Igor Mitoraj — Tête Secrète
The Tête Secrète (Secret Head) is one of the most intimate and sought-after editions in Igor Mitoraj's entire body of work. Created in 1978 — among the earliest of his signature bandaged head motifs — this small polished bronze encapsulates the entire philosophy of concealment, fragility, and mystery that defines his career. If you own a Tête Secrète, I am an active buyer.
About the Tête Secrète
Unlike the more martial Centurione series, the Tête Secrète is entirely personal in scale and feeling. The head — approximately 12 cm without base — is wrapped so completely in tight bandaging that only the oval of the skull is visible beneath. No features emerge. The bronze surface is polished to a warm golden tone in the principal edition, catching light in a way that emphasises the rounded forms beneath the wrapping.
The edition was published by Artcurial, Paris — the prestigious French auction house and gallery that worked closely with Mitoraj throughout the late 1970s and 1980s. Artcurial was instrumental in building the market for his small bronze editions and the Tête Secrète was one of their most successful multiples. The edition is limited to 250 numbered examples, each signed by the artist and accompanied by a certificate of authenticity from Artcurial.
Tête Secrète — 1978, Gold-Patina Bronze
The principal edition is cast in polished bronze with a warm gold patina. The head sits on an original black marble cube base. The underside is numbered and signed. Most examples retain their original black marble base; those that have lost the base still retain full collectability if signed.
Prométhée — Silver Patina
The Prométhée is a distinct Mitoraj work in silver patina — a small bandaged head with arms crossed at the chest, on a black cubic base. Unlike the Tête Secrète (which is an oval skull with no features visible), the Prométhée shows the face more completely, with the nose and lips emerging through the binding. A rare and striking piece in an unusual finish for Mitoraj.
Market Value and Recent Sales
The Tête Secrète consistently achieves between and at auction for the gold-patina variant in excellent condition with the original base. The silver variant typically sells in a similar range. Condition of the base and the completeness of the paperwork (Artcurial certificate) are both noted. I buy privately, simply and directly.
Sell Your Tête Secrète
If you own a Tête Secrète by Mitoraj — in any condition, with or without the base, with or without the certificate — please contact me. I respond to every message personally within 24 hours and there is no obligation to proceed.
Collection Photographs — Tête Secrète, Visage Envoilé & Prométhée
The Bandaged Head Motif in Mitoraj's Work
The Tête Secrète belongs to the earliest and most sustained preoccupation in Mitoraj's sculptural career — the bandaged or veiled head. From 1978 onward, this motif appears in virtually every medium he worked in: small bronze multiples, monumental public sculpture, lithography, drawing, and marble. The bandaging simultaneously conceals and reveals: we know there is a face beneath, and its absence makes its presence more intense. Mitoraj spoke of the bandage as "a protection and a prison at the same time — the face is hidden from the world but also the world is hidden from the face."
The Tête Secrète (1978) is the founding document of this series. Subsequent works — the Visage Envoilé, the Visage Bandé, the large-scale Testa Addormentata at Canary Wharf — all descend from this small, polished, intimate bronze. Owning a Tête Secrète is owning the origin of one of the most recognisable visual languages in contemporary sculpture.
Artcurial's Role in Mitoraj's Market
Artcurial — founded in Paris in 1975 as a partnership between major French cultural institutions — was the primary publisher of Mitoraj's small bronze editions in the late 1970s and 1980s. The relationship was crucial: Artcurial provided the commercial infrastructure (edition management, certificates, distribution) that allowed Mitoraj to focus on his studio practice in Pietrasanta. The Tête Secrète, the Prométhée, and the Kea are among the Artcurial editions that now command the strongest prices on the secondary market, precisely because of Artcurial's rigorous documentation and the prestige of the association. Artcurial today remains one of the leading auction venues for Mitoraj's work.
Distinguishing Tête Secrète from Related Works
Several Mitoraj bronzes share the bandaged-head vocabulary but are distinct works. The Tête Secrète (1978) is a complete, smooth oval skull entirely wrapped, with no facial features visible. The Visage Envoilé / Visage Bandé shows the lips breaking through the wrapping — partial revelation. The Prométhée shows a figure with bandaged head and arms crossed at the chest, in silver patina on a black cubic base — a distinct work, not a head variant. The Argos series (edition of 250) shows a head with visible nose and brow. The Testa Addormentata is a monumental horizontal female head. Each is a distinct work with its own edition and market value. If you are unsure which work you own, send me a photograph and I will identify it precisely.
Contact Me About Your Tête Secrète
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Send a MessageSee also: Mitoraj Centurione series · Mitoraj Eros Bendato · All Mitoraj bronzes wanted
About This Collection
This site documents one private collector's search for works by Igor Mitoraj (1944–2014) — the Polish-French sculptor celebrated for his fractured classical figures in bronze and marble. Mitoraj studied in Kraków under Tadeusz Kantor, trained in Paris at the École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts, and established his permanent studio in Pietrasanta, Tuscany in 1983. His work is held in public collections across Europe and the Americas, and his auction record — €6.89 million for a monumental Tindaro Screpolato at Sotheby's Paris in 2019 — places him among the most sought-after post-war European sculptors. If you have a Mitoraj work available, please use the contact button to get in touch.