Theseus
Artist
Jacques Lipchitz
(American, born Lithuania, 1891 - 1973)
Date1942
MediumBronze
DimensionsOverall: 24 1/2 x 28 1/2 x 14 1/2 inches (62.23 x 72.39 x 36.83 cm)
Credit LineGift of the Friends of Art
Object number57-98
On View
Not on viewCollections
Gallery LabelTheseus, this dynamic sculpture by Jacques Lipchitz, reflects the roughness and energy of the preparatory sketches that hang nearby. For the finished work, Lipchitz cast in bronze a moment from ancient myth. According to Greek mythology, Theseus killed the Minotaur that was trapped inside the labyrinth on the island of Crete, ending years of human sacrifices to the half-bull, half-man.
This myth resonated with Lipchitz, who fled Nazi-occupied France to the United States in 1941. According to the artist, Theseus represented a metaphor for the destruction of Hitler.
Copyright© Estate of Jacques Lipchitz, courtesy, Marlborough Gallery, New York
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