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A bronze sculpture of a male figure holding a shell.

The sculpture shows a nude male figure kneeling on a square base. The torso is twisted slightly to the right, the head is bent down to the shell being held against the chest by the right arm. The shell is supported by the left arm which bent and crosses the chest with the hand cupped against the upper right arm. The surface of the figure is green with patches of dark brown.

Gallery Text

Minne was a leading figure in European turn-of-the-century symbolism, which posited explorations of interiority, spirituality, and the unconscious as antidotes to the materialism of an industrialized society. The figure of the kneeling youth was a recurrent motif in Minne’s oeuvre, and this one’s serpentine figure and downcast face evoke a state of contemplation and solitude, if not melancholy. The omission of naturalistic details, like musculature or individualized toes, abstracts the depiction of the youth’s body. This slim and angular figure exemplifies the artist’s sculptural style, which was celebrated for its synthesis of the elongated figure of the Gothic with the contemporary decorative style of Art Nouveau.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
BR34.199
People
George Minne, Belgian (Ghent, Belgium 1866 - 1941 Laethem-Saint-Martin, Belgium)
Title
Kneeling Youth with a Shell
Other Titles
Alternate Title: Boy with a Lily Pad; Kneeling Boy
Classification
Sculpture
Work Type
sculpture
Date
1923
Culture
Belgian
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/226364

Location

Location
Level 1, Room 1440, Modern and Contemporary Art, Secessionism: Munich, Vienna, Berlin
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Physical Descriptions

Medium
Bronze
Dimensions
69 x 44.5 x 25 cm (27 3/16 x 17 1/2 x 9 13/16 in.)
Inscriptions and Marks
  • Signed: incised on base at l.l.: G Minne

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
[Galerie Thannhauser, Berlin].

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Busch-Reisinger Museum, Association Fund
Accession Year
1934
Object Number
BR34.199
Division
Modern and Contemporary Art
Contact
am_moderncontemporary@harvard.edu
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Exhibition History

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Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Modern and Contemporary Art at am_moderncontemporary@harvard.edu