Man Ray
Vierge apprivoisée/Domesticated Virgin (Let me out), 1969
Ready-Made sculpture cast in bronze contained in original black plexiglass box with perspex front
3 5/8 x 2 x 3 inches: bronze sculpture
4 3/4 x 3 x 2 inches: plexiglass box
Incised "Man Ray” and numbered “e.a." on each leg
Published by Marcel Zerbib, Paris
Provenance
Marcel Zerbib, Paris
Arthur Brandt Collection, New York
Private Collection, New York
Literature
Andrea Inselmann, A Private Eye: Dada, Surrealism and More from the Brandt Collection, Herbert F Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University, 2006, page 99, this example reproduced.
Jean-Hubert Martin, Rosalind Krauss, Brigitte Hermann, Man Ray: Objets de mon affection, Sculptures, Objets, Catalogue Raisonné, Paris, 1983, no. 136, page 155, another example reproduced.
Noriko Fuku, John P. Jacob, Man Ray: Unconcerned But Not Indifferent, The National Art Center, Tokyo, 2009, page 195, another example reproduced.
Exhibited
Museum Boymans-van Beuningen, Rotterdam, Man Ray, September-November, 1971, no. 212, another example exhibited.
Maruani Mercier Gallery, Brussels, From Man Ray to Mariën: An Idea of Surrealism, January 21-March 20, 2021, another example exhibited.
Turchin Center for the Arts, Boone, North Carolina, The Omnipotent Dream: Man Ray, Confluences and Influences, 2003, another example exhibited.
Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, A Private Eye: Dada, Surrealism and More from the Brandt Collection, October 21, 2006-December 24, 2006, this example exhibited.
Éditions Cahiers d’Art, Paris, France, Man Ray, April 14-May 28, 2022, another example exhibited.
Condition
The polished bronze example of Man Ray Vierge apprivoisée/Domesticated Virgin (Let Me Out) cast in 1969 is in overall excellent condition aside from minor casting imperfections. Originally published black plexiglass box with minor scuffs and scratches; Bronze sculpture screwed in at bottom has minor scuffs and scratches due to age. Other examples of this Man Ray ready made are often detached from their original as published plexiglass box; in addition many examples have condition issues, including extensive tarnish, discoloration, scratches and deep gauges.
About Vierge apprivoisée/Domesticated Virgin (Let me out)
In this choice example of Vierge apprivoisée/Domesticated Virgin (Let me out) created in 1969, Man Ray provokes viewers by trapping a miniature bronze cast of a nude woman in a plexiglass box that is composed of black plexiglass on all sides except its clear plexiglass front cover. Vierge apprivoisée, the French title translates as “Deprived Virgin”; however Man Ray, the masterful American who was fluent in English and French, provides an alternative title in English: Domesticated Virgin - Let me out. No further comment necessary.
Published by Marcel Zerbib, France Marcel Zerbib was a French Gallerist and publisher of Man Ray Ready-Mades; Zerbib published the catalogue
MAN RAY objets de mon affection, "MAN RAY objects of my affection", for a 1968 exhibition at Galerie Europe, Paris. Although Man Ray originally created his series of Ready Mades in the 1920s, it was Marcel Zerbib’s initiative to publish an adjuct Ready Made multiple series in the 1960s. As the catalogue title indicates, the Ready-Mades were particularly special to Man Ray as he counted them among his favorites.
Arthur Brandt Collection
Significantly this Bronze example of Man Ray's Vierge apprivoisée /Domesticated Virgin (Let me out), 1969 was included in
A Private Eye: Dada, Surrealism and More from the Brandt Collection,
a museum exhibition of the Arthur Brandt Collection at
Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University from October 21, 2006-December 24, 2006. This example is also reproduced on page 99 in Andrea Inselmann's exhibition catalogue,
A Private Eye: Dada, Surrealism and More from the Brandt Collection, Herbert F Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University, 2006.
About Arthur Brandt
For reference, Arthur Brandt was a prolific New York collector who spent four decades acquiring Dada and Surrealist artworks after a chance encounter with Marcel Duchamp in 1955. In the 60's Arthur Brandt was introduced to Man Ray by Marcel Fleiss, the influential French art dealer.
