George (Georges) Minne (born ''Georgius Joannes Leonardus Minne''; 30 August 1866 – 18 February 1941) was a

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

artist and sculptor famous for his idealized depictions of man's inner spiritual conflicts, including the "Kneeling Youth" sculpture series. A contemporary of Gustav Klimt and Egon Schiele, Minne's work shows many similarities in both form and subject matter to the Viennese Secessionists, the fathers of Art Nouveau.

Life

He was born in

Ghent, Belgium Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded in ...

as the son of an architect (Fredericus Augustus Minne). In 1879, Minne studied painting at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Ghent, then in the

Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts The Royal Academy of Fine Arts of Brussels (french: Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts - École supérieure des Arts de la Ville de Bruxelles (ARBA-ESA), nl, Koninklijke Academie voor Schone Kunsten van Brussel), is an art school established in B ...

in Brussels from 1885 through 1889. In 1891 he was elected a member of the arts group

Les XX ''Les XX'' ( French; "''Les Vingt''"; ; ) was a group of twenty Belgian painters, designers and sculptors, formed in 1883 by the Brussels lawyer, publisher, and entrepreneur Octave Maus. For ten years, they held an annual exhibition of their ar ...

.Price, Renée. ''New Worlds: German and Austrian Art 1890-1940'', New York: Neue Galerie, 2001. He had made his first visit to Paris in 1886 where he met the writers

Maurice Maeterlinck Maurice Polydore Marie Bernard Maeterlinck (29 August 1862 – 6 May 1949), also known as Count (or Comte) Maeterlinck from 1932, was a Belgian playwright, poet, and essayist who was Flemish but wrote in French. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in ...

and Gregore Le Roy, who introduced him to the French Symbolists. Minne returned to Paris in 1890 and asked

Auguste Rodin François Auguste René Rodin (12 November 184017 November 1917) was a French sculptor, generally considered the founder of modern sculpture. He was schooled traditionally and took a craftsman-like approach to his work. Rodin possessed a uniqu ...

for permission to work in his studio, Rodin told him, "I have nothing to teach you." In 1892, Minne married Josephine Destanberg, the daughter of a Ghent poet. He then spent most of his time drawing and sculpting. He established his own bronze foundry in 1910–14, in Ghent, which was managed by his son. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

he fled to

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

, but returned after the war, and taught drawing.

Works

His most famous works are the "Kneeling Youth" series of sculptures, including "The Small Relic Bearer" and "The Fountain of Kneeling Youths", a bronze-cast fountain in his home town of

Ghent Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded in ...

(the Marble originals are at the

Folkwang Museum Museum Folkwang is a major collection of 19th- and 20th-century art in Essen, Germany. The museum was established in 1922 by merging the Essener Kunstmuseum, which was founded in 1906, and the private Folkwang Museum of the collector and pat ...

in Essen,

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

), as well as various smaller sculptures in private and museum holdings, such as the pair of "Kneeling Youths" at the

Neue Galerie New York The Neue Galerie New York ( German for "New Gallery") is a museum of early twentieth-century German and Austrian art and design located in the William Starr Miller House at 86th Street and Fifth Avenue in New York City. Established in 2001, ...

and the plaster of "Kneeling Youth" (1898) acquired in 2011 by the

National Gallery of Victoria The National Gallery of Victoria, popularly known as the NGV, is an art museum in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1861, it is Australia's oldest and most visited art museum. The NGV houses an encyclopedic art collection across two ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

. The Neue Galerie's "Kneeling Youth" sculptures were previously owned by

Adele Bloch-Bauer Adele Bloch-Bauer (née Bauer; August 9, 1881 – January 24, 1925) was Viennese socialite, salon hostess, and patron of the arts from Austria-Hungary. A Jewish woman, she is most well known for being the subject of two of artist Gustav Klimt's ...

and her husband Ferdinand Bloch-Bauer, a wealthy industrialist. The sculptures were confiscated by the Nazis, and only through extensive restitution efforts were they returned to Bloch-Bauer's niece

Maria Altmann Maria Altmann (née Maria Victoria Bloch, later Bloch-Bauer; February 18, 1916 – February 7, 2011) was an Austrian-American Jewish refugee from Austria, who fled her home country after it was annexed to the Third Reich. She is noted for her u ...

, and eventually acquired by the museum. For the Basilica of Koekelberg Minne made the sculpture of the Sacred Heart for the altar in the apse. He also made the bronze calvarie at the outside of the basilica.

Honours

* 1931 : Created baron by Royal Order of 25 April. * 1934 : Grand officer in the Order of the Crown.Royal Order of 7.4.1934 * Member of the

Royal Academy of Science, Letters and Fine Arts of Belgium The Royal Academy of Science, Letters and Fine Arts of Belgium (french: Académie royale des sciences, des lettres et des beaux-arts de Belgique, sometimes referred to as ') is the independent learned society of science and arts of the French Comm ...

References

External links

Minne at the Getty Museum

Neue Galerie

Basilica of Koekelberg

National Gallery of Victoria
{{DEFAULTSORT:Minne, George 1941 deaths 1866 births Members of the Royal Academy of Belgium Grand Officers of the Order of the Crown (Belgium) Barons of Belgium Art Nouveau sculptors Nobility from Ghent 20th-century Belgian sculptors 19th-century Belgian sculptors 19th-century Belgian male artists Royal Academy of Fine Arts (Ghent) faculty Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts alumni Royal Academy of Fine Arts (Ghent) alumni 20th-century Belgian male artists

Life

Works

Honours

References

Further reading

External links