Wercollier Prisonnier politique Croix de Hinzert 01

Lucien Wercollier (26 July 1908 – 24 April 2002) was a sculptor from

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

. While he worked primarily in

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...

and

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite. Marble is typically not Foliation (geology), foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the ...

, some of his work is sculpted in

wood Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin th ...

alabaster Alabaster is a mineral or rock that is soft, often used for carving, and is processed for plaster powder. Archaeologists and the stone processing industry use the word differently from geologists. The former use it in a wider sense that includes ...

, stone and

onyx Onyx primarily refers to the parallel banded variety of chalcedony, a silicate mineral. Agate and onyx are both varieties of layered chalcedony that differ only in the form of the bands: agate has curved bands and onyx has parallel bands. The c ...

. His public monuments in bronze and marble are of particular importance. Works by Wercollier can be found in public places and museums in

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

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 ...

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. During the German occupation of Luxembourg in World War II, Wercollier refused to join the

Reichskulturkammer The Reich Chamber of Culture (''Reichskulturkammer'') was a government agency in Nazi Germany. It was established by law on 22 September 1933 in the course of the '' Gleichschaltung'' process at the instigation of Reich Minister Joseph Goebbels a ...

, the

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

organization that ensured all artists' works were of an acceptably "

Aryan Aryan or Arya (, Indo-Iranian *''arya'') is a term originally used as an ethnocultural self-designation by Indo-Iranians in ancient times, in contrast to the nearby outsiders known as 'non-Aryan' (*''an-arya''). In Ancient India, the term ' ...

" spirit. This refusal put him at odds with the Nazi occupiers, and when he participated in the 1942 nationwide strike, he was arrested on September 4, 1942. Wercollier was first imprisoned in the

Neumünster Abbey Neumünster Abbey (Luxembourgish: ''Abtei Neimënster'', french: Abbaye de Neumünster) is a public meeting place, cultural centre, and former Benedictine abbey located in the Grund district of Luxembourg City in southern Luxembourg. History ...

Luxembourg City Luxembourg ( lb, Lëtzebuerg; french: Luxembourg; german: Luxemburg), also known as Luxembourg City ( lb, Stad Lëtzebuerg, link=no or ; french: Ville de Luxembourg, link=no; german: Stadt Luxemburg, link=no or ), is the capital city of the Lu ...

. Today, the Abbey is home to the Lucien Wercollier Cloister, where many works from his private collection are permanently displayed. In 1965 when the lighthouse-shaped National Monument to the

Strike Strike may refer to: People * Strike (surname) Physical confrontation or removal *Strike (attack), attack with an inanimate object or a part of the human body intended to cause harm *Airstrike, military strike by air forces on either a suspected ...

was opened in

Wiltz Wiltz ( lb, Wolz or (locally) ) is a commune with town status in north-western Luxembourg, capital of the canton Wiltz. Wiltz is situated on the banks of the river Wiltz. It was also a battleground in the Battle of the Bulge, near the en ...

(which won the title of the "martyred city" for the Germans' particularly strong vehemence leveled against it in response), Wercollier created the two

relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...

s on the lighthouse displayed there. Wercollier was later transferred to the

Hinzert concentration camp Hinzert was a concentration camp in Nazi Germany, in what is now Rhineland-Palatinate, from the border with Luxembourg. Between 1939 and 1945, 13,600 political prisoners between the ages of 13 and 80 were imprisoned at Hinzert. Many were in tr ...

. The camp, located just 30 kilometers from the Luxembourg border, was one of the main sites where Luxembourger resistance leaders were sent. Today, one of his best-known bronze sculptures is on the grounds of the Hinzert concentration camp where it honors the prisoners and those murdered there. Later Wercollier was moved to

Lublin Lublin is the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the center of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339 (December 2021). Lublin is the largest Polish city east of t ...

in German-occupied

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

, returning to Luxembourg after he was freed at the end of the war. In 1954, he was one of the founding members of

Iconomaques Iconomaques is the name of a group of Luxembourg artists who moved away from figurative art in order to promote abstract art. Created in 1954, the founding members were Will Dahlem, Henri Dillenbourg, François Gillen, Emile Kirscht, Joseph P ...

, a group of Luxembourg artists keen to promote abstract art. His bronze monument ''Interpénétration'' stands at the

Palace of Europe The Palace of Europe (french: Palais de l'Europe) is a building located in Strasbourg, France, that has served as the seat of the Council of Europe since 1977 when it replaced the "House of Europe". Between 1977 and 1999 it was also the Strasbour ...

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...

. Wercollier's sculpture that stands in front of the

European Court of Justice The European Court of Justice (ECJ, french: Cour de Justice européenne), formally just the Court of Justice, is the supreme court of the European Union in matters of European Union law. As a part of the Court of Justice of the European Un ...

was featured on Luxembourg's eight-franc

postage stamp A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage (the cost involved in moving, insuring, or registering mail), who then affix the stamp to the fa ...

in 1974. Another well-known work is his marble monument ''La Vague'' ("The Wave"), located on the grounds of the Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital (Centre hospitalier neuro-psychiatrique) in

Ettelbruck Ettelbruck ( lb, Ettelbréck , german: Ettelbrück ) is a commune with town status in central Luxembourg, with a population of inhabitants. History Until 1850, both Erpeldange and Schieren were part of the Ettelbruck commune as well, but both ...

, Luxembourg. When nations around the world gave gifts of art works for display at the

Kennedy Center The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (formally known as the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, and commonly referred to as the Kennedy Center) is the United States National Cultural Center, located on the Potom ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, the government of Luxembourg donated Wercollier's sculpture '' Ascension'' as its gift to honor

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...

.Gifts on Tour at the Kennedy Center (pdf)
Another notable work of Wercollier is his sculpture ''Altius'' ("Higher")—a tribute to the sport of

pole vault Pole vaulting, also known as pole jumping, is a track and field event in which an athlete uses a long and flexible pole, usually made from fiberglass or carbon fiber, as an aid to jump over a bar. Pole jumping competitions were known to the Myc ...

ing—which stands in the Olympic Sculpture Garden at the

Olympic Museum The Olympic Museum (french: Musée olympique) in Lausanne, Switzerland houses permanent and temporary exhibits relating to sport and the Olympic movement. With more than 10,000 artifacts, the museum is the largest archive of Olympic Games in the ...

Lausanne , neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bretigny-sur-Morrens, Chavannes-près-Renens, Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Crissier, Cugy, Écublens, Épalinges, Évian-les-Bains (FR-74), Froideville, Jouxtens-Mézery, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Lugrin (FR-74), ...

. Among his best-known works are sculptures dealing with the

occupation of Luxembourg during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. For example, his bronze '' The Political Prisoner'' stands at the National Monument to the Resistance and to the Deportation at the Notre-Dame cemetery in

Limpertsberg Limpertsberg ( lb, Lampertsbierg) is a quarter in north-western Luxembourg City, in the centre of Luxembourg. In the south, on the border with the main city is the Glacis, a large open air parking lot which hosts the annual Schueberfouer fair, ...

. It is also exhibited at the National Resistance Museum in

Esch-sur-Alzette Esch-sur-Alzette (; lb, Esch-Uelzecht ; german: Esch an der Alzette or ''Esch an der Alzig'') is the second city of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and the country's second-most populous commune, with a population of 35,040 inhabitants, . It lies ...

. Lucien Wercollier also designed the sculpture that is given to recipients of the

Vision for Europe Award The Vision for Europe Award is an honour that has been bestowed annually since 1995 by the non-profit Edmond Israel Foundation in "recognition of outstanding achievements in taking Europe into the future." Between 1995 and 2008, the award was pre ...

Bibliography

* Joseph-Émile Muller, 1976. ''Lucien Wercollier.'' Collection: Les Maîtres de la Sculpture Contemporaine. Arted, Éditions d'Art, Paris. 49 pages. . *Joseph-Émile Muller, 1983. ''Lucien Wercollier''. Publication de la Section des arts et lettres de l' Institut grand-ducal. Imprimerie Saint-Paul, Luxembourg. 132 pages. Sans ISBN. Other publications: *Paul Bertemes (coord.), 2005. ''Lucien Wercollier au cloître de l'Abbaye Neumünster''. Catalogue édité à l’occasion de l’installation des sculptures de la collection privée de l’artiste au Centre culturel de rencontre Abbaye de Neumünster. 64 pp. . * Linda Eischen (coord.), 2003. ''Wercollier et ses amis peintres Gillen, Stoffel, Trémont. Exposition à la Villa Vauban''. Catalogue de l’exposition du 30 avril au 7 septembre 2003. (Sans indication du nom de l’imprimeur). . * Josée Kirps, 2001. ''Lucien Wercollier.'' In Robert Theisen (coord.) : ''Luxembourg sculptures. Skulpturen - Sculptures.'' Éditions Îlôts, Steinsel, Luxembourg. . (See the pp. 123–127 for L. Wercollier). * Joseph-Émile Muller, 1988. ''Lucien Wercollier pour son 80e anniversaire.'' Les Cahiers luxembourgeois no 2: 17-24. * Ragon M. & M. Seuphor, 1974. ''Wercollier Lucien. L'art abstrait 1945-1970. Biographie des artistes''. Ed. Maeght, Paris. * Joseph-Émile Muller, 1954. ''Lucien Wercollier et la sculpture moderne.'' Les Cahiers luxembourgeois, no 3.

External sources

Lucien Wercollier on the Website of the National Museum of History and Art (Musée national d'histoire et d'art), Luxembourg

Picture of the sculpture ''Altius'' in Lausanne

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wercollier, Lucien 1908 births 2002 deaths Luxembourgian sculptors People from Luxembourg City Hinzert concentration camp survivors Luxembourgian artists 20th-century sculptors