Wild boar
Signed Carl Milles. Foundry marks E. Pettersson Fud. Bronze, green patina. Height 25 cm.
Henrik Cornell, "Carl Milles -Hans verk", SAK, 1963, compare larger version of the motif in the courtyard of Tändstickspalatset, Stockholm, reproduced page 76.
Erik Näslund, "Carl Milles -en biografi", compare larger version of the motif in the courtyard of Tändstickspalatset, Stockholm, reproduced page 225.
The motif is based on the free-standing wild boar which accompanies the Diana fountain in the courtyard of Tändstickspalatset, Stockholm which was executed in 1927-28. In 1929 Milles, on behalf of lord Melchett in England, executed "Två vildsvin" (Two wild boars) in bronze, currently in Ulriksdals slott, Stockholm.
Carl Milles was a Swedish sculptor born in Lägga. He studied at the Technical School in Stockholm, at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris under Auguste Rodin and on study trips to Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. In Paris he came to stay for many years and made a living as an ornament carver. He studied the animals in the Jardin des Plantes (the Zoological Garden) and was strongly influenced by Auguste Rodin. Milles made a breakthrough with a monument to Sten Sture in Uppsala. He exhibited at the World's Fair in 1900 and was later given a solo exhibition at the Tate Gallery in London. Milles was professor of modeling at the Royal Academy of Arts in Stockholm. Well-known sculptures in public places signed by Carl Milles are the "Gustav Vasa" statue at the Nordic Museum, "Orfeusgruppen" outside the concert hall in Stockholm and the "Poseidonfontänen" in Gothenburg.
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