Sixteen monumental Maillol sculptures have been transported to Rotterdam. The famous sculpture La Nuit (Night), one of the first monumental sculptures by Aristide Maillol (1861-1944), is to be temporarily removed from a public square in Stuttgart and arrived in Rotterdam together with one hundred and twenty other works by Maillol for a major retrospective of his work at the Kunsthal.
These works by Maillol, and specifically several posthumous casts, have for many years been the subject of discussions between art historians in the Netherlands and further afield (see Dutch daily newspaper NRC dated 23-08-2012). Maillol is known in particular for his monumental female figures and its famous for his contribution to the development of twentieth-century sculpture. Starting 15 September, the Kunsthal will be presenting a delightful overview comprising 20 monumental sculptures, a wide selection of smaller sculptures, ten remarkable drawings that have never before been exhibited, and several early and late paintings and studies. At the same time, the exhibition provides a podium for international debate between experts and art historians.
The modern Maillol
Maillol built his entire oeuvre around a range of subjects including nature, the human being, the artist and the Mediterranean, portraying these through the female shape in various poses, materials and sizes. He took his inspiration from early classical sculptors but combined this with a modern take on shape, rhythm and style. The development of his sculptures and the diversity of the female figure is emphasised by exhibiting a large number of his monumental sculptures and the accompanying studies together in one space. The exhibition includes various disciplines, which provides insight into Maillol's methods and his power of expression.
The exhibition was made possible in close collaboration with the Musée Maillol. Àlex Susanna, deputy director of the Institut Ramon Llull in Barcelona is guest curator of the exhibition. The Kunsthal is highly honoured with the loan of these important works from Petit Paleis in Paris, Kunst Museum Stuttgart, Museum Boijmans van Beuningen and the Kröller-Müller Museum in Otterlo. Early masterpieces such as L'Air, La Rivière and La Mediterranée and his last uncompleted work L´Harmonie can all be seen at the Kunsthal. The Maillol exhibition is a continuation of a series of exhibitions that the Kunsthal has been holding since 2003 on sculptors that have rarely or never been exhibited in the Netherlands. Other artists in the series include Isamu Noguchi, Duane, Hanson, Henry Moore and Alberto Giacometti.
Further activities
Young visitors to the exhibition can work using the same methods as Maillol in the MaillolLAB. Children from 5 years of age and upwards can make figure studies and draw or create sculptures. There is also a free treasure hunt available. Sculpture workshops and guided tours for the whole family are available during the autumn and Christmas school holidays.
Publication
The exhibition will be accompanied by a richly-illustrated bilingual (Dutch and French) catalogue published by Terra Lannoo. ISBN 9789401404563, € 34.99.
