Reclining Figure (1969) is one of three statues by Willem de Kooning that the city is rich in. It forms a unity with two other statues: Seated Woman (1969) in Standing Figure (1969). Willem de Kooning (1904-1997) is one of the great artists of abstract expressionism and became known primarily as a painter. In the late 1960s he began experimenting with modeling clay. De Kooning saw working with clay as three-dimensional painting. He created his sculptures, just like his paintings, in a spontaneous movement without sketches or preliminary studies. He modeled these sculptures with three pairs of gloves on top of each other, because he found his own hands too small. He did not consider modeling to be an essentially different activity from painting; he saw clay as thick paint. The way he worked can be read from the cast. The limbs of rolls of clay, which are attached to the kneaded torso, the cup-shaped impressions of a thumb, even the enlarged fingerprints, which are outlined in the bronze skin, can all be related to the human hand. The lively dark patina with which the bronze is finished, enhances the reflections on the curves of the sculpture. Reclining Figure en Standing Figure have been on loan from the Willem De Kooning Foundation since 2005, before that they were in Boston. Seated Woman is owned by the city. For more information: Sculpture International Rotterdam
Originally from Rotterdam artist Willem de Kooning (Rotterdam, 1904 - Springs, New York, 1997) became one of the most famous representatives of the then new Abstract Expressionism in America in the 1950s. In those years he initially made large abstract paintings with expressive paint gestures. At the end of the sixties he started making sculptures. He made approximately 25 of these large bronze female figures, three of which are in Rotterdam. After his death, the Rotterdam art academy was renamed Willem de Kooning Academy in 1998.
Reclining Figure (1969) is one of three statues by Willem de Kooning that the city is rich in. It forms a unity with two other statues: Seated Woman (1969) in Standing Figure (1969). Willem de Kooning (1904-1997) is one of the great artists of abstract expressionism and became known primarily as a painter. In the late 1960s he began experimenting with modeling clay. De Kooning saw working with clay as three-dimensional painting. He created his sculptures, just like his paintings, in a spontaneous movement without sketches or preliminary studies. He modeled these sculptures with three pairs of gloves on top of each other, because he found his own hands too small. He did not consider modeling to be an essentially different activity from painting; he saw clay as thick paint. The way he worked can be read from the cast. The limbs of rolls of clay, which are attached to the kneaded torso, the cup-shaped impressions of a thumb, even the enlarged fingerprints, which are outlined in the bronze skin, can all be related to the human hand. The lively dark patina with which the bronze is finished, enhances the reflections on the curves of the sculpture. Reclining Figure en Standing Figure have been on loan from the Willem De Kooning Foundation since 2005, before that they were in Boston. Seated Woman is owned by the city. For more information: Sculpture International Rotterdam
Originally from Rotterdam artist Willem de Kooning (Rotterdam, 1904 - Springs, New York, 1997) became one of the most famous representatives of the then new Abstract Expressionism in America in the 1950s. In those years he initially made large abstract paintings with expressive paint gestures. At the end of the sixties he started making sculptures. He made approximately 25 of these large bronze female figures, three of which are in Rotterdam. After his death, the Rotterdam art academy was renamed Willem de Kooning Academy in 1998.
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