Man with waterbag

Baron George Minne, Ghent
Philip Serck, Ghent

Various aspects of Minne's sculptural artistry around 1900 are explored in the Man with the Water Bag. To create a perfect figuration, the sculptor chooses young male nudes. They show hardly any sign of physical strength, but the pose emphasises a certain strength and provokes spirituality. These young men are introverted and isolated from the rest of the world. He creates a slender, strong young man, placed in an almost impossible pose to keep his body in balance. His slender muscles are tense as he lifts the leather water bag just before pouring it out. Minne is not interested in showing physical strength as such, but wants to show a mentally moving scene and inner strength. In the original design of the baptismal font, water is to be seen as the source of life. Influenced by symbolism, Minne links the water theme to mirroring or reflection, looking at yourself, which leads to introspection. The multiple meanings of the work are typical of Minne's oeuvre. He tries to combine religious and secular aspects. The man with the water bag can be seen as a secular image of John the Baptist, but with a different and more universal meaning. This bronze was cast at Petermann in Brussels and stamped with their foundry mark.

1959, München, Haus der Kunst, 100 Jahre Belgische Kunst 1860-1960, 14.11-20.12.1959, cat. 90.

A similar example in bronze is in the collection of:
- Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo, inv. KM120.672.
- Musée d'Orsay, Paris, inv. RF 3257, JdeP 73, LUX 282.

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