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Cloud Shepherd

Cloud Shepherd, also known as Berger des Nuages or Pastor de Nubes, is a work by Jean Arp located just outside the Plaza Cubierta of the University City of Caracas, near the Aula Magna. The 3.2-metre sculpture was based on a smaller form created in 1949, cast at the Susse foundry, and placed on the campus in 1954. It is also known as Forme de Lutin (Gnome Shape) and has multiple smaller copies around the world. Arp’s wavy design evokes the natural curves of clouds, hills, and lakes, and has been linked to his response to the Second World War. The work includes elements of Surrealism and Dada.

Cloud Shepherd bronze abstract sculpture with smooth organic contours on a tiled outdoor plaza.
Cloud Shepherd, a polished bronze abstract sculpture with flowing organic forms, displayed outdoors on a tiled plaza.
May 2015 © · CC BY-SA 4.0
Cloud Shepherd, a bronze-colored abstract sculpture with rounded organic forms and upward-reaching projections.
Cloud Shepherd by Jean Arp stands outdoors beside a patterned tiled wall.
May 2015 © · CC BY-SA 4.0
Cloud Shepherd, a golden-bronze abstract sculpture, stands beside a colorful geometric wall in a plaza.
Cloud Shepherd stands in a paved plaza beside a geometric concrete mural wall, with trees and blue sky in the background.
May 2015 © · CC BY-SA 4.0
Cloud Shepherd, a smooth golden sculpture, stands on a paved plaza beside a geometric tiled wall.
Cloud Shepherd by Jean Arp stands in an outdoor plaza with a geometric tiled mural in the background.
May 2015 © · CC BY-SA 4.0
Cloud Shepherd, a bronze abstract sculpture with rounded forms and a central peak, stands in front of a geometric tiled wall.
Cloud Shepherd by Hans Jean Arp stands outdoors before a colorful geometric wall at the Central University of Venezuela in Caracas.
· CC BY-SA 2.5

Identification

TitleBerger des Nuages
Alternative titlesPastor de Nubes; Pastor de Nuvens; Cloud Shepherd; Forme de Lutin (Gnomo Form); Forme de Lutin (Gnome Shape)
TypeSculpture

Creator

ArtistJean Arp (Hans Arp)

Discovery and provenance

Creation basisBased on one of Arp's smaller versions created in 1949
FoundrySusse foundry

Historical context

Campus contextMade for the University City of Caracas, whose design began in the 1940s and construction began in the 1950s under architect and designer Carlos Raúl Villanueva, who commissioned many artists from around the world as part of a Modernist project in Latin America
Historical influenceArp's reaction to World War II

Physical characteristics

SurfaceShiny
FormLarge organic form with rounded, wavy protrusions
Height3.2 meters

Appearance

Visual descriptionMore reminiscent of a strange budding fruit; a wavy form suggesting the natural curves of clouds, hills, and lakes

Iconography and meaning

MeaningExpresses Arp's opposition to the machines that caused wars
Stylistic featuresSurrealism and Dada
Artist statementIn 1953, Arp described the original small form as playful and lively, with a belly like a lute, naming it after a lutin (goblin); he described the giant Venezuelan version as a difficult-to-define father-figure, and said any definition of matter or the atom is like 'that disturbing cloud' and wondered whether this 'young giant' had become a shepherd of the clouds

Location and ownership

Current locationJust outside the Plaza Cubierta, near the Aula Magna, at the University City of Caracas (Ciudad Universitaria de Caracas)
Nearby artworkA large ceramic mural by Mateo Manaure is behind it
Original installation date1954

History and restoration

PreservationThe sculpture was preserved while Arp was still alive, and he was able to advise how he wanted it done

Other

Smaller copiesSeveral smaller copies exist around the world