''The Destroyed City'' (Dutch: ''De verwoeste stad'') is a bronze memorial sculpture in the Dutch city of

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"Ne ...

. It commemorates the

German bombing of Rotterdam Rotterdam was subjected to heavy aerial bombardment by the ''Luftwaffe'' during the German invasion of the Netherlands in World War II. The objective was to support the German troops fighting in the city, break Dutch resistance and force the ...

on 14 May 1940, which destroyed the medieval centre of the city. Unveiled in 1953, it was designated as a Dutch national monument ( Rijksmonument) in 2010. It is the largest sculpture by the Russian-born French sculptor

Ossip Zadkine Ossip Zadkine (russian: Осип Цадкин; 28 January 1888 – 25 November 1967) was a Belarusian-born French artist. He is best known as a sculptor, but also produced paintings and lithographs. Early years and education Zadkine was born on ...

, his best known work, and the best known sculpture in Rotterdam. The high sculpture depicts an stylized human figure leaning against a tree stump. The figure holds both hands aloft, with its head thrown back as if crying in grief, and a gaping hole in its chest and abdomen. The absence of a heart is said to symbolise the destruction of the centre of Rotterdam. Zadkine described it as "A cry of horror against the inhuman brutality of this act of tyranny". The sculpture has been compared to the figure with arms raised in terror on the far right of Picasso's painting ''

Guernica Guernica (, ), official name (reflecting the Basque language) Gernika (), is a town in the province of Biscay, in the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country, Spain. The town of Guernica is one part (along with neighbouring Lumo) of the mu ...

''. It stands on a tapering high plinth of

Labrador , nickname = "The Big Land" , etymology = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Canada , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 ...

granite blocks (reportedly, the stone had been intended for a sculpture of Adolf Hitler in Berlin). It is sited on the north side of the early 17th century dock basin of in the centre of Rotterdam. Zadkine's work was influenced by Rodin and by Cubism. He was inspired to create the sculpture shortly after the end of the Second World War, probably 1946 or 1947, when his train passed through the ruined centre of Rotterdam while travelling from Paris to visit his friend, the doctor and painter , in the Dutch town of Deurne. Zadkine created a high model in terracotta, intended as a memorial to the victims of war, which was exhibited in Berlin and Prague in 1947. The terracotta was damaged in transit, so Zadkine created a new model in plaster about high, which was exhibited in Brussels and at the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam in 1948. Zadkine was commissioned to create a full-size sculpture in bronze by , the managing director of the

De Bijenkorf De Bijenkorf (; literally, "the beehive") is a chain of high-end department stores in the Netherlands, with its flagship store on Dam Square in Amsterdam. The chain is owned by Selfridges Group, which also owns Britain's Selfridges and Ireland's ...

chain of Dutch department stores, whose Rotterdam store was heavily damaged in the German bombing in 1940. A bronze model was exhibited at the

Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen Municipal Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen () is an art museum in Rotterdam in the Netherlands. The name of the museum is derived from the two most important collectors of Frans Jacob Otto Boijmans and Daniël George van Beuningen. It is located a ...

in Rotterdam in December 1949. The full-size bronze sculpture was created from 1951 to 1953 and cast by the

Susse Frères The French firm Susse Frères manufactured a daguerreotype camera which was one of the first two photographic cameras ever sold to the public. The company was also engaged in the foundry business and owned a large foundry in Paris. History Produc ...

foundry in Paris. It was presented to the city as an anonymous gift, on condition that its location should be chosen by Zadkine, and it should remain permanently in place; the identity of the donor became known in 1978. The modern sculpture was controversial, with the objections of , director of Rotterdam's Department of Public Works (), published in the . Tillema condemned the sculpture as a "madly demonic scourge" that would "paralyze the heart of my city forever". Despite his objections, ultimately the gift was accepted, and Tillema was responsible for designing the plinth. The statue was donated, but installation, including the plinth, cost 24,500

guilders Guilder is the English translation of the Dutch and German ''gulden'', originally shortened from Middle High German ''guldin pfenninc'' "gold penny". This was the term that became current in the southern and western parts of the Holy Roman Emp ...

. It was unveiled by Jacoba van Walsum, wife of

Gerard van Walsum Gerard Ewout van Walsum (21 February 1900 – 27 July 1980) was a Dutch politician of the PvdA. He was both a member of the House of Representatives and the Senate, councilor and alderman of Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on ...

, the mayor or Rotterdam, on 15 May 1953 on , where it stands nowadays outside the Maritime Museum Rotterdam. It was moved approximately from its original position in 1975. It was restored while temporarily removed in 2005 to allow construction works, and returned to its place in 2007. It was registered as a '' Rijksmonument'' (number 530902) in 2010. A proposal made in 2014 to move the sculpture again to a prominent position outside the new

Rotterdam Centraal station Rotterdam Centraal railway station () is the main railway station of the city Rotterdam in South Holland, Netherlands. The station received an average of 112,000 passengers daily in 2019. The current station building, located at Station Square, ...

was soon abandoned. It has received many nicknames from the residents of Rotterdam, including "Stad zonder Hart" (City without a heart), "Zadkini", “Jan Gat” (Jan Hole) and "Jan met de Handjes" (Jan with the little hands). In February 2019, the sculpture and its emotional impact were discussed in the

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

programme ''Pen Pals''. File:Onthulling door mevrouw Van Walsum van het beeld van Zadkine te Rotterdam, Bestanddeelnr 905-7256.jpg, Unveiling in 1953 File:Zadkine rb I.jpg, 2005 File:Pays-Bas Rotterdam Leuvehaven De Verwoerste Stad - panoramio.jpg, 2015

References

The destroyed city
Sculpture International Rotterdam

tracesofwar.nl
Sculpture in Rotterdam
edited by Jan van Adrichem, Jelle Bouwhuis, Mariette Dölle, p.200-201
Monumentnummer: 530902 De Verwoeste Stad te Rotterdam
Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed
Unveiling of The Destroyed City
Platform Wederopbouw Rotterdam {{DEFAULTSORT:Destroyed City, The 1953 sculptures Bronze sculptures in the Netherlands Buildings and structures in Rotterdam Rijksmonuments in Rotterdam Sculptures by Ossip Zadkine World War II memorials in the Netherlands