The statue of Fritz Wotruba on the sculpture terrace is a gigantic figure, made of limestone white blocks. Yet this is a human figure, a fixed theme within his oeuvre. Wotruba made classical figures at the beginning of his career in the 1940s. Over the years he began to work more and more abstractly and made use of the cube shape, rectangle and cylinder. Wotruba designed the prototype for Reclining figure around 1960. It was one of his most dynamic images due to the many diagonal lines that are present in the sculpture. Wotruba worked a lot with limestone. He carved out the cube shapes that frequently appear in his work. He left the shapes he carved rough, so that the material would not lose its expressiveness. The City Beautification Committee invited Wotruba after he exhibited in Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in 1968. A few months later, the Thyssen-Bornemisza Group N.V. (formerly Bank for Trade and Shipping) decided to donate the statue to the municipality of Rotterdam on the occasion of its fiftieth anniversary. Reclining figure was unveiled on the Westersingel on January 25, 1971. After 52 years, the work was removed from the Sculpture Terrace in December 2023. Early that year, a passerby found some broken pieces of limestone on the pedestal. The corrosion was caused by decades of weather and wind, which has deteriorated the condition of the statue. After research it turned out that the statue should be given a home. It's a precaution Reclining figure lifted from its pedestal and stored in a depot. A suitable solution is being sought for the sculpture and for the empty pedestal on the Westersingel. For more information: Sculpture International Rotterdam
Sculptor Fritz Wotruba (Vienna, 1907 - 1975) started his career at the age of fourteen as an engraver. In 1925 he took sculpture classes. In the Second World War he fled to Bern and Basel. His first sculptures were rather classical until he came into contact with modern masters such as Zadkine and Laurens. Then he started to develop an abstract style of volumes made up of loose cubes, rectangles and cylinders.
The statue of Fritz Wotruba on the sculpture terrace is a gigantic figure, made of limestone white blocks. Yet this is a human figure, a fixed theme within his oeuvre. Wotruba made classical figures at the beginning of his career in the 1940s. Over the years he began to work more and more abstractly and made use of the cube shape, rectangle and cylinder. Wotruba designed the prototype for Reclining figure around 1960. It was one of his most dynamic images due to the many diagonal lines that are present in the sculpture. Wotruba worked a lot with limestone. He carved out the cube shapes that frequently appear in his work. He left the shapes he carved rough, so that the material would not lose its expressiveness. The City Beautification Committee invited Wotruba after he exhibited in Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in 1968. A few months later, the Thyssen-Bornemisza Group N.V. (formerly Bank for Trade and Shipping) decided to donate the statue to the municipality of Rotterdam on the occasion of its fiftieth anniversary. Reclining figure was unveiled on the Westersingel on January 25, 1971. After 52 years, the work was removed from the Sculpture Terrace in December 2023. Early that year, a passerby found some broken pieces of limestone on the pedestal. The corrosion was caused by decades of weather and wind, which has deteriorated the condition of the statue. After research it turned out that the statue should be given a home. It's a precaution Reclining figure lifted from its pedestal and stored in a depot. A suitable solution is being sought for the sculpture and for the empty pedestal on the Westersingel. For more information: Sculpture International Rotterdam
Sculptor Fritz Wotruba (Vienna, 1907 - 1975) started his career at the age of fourteen as an engraver. In 1925 he took sculpture classes. In the Second World War he fled to Bern and Basel. His first sculptures were rather classical until he came into contact with modern masters such as Zadkine and Laurens. Then he started to develop an abstract style of volumes made up of loose cubes, rectangles and cylinders.
