George Minne

Ghent, Museum voor Schone Kunsten, George Minne en de kunst rond 1900, September - December 1982, pp. 136-137, cat. no. 61, illustration of another cast

A. de Ridder, Monographieen over Belgische Kunst, George Minne, Antwerpen 1960, cat no. 9, illustration of another cast
L. van Puyvelde, George Minne, Brussels, p. 77, cat no. 24, illustration of another cast

Colours: The colours in the catalogue illustration are fairly accurate, although the overall tonality is tending more towards green due to the green patina. Condition: This work is in very good condition.
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George Minne was a very talented artist who, as a student, made impressive progress in a short period of time. He soon discovered he wanted to be a sculptor and that he wanted to focus on the human being, especially on the psychology of his subjects. Minne finished his studies around 1885 and five years later he was part of the artistic world in Brussels. He was allowed into various salons, was welcomed into the club of Les XX, the gallery of the important Parisian art dealer Durand Ruel and was even well acquainted with Rodin, who was already at that time, a renowned sculptor.

The Relic Carrier is one of Minne's many well known kneeling figures. The combination of the head bent forward and carrying the relic grants this work a sense of resignation and religious submission. With this the artist captured an atmosphere of spiritual unease, strikingly contemporary in its outlook. The proportions, softly modelled flesh and unstable posture of his simple mystical figures express anxiety. Around 1887, when Minne began exhibiting, Symbolist writers such as Maurice Maeterlinck recognized the power of his grieving, injured figures and invited him to illustrate their literary works.

Minne's major success throughout Europe began around 1900 but, ironically, by that time, he had already created his most important sculptures including this work De Kleine Reliekdrager. In 1929 Minne re-created this work in a larger version entitled De Grote Reliekdrager.