Two children and a dog
Signed Carl Milles. Bronze, brown patina. Height 21.5 cm, length 31 cm.
This rare artwork belongs to one of Milles' very early sculptures and is possibly one of a kind. At the beginning of his career in Paris, Carl Milles made several small figure studies, some in bronze, some others in plaster and some are in clay. The current composition is strongly reminiscent in style of, for example, "Chas! rat!" from 1901 (depicted in Conrad Köper's book from 1913). At the time, Milles was influenced by the French sculptor and friend Auguste Rodin, and in the current catalogue number you can see a connection to the French art noveau style.
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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