Carl Milles (1875-1955)

Details

Carl Milles (1875-1955)

'Europa and the Bull', A Bronze Group

inscribed 'C MILLES 1929' and stamped 'CARL MILLES' twice and 'L. RASMUSSEN KOBENHAVN'
30¼in. (76.8cm.) high, rich green patina

Literature

Orrefors Review, Nybro, 1949, p. 3
A. Westholm, Milles: En Bok om Carl Milles Konst, Stockholm, 1949, figs. 36-38
H. Cornell, Milles Stönhetsvärld, Stockholm, Sweden, 1957, figs. 13-17
H. Cornell, Carl Milles Hans Werk, Sveriges, 1963, pp. 56, 58-59, 234
M.R. Rogers, Carl Milles: An Interpretation of his Work, Port Washington, N.Y., 1973, pp. 52, 65, pls. 33-44

Lot Essay

The present bronze is a lifetime casting of the model for the central group of Milles' Europa and the Bull Fountain. Erected in 1926 in the market square of Halmstad, Sweden, the fountain consists of the Europa and the Bull within a square base, a triton with shell and fish diagonally placed at each corner. Although funds for the monument were donated by a citizen of the city in 1919, Milles did not start working on the model until 1921.

A variant of the fountain is at Cranbrook and fountains of just the tritons are at Lidingo (1926) and at the Art Institute of Chicago (1931).