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DRIE HEILIGE VROUWEN BIJ HET GRAF

DRIE HEILIGE VROUWEN BIJ HET GRAF

height: 61 cm.

plaster

NOTE

George Minne was a very talented artist who as a student made an incredible progress in a short period of time. He soon discovered he wanted to be a sculptor and that he wanted to focus on the human being and especially on the psychology of his subjects. Minne finished his studies around 1885 and five years later he was part of the artistic world in Brussels. He was allowed into various salons, was welcomed into the club of les XX, the gallery of the important Parisian art dealer Durand Ruel and was even well acquainted to Rodin, who was, already at that time, a renowned sculptor.

In 1898 he created Drie Heilige vrouwen bij het graf (Three Holy women at the grave) which is offered here for sale.

His themes had always dealt with pain, anxiety, sorrow and despair, usually personified by mother and child and in his early work he translated these vehement emotions into their facial and physical expressions. In later work however, one can see how he conveys these feelings into an even more touching way; he lets his subjects endure these torments with resignation, introspection and sometimes even almost in meditation. Drie Heilige vrouwen aan het graf shows this ascetic attitude what makes this work compelling.

The human suffering was a theme on which he varied often. This is not surprising when one realises that from the very beginning of his career he was well acquainted to Symbolist writers and poets who were preoccupied with existential problems. Moving to Brussels he became even more involved when he met other important figures of the Symbolist mouvement such as the Dutch artists Jan Toorop and Johan Thorn Prikker with whom he shared an interest for the social and political situation. Their work show a similar interest in style as well. The way the mantle of the holy women is sculpted proves a great care for the line which is a very typical feature of the works by Toorop and Thorn Prikker. The drapery is highly decorative, even manieristic. This stands in contrast with the serious subject matter changes the basically realistic representation into something mysterious and surreal.

Minne found his inspiration, as many other artists from his time, in medieval art. The pureness of this work recalls the religious and spiritual creations of Gothique sculpture. He realises this pureness and simplicity by taking the work away from its narrative context. Instead, by hiding the bodies and especially the faces of the subjects, they, and their grief, become anonymous and universal. In a way the group becomes symbolic to the human suffering.

Taken into account that his career took place against the background of the 'Fin de Siècle', the period of the mystical and spiritual Symbolism and the decorative and neo-gothique Art Nouveau, Minne and especially this work are very much part of the spirit of the age.

There are several examples known of this work in bronze, wood and plaster. Where the bronze and wood examples are to be found in musea and other public places including auction houses and art galleries, the plaster edition is very rare and is mostly conserved in private collections as is the work here offered for sale.