Cleveland Museum of Art

Solidarity

George Minne

Date

1898

Medium

marble

Culture

Belgium, late 19th century

Department

Modern European Painting and Sculpture

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

In 1898, the Belgian Labor Party commissioned George Minne to make a memorial for Jean Volders, the Socialist movement leader. Rather than making a traditional portrait, Minne represented the socialist ideal of prioritizing cooperation over competition, creating an allegory of brotherhood with two nude men standing in a boat, anxiously trying to keep their balance in a storm. The Labor Party disliked Minne’s design and withdrew the commission. In anger, Minne destroyed his nearly 10-foot-tall plaster model, but the artist’s friends and contemporary critics recognized the power of the sculpture. A smaller study survived and was later cast in bronze. This marble version is the only carved example of the composition known to have been completed Minnne’s sculpture explores spiritual life and inner conflict. His work focused on premodern themes and greatly influenced artists in Belgium, France, and Germany.

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