De Onbekende Beeldhouwer (the Anonymous Sculptor) is an artist or group of artists known for work on street sculptures in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

through the 1980s and 1990s. At least eight works that attracted public interest have been so attributed, including "The Violinist" (1991), which can be seen at the

Stopera The Stopera is a building complex in Amsterdam, Netherlands, housing both the city hall of Amsterdam and the Dutch National Opera and Ballet, the principal opera house in Amsterdam that is home of Dutch National Opera, Dutch National Ballet and ...

in Amsterdam.

Identity

The sculptor's identity (or possibly identities) has remained unknown. The suspects have included Gene Holt, an American sculptor, who denied his involvement in 2013, and the former Dutch Queen

Beatrix of the Netherlands Beatrix (Beatrix Wilhelmina Armgard, ; born 31 January 1938) is a member of the Dutch royal house who reigned as Queen of the Netherlands from 1980 until her abdication in 2013. Beatrix is the eldest daughter of Queen Juliana and her husban ...

. It has been stated by the

Government of Amsterdam The Government of Amsterdam consists of several territorial and functional forms of local and regional government. The principal form of government is the municipality of Amsterdam, Netherlands. The municipality's territory covers the city of Amster ...

that the sculptor is a medical person of note, who wishes to remain anonymous. "The Breast Plate" This small sculpture of a hand on a woman's breast is located between the stones at Oudekerksplein. It is the fourth piece of art made by the anonymous artist and gives the best clue as to who this artist is. It appeared out of nothing in the middle of the city at the end of February 1993, but within a week it was removed by the government. This turned out to be easier said than done, as the sculpture was fixed to one meter's depth of concrete. There were several reasons for the removal: the sculpture was causing a lot of noise when people were stepping on it, there was no permit for its placement, and its subject was deemed "inappropriate" for the middle of the red light district. After a public announcement that the statue would not be replaced, the sculptor presented himself at the Amsterdam department of art. It was decided that the statue would be returned to its place with some additional insulation to decrease the noise. The city agreed to keep the identity of the sculptor secret, and since July 1993, the sculpture can be appreciated at its original location at Oudekerksplein. This leads to a curious, yet grammatically correct sentence: "There are people who know who the people who know who he is are." Matt McCluer. See als

an

Main attributed works

*"The Blue Fiddler", 1982, Raampoort, Amsterdam *"The Tree Saw", 1989, Leidseplein, Amsterdam *"With Nose in Books", 1990, Velsen *"The Violinist", 1991, Stopera, Amsterdam *"The Breast Plate, or Streaked Breast", 1993, Oudekerksplein, Amsterdam *"The Accordion Player", 1994, Anjeliersstraat 175, Amsterdam *"Three Dandies in Conversation", 1995, Kinkerstraat, Amsterdam *"The Nun", 1999, Amersfoort (since 2007, Stadhuisplein) :nl:De Onbekende Beeldhouwer, Section translated from the Dutch Wikipedia page.

References

Anonymous artists 1980s sculptures 1990s sculptures Dutch contemporary art Sculptures in the Netherlands Artists from Amsterdam 20th-century Dutch sculptors {{sculptor-stub https://mattmccluer.bandcamp.com/album/good-things-happen-when-youre-happy