Artwork Page for Solidarity

Details / Information for Solidarity

Solidarity

1898

George Minne

(Belgian, 1866–1941)
Culture
Belgium, late 19th century
Medium
marble
Measurements
Overall: 69.9 x 63.6 x 24.2 cm (27 1/2 x 25 1/16 x 9 1/2 in.)
Credit Line
Andrew R. and Martha Holden Jennings Fund 1968.191
Public Domain
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Location
222 Impressionism & Post-Impressionism
Print
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Did You Know?

Minnne’s sculpture explores spiritual life and inner conflict. His work focused on premodern themes and greatly influenced artists in Belgium, France, and Germany.

Description

In 1898, the Belgian Labor Party commissioned George Minne to make a memorial for Jean Volders, the Socialist movement leader. Rather than making a traditional portrait, Minne represented the socialist ideal of prioritizing cooperation over competition, creating an allegory of brotherhood with two nude men standing in a boat, anxiously trying to keep their balance in a storm. The Labor Party disliked Minne’s design and withdrew the commission. In anger, Minne destroyed his nearly 10-foot-tall plaster model, but the artist’s friends and contemporary critics recognized the power of the sculpture. A smaller study survived and was later cast in bronze. This marble version is the only carved example of the composition known to have been completed

Solidarity

1898

George Minne

(Belgian, 1866–1941)
Belgium, late 19th century

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