Cleveland Museum of Art

Rooster (Gallic Cock)

Raymond Duchamp-Villon

Date

1916 (plaster), cast 1919

Medium

painted bronze

Culture

France, 20th century

Department

Modern European Painting and Sculpture

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

A pioneer of Cubist sculpture, Duchamp-Villon carved the original plaster for this bronze relief while serving in the army during World War I. It was intended for the entrance to a temporary theater erected near the front lines, where French soldiers would have recognized the rooster and rising sun as symbols of victory. Duchamp-Villon died during the war, and in 1919, five bronze casts were made from his plaster as a memorial to the artist. Before being embraced by artists, the term "Cubism" originated from an insult. The same is true of Gallus, a Latin word meaning both "rooster" and "inhabitant of Gaul" (present-day France). Once used to mock the French, the rooster was reclaimed as a national symbol of triumph, as pictured here.

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