Between 1957 and 1959, Calder began to work in increasingly monumental dimensions, perfecting the technique of welding and bolting that he continued to use throughout his career. From the mid-1950s until his death, Calder’s large-scale sculptures were frequently commissioned for businesses, museums and public sites around the world. New York State alone counts thirteen public works by the artist, such as .125, 1957, International Terminal 4, John F. Kennedy International Airport and Object in Five Planes, 1965, Federal Plaza, New York City. International sculptures can be found in eighteen countries outside the United States, with seventeen public works in France, including L'araignée rouge, 1976, at La Défense, Paris: Trois pics, at the Grenoble train station and Totem-Saché, 1974, in Calder’s adopted town of Saché.

Beginning in 1966, Calder created scaled works as maquettes for several monumental public commissions. This practice became an integral part of his working method and allowed the artist to test the strength and support of the composition and to best site the final sculpture through scaled installations. The present work is the 1:10 intermediate maquette for Jerusalem Stabile.

Balanced on multiple points, the sculpture’s curved elements reach upwards and outwards in graceful arches in an open, organic and asymmetrical composition. Although each element is irregularly shaped, the entire work is balanced, harmonious and invites exploration. As the artist himself has said: “You have to walk around a stabile or through it—a mobile dances in front of you.”

Jerusalem Stabile (Intermediate Maquette), like its namesake, is painted in the artist’s signature red – known as “bright Calder red” – and seems as if it could move at any moment. The organic nature of this work reflects Calder’s increasing interest in flora and fauna during this period and his desire to expand the definition of sculpture through color and fluidity. Calder himself choose the location and the position of the monumental work on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem, where there the wide arches frame the views of the trees and mountains beyond.