Carl Milles
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"Europa"
Signed Carl Milles. Foundry mark Herman Bergman Fud. Bronze, green patina. Height 64.5 cm (including marblebase 4.5 cm).
Literature
M. P. Verneuil, "Sculpteur Suédois", 1929, compare picture 32 and 33.
Henrik Cornell, "Milles skönhetsvärld", 1957, compare picture 13-17.
Erik Näslund, "Carl Milles - en biografi", 1991, mentioned as fragment of Europe in the list of work, page 335 under "Europa och tjuren".
More information
"Europa and the bull" has been standing as a large fountain sculpture in Halmstad, Sweden since 1926. A later replica of it can also be found at the artist's home Millesgården. The subject was inspired by ancient mythology when the Phoenician princess was abducted by Zeus in the form of a bull. In this version the sculpture has been refined so that the woman seems to glide alone through the air.
Designer
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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