Owls, 1958

Initially committed to realistic depictions of the human figure since the 1930s – sculpting in plaster and bronze, or carving directly into stone – Bella Raftopoulou gradually moved towards stylisation and simplification, a shift that peaked in the mid-1950s. Her “Owls”, created as she began incorporating animal motifs into her work in the 1950s and carved directly into stone, is the largest and most striking of her animal-themed works. Comprising three separately oriented blocks from which roughly carved owl heads emerge, the sculpture radiates a sense of calm and stillness, as if the birds were roosting in a tree under cover of night.