Characters (1995) Anton Geerlings
On a round stone elevation on the Rijnhoutplein is a square plinth on which three female figures sit with their backs to each other. Like a modern version of the classic theme of the three Graces, their gaze covers the entire square. The three Graces were three goddesses who symbolized beauty, grace and joy. The Graces were three daughters of the supreme god Zeus and of Eurynome. They were called Aglaia (gloss), Euphrosyne (joyfulness), and Thalia (bloom). The Characters made by the Rotterdam sculptor Anton Geerlings consist of firm forms and have an almost childlike, simple representation.
Anton Geerlings (Rotterdam, 1923 – there, 2018) is a Rotterdam sculptor with a studio first in Terbregge and later in Ommoord. He has been active since the 1950s. He was a student of David Bautz at the art academy in Rotterdam, and a maker of animal and figure representations, especially carving in stone. He participated in the restoration of the Laurenskerk and in the 1970s he worked in Utrecht making lantern consoles.