The ''Well of Life'' (sometimes also ''At the Well of Life'' or the ''Fountain of Life''; hr, Zdenac života) is a

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

by the Croatian sculptor and architect

Ivan Meštrović Ivan Meštrović (; 15 August 1883 – 16 January 1962) was a Croatian sculptor, architect, and writer. He was the most prominent modern Croatian sculptor and a leading artistic personality in contemporary Zagreb. He studied at Pavle Bilinić's ...

installed in front of the Croatian National Theatre on

Republic of Croatia Square Republic of Croatia Square ( hr, Trg Republike Hrvatske) is one of the biggest squares in Zagreb, Croatia. The square is located in Lower Town, with the Croatian National Theatre building at its centre. It is sometimes billed as the "most ...

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slop ...

, Croatia. It depicts people in various phases of life that crouch and twist their bodies around a well which symbolizes life, youth, and the source of eternal beauty.

Description

The sculpture is circular with relief of ten naked figures, a child, love couple and the old man, life-size, that crouch and twist their bodies around a well which contains water. Strong facial expressions of the figures show the joy of life which alternated rhythmically makes the life cycle. The figures are watching their reflections in the water, while their bodies appear to have been frozen in motion. The figures are arranged so that they show to viewer the purpose of the well, i.e., desire for life and joy, which can be seen best in young characters who are hugging and kissing as opposed to the old man who is at the end of his life and looks with grief into the well, a symbol of life. The sculpture depicts man's natural cycle, from birth to death. The sculpture is smooth and rounded with no sharp edges or regular geometric forms. It is made of bronze, whose dark color is in great contrast to the whiteness of the rock on which it is placed. The transitions between light and shadow are mild. The sculpture is both

convex Convex or convexity may refer to: Science and technology * Convex lens, in optics Mathematics * Convex set, containing the whole line segment that joins points ** Convex polygon, a polygon which encloses a convex set of points ** Convex polytope ...

and

concave Concave or concavity may refer to: Science and technology * Concave lens * Concave mirror Mathematics * Concave function, the negative of a convex function * Concave polygon, a polygon which is not convex * Concave set * The concavity In ca ...

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 ...

's influence on Meštrović can be seen in this sculpture. As art historian professor Ljiljana Čerina says, "With its shimmering surface treatment of the body, Meštrović brings Rodin's

impressionism Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating ...

into the

Vienna Secession The Vienna Secession (german: Wiener Secession; also known as ''the Union of Austrian Artists'', or ''Vereinigung Bildender Künstler Österreichs'') is an art movement, closely related to Art Nouveau, that was formed in 1897 by a group of Austri ...

which proves that he is rodinist among secessionists, while later in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

he proves that he is secessionist among rodinists."

Exhibition

Sculpture was made in 1905, and was exhibited in 1909 in the author's gallery in Ilica street no. 12. In year 1912, sculpture was bought by

Izidor Kršnjavi Izidor (Iso) Kršnjavi (; 22 April 1845 – 3 February 1927) was a Croatian painter, art historian, curator and politician. Biography Born in Našice, his first art lessons were obtained in Osijek, where he studied with Hugo Conrad von Hötze ...

and installed on the

. It was placed in the cavity surrounded by walls so that naked bodies on it would not cause astonishment and critical comments of, at the time, conservative people of Zagreb. In correspondence with

Ante Trumbić Ante Trumbić (17 May 1864 – 17 November 1938) was a Yugoslav and Croatian lawyer and politician in the early 20th century. Biography Trumbić was born in Split in the Austrian crownland of Dalmatia and studied law at Zagreb, Vienna and Gra ...

, Meštrović clearly expressed his wish that ''Well of Life'' should be placed in

Split Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, enterta ...

References

External links

*
Analysis of the sculpture
{{coord, 45.81009, 15.96989, format=dms, type:landmark_region:HR, display=title 1905 sculptures 1900s sculptures Bronze sculptures in Croatia Culture in Zagreb Croatian art Sculptures by Ivan Meštrović Donji grad, Zagreb Sculptures of children Water in art