Dying Centaur
Artist
William Rimmer
(American, born England, 1816 - 1879)
Datemodel 1869; cast 1967
MediumBronze
DimensionsOverall: 25 3/4 × 25 5/8 × 21 1/2 inches (65.41 × 65.09 × 54.61 cm)
Credit LineGift of Dr. Jeffrey Weidman
Object number2007.26
Signedsunken into top surface of base: "W Rimmer"
Markingssunken into side of base near proper right side: "(c) Kennedy Galleries Inc #9/15"
Edition/State/Proofcast 9/15
On View
Not on viewCollections
DescriptionThis small bronze scultpure shows a mythological centaur (half-man, half-horse) lying on the ground on his proper left side and reaching upwards with his head, torso, and proper right arm (which ends at the elbow). He writhes in pain, presumably from wounds inflicted in battle with an enemy. The effect of light on the bronze convincingly suggests muscular strain and, by extension, psychological torment.Gallery LabelThe sculptor and painter William Rimmer was also an author who practiced medicine and lectured on anatomy. His keen knowledge of the human form led him to develop an artistic language in which the male nude served as a metaphor for heroic struggle.
This dramatic sculpture depicts a mythological centaur (half-man, half-horse) writhing in pain, presumably from wounds suffered in battle. The effect of light on the bronze enhances the straining musculature. The centaur's truncated arm evokes fragments of ancient Classical sculpture from which Rimmer drew inspiration. Originally modeled four years after the end of the Civil War, Dying Centaur may symbolize the heroism of soldiers who perished during the War Between the States.
This dramatic sculpture depicts a mythological centaur (half-man, half-horse) writhing in pain, presumably from wounds suffered in battle. The effect of light on the bronze enhances the straining musculature. The centaur's truncated arm evokes fragments of ancient Classical sculpture from which Rimmer drew inspiration. Originally modeled four years after the end of the Civil War, Dying Centaur may symbolize the heroism of soldiers who perished during the War Between the States.
Commissioned
by Kennedy Galleries, New York, 1967;
Purchased from Kennedy Galleries by Brock & Co., Carlisle, MA;
Purchased from Brock & Co. by Dr. Jeffrey Weidman, Kansas City, MO, July 2007;
His gift to The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, September 17, 2007.
Jeffrey
Weidman, William Rimmer: Critical
Catalogue Raisonné, vol. 1 (Ann Arbor, MI: UMI, 1981), 324, 328.
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