GEORGE MINNE ~ sculptor ~ (°1866 - 1941).

GEORGE MINNE was a Belgian artist and sculptor famous for his idealized depictions of man's inner spiritual conflicts. A contemporary of Gustav Klimt and Egon Schiele, Minne shows many similarities in both form and subject matter to the Viennese Secessionists, the fathers of Art Nouveau. Minne trained at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Ghent, then in the Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts in Brussels from 1895 through 1899, and in 1891 was elected a member of the arts group Les XX. His most famous works are the "Kneeling Youth" series of sculptures, including "The Fountain of Kneeling Youths", a bronze-cast fountain in his home town of Ghent (the Marble originals are at the Folkwang Museum in Essen, Germany), as well as various smaller sculptures in private and museum holdings, such as the pair of "Kneeling Youths" at the Neue Galerie in New York City.



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George Tsutakawa 1970 Fountain - Seven Flowers

Siris-artinventories.si.edu Artist: Tsutakawa, George, 1910-1997, sculptor. Uchida, Jack, engineer. Title: Fountain, (sculpture). Other title: (Pacific First Federal Fountain), (sculpture). Date: 1970. Medium Fountain: bronze, concrete and light; Basin: concrete and brick. Size: Fontana: Approx H. 4 feet 2 1 / 2 "W x 7 ft. 6 in. diam. 4 feet 6 inches; basin: about 1 foot 2 inches x 7 feet 6 inches x HW diam. 4 ft 1 1 / 2 inches Inscription: Size (in metal ring fountain from the elements,raised letters:) 1970 / G. TSUTAKAWA sculptor J. UCHIDA Engr. Signed Description: A well, comprising seven abstract forms, each module has a small flower in the middle of a larger oval. Water flows from each of the flowers. The abstract shapes on the contributions of unequal height, and is mounted on a metal ring in the middle of a round pool with concrete edge of bricks. At the center of the circle of abstract forms, three spotlights. Subject: Summary - geometric objectCategory: Outdoor Sculpture - Washington - Bellevue fountain sculpture Owner: Washington Mutual Savings Bank, 10550 NE 8th Street, Bellevue, Washington 98004 Provenance: Ex Pacific First Federal Savings Bank subsidiary. Comments: File IAS contains articles that Kingsbury Martha's by George Tsutakawa, Bellevue, WA: Bellevue Art Museum, 1990, pg 97.. For more details, see the video of Kenneth Mark Levine, "Northwest Visionaries", Seattle: Iris Films, 1979 . Washington Mutual Savings...



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His Most Famous Sculpture (The Fountain of Kneeling Youths) - George Minne

Renowned artist, George Minne (1866 - 1941) was a Belgian sculptor, who carved a niche in the non-traditional portrayal of 'man.' Most of his works focused on the depiction of the disharmony and the inner struggles in a man's life. Until this era, the male depiction focused mainly on mythological or amorous subjects. Year 1900 through 1914 was the time, when sculptors were trying to break away from the old and embracing the new. Like his contemporaries, Minne's works were the representations of modernity and captured the essence of adolescence. George's signature works include a series of kneeling male youths, of which, "The Fountain of Kneeling Youths" is the most acclaimed sculpture.

It was first featured in the year 1900, at the Eighth Succession exhibition. First designed in 1898, this work was produced in plaster, bronze, and marble versions. "The Fountain of Kneeling Youths" features five nude young men gathered in a circle and looking at the fountain in the centre. This positing of the figures earned it the reputation of 'Narcissus Fountain.' The sculpture by Minne is remarkable for its lean and angular figures that kneel with a perfect balance on their respective raised platforms. These sleek and tall structures bend towards right at the waistline. The shoulders and head are also bending in the same direction. The straight positioning of the knees and the mid-section of the upper torso counterbalance the centre of gravity of the statues. Additional balance is provided by the lower part of the legs that lie flat on their bases. It is not just the equilibrium, but also the simplistic linear make up of the bodies of the boys that indicate the geometrical efficiency of Minne's work. The original piece was cast in plaster and the statues were set on the rim of the fountain. George displayed a masterstroke in placing such bending, asymmetrical figures on the rim, with such completeness.

George Minne's kneeling youths have their arms folded up to their shoulder joints, as if craving for support and trying to withdraw from the world. Their bent heads present the youths in conflicting thoughts, adding a poignant emotional appeal to the work. What sets Minne's working style apart is the subtle, yet powerful expression of the deepest human sentiments. Leaving behind the artistically ideal portrayal of youth and vitality, the kneeling youths became the protagonists of challenges of the contemporary youngsters. The force of innovation and refreshing quality of "The Fountain of Kneeling Youths" is so strong, that veteran art critic, Julius Meier-Graefe termed it as, 'the first sculpture of our new age.'