LOT 81
DAMIEN HIRST
B. England, 1965
For the Love of God – Beyond Belief, 2007, Edition 180/300 & For the Love of God, 2007, Edition 180 / 300
Signed and dated
Inscribed “180/300 on both lower edge of paper
Etching on paper
34 x 52 cm
Provenance Private Collection, UK
For the Love of God – Beyond Belief is an etching on paper, Edition 180/300 by artist Damien Hirst. The etching is the artist’s preliminary work before crafting a sculpture, also produced in 2007. The sculpture consists of a platinum cast of an 18th-century human skull encrusted with 8,601 flawless diamonds, including a pear-shaped pink diamond located in the forehead that is known as the Skull Star Diamond. The skull’s teeth are original, and were purchased by Hirst in London. The artwork is a memento mori, or reminder of the mortality of the viewer.