"Heraldiskt lejon" (=Heraldic lion)
Signed C. Milles. Foundry mark H. Bergman Konstgj. AB. Numbered 4/12. The motif conceived 1923. Postum cast. Bronze, gold patina. Height 22.5 cm.
Erik Näslund, "Carl Milles - en biografi", 1991, listed among his work at p. 335.
Henrik Cornell, Sveriges Allmänna Konstförening, "Carl Milles", 1963, listed among his work at p. 253.
M.P. Verneuil, "Carl Milles - Scupteur Suédois", Bryssel, 1929, mentioned at p. 56 and ill. pl. 37.
The composition "Heraldiska lejonet" (Heraldic Lion) is a sketch for a never-executed monument in Gothenburg, Sweden. A sketch was exhibited at the Gothenburg City's 300th-anniversary celebration, the so-called "Jubileumsutställningen” (Jubilee Exhibition) in Gothenburg in 1923. Two heraldic lions were intended to be erected as a monument on Götaplatsen, but Milles changed his mind, and instead, the Posedionbrunnen (Poseidon Fountain) was erected on the site.
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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