is deckle -edged. The paper size is 26 x 20.25 Image size 15.50 x 12.50. This original rare etching is in very good condition. Argentinian-born artist Leonor Fini (1907-1996) is considered one of the great female artists of the twentieth century. She moved to Paris in the early 1930’s where she spent most of her life and almost immediately formed friendships with Salvador Dali, Cartier- Bresson, Max Ernst and other intellectuals of the time. At twenty five she had her first one person show in Paris and was included in the 1936 pivotal exhibition at MOMA…Fantastic Art, Dada and Surrealism…..and that same year had an exhibition at a famous avant garde gallery in New York. Although Fini never considered herself a Surrealist she maintained close personal relationships with several members of the group. One can see how their ideology influenced her work but she remained firmly rooted in the tradition of Symbolism, Metaphysics and Italian and German Romanticism Her works can be found in most important collections of modern art around the world. Fini was renowned as a portraitist and as a painter of erotic sexual tensions with a mysterious atmosphere. She was adamant about being independent and not belonging to any one group. She lived life on her own terms and is sometimes referred to as …..the female Dali. She was also involved with designing for fashion and creating elaborate sets for opera and theatre. As a feminist she was definitely ahead of the times. She produced the first erotic male nude...
Category

1970s Surrealist Figurative Prints

Materials

Etching