Georges Minne

(also George Minne). Born Aug. 30, 1866, in Ghent; died Feb. 18, 1941, in Sint-Maertens-Laethem, near Ghent. Belgian sculptor.

Minne attended the Academy of Arts in Ghent from 1882 to 1884. In 1891 he studied in Paris with A. Rodin, and from 1895 to 1899 he attended the Academy of Arts in Brussels. Between 1912 and 1914 he was a professor at the Academy of Arts in Ghent. Minne headed the first Laethem group and was the most prominent representative of symbolism and art nouveau in Belgian art. Minne was influenced by the tradition of medieval sculpture. In his emphasis on the intensely spiritual character of his images and in his distortion of form, he anticipated Belgian expressionism (Mother Mourning Her Child, bronze, 1886, Museum of Modern Art, Brussels). Minne’s sculptures subsequently became more fluid and generalized. The artist did a number of realistic busts of workers. Minne’s innate mysticism was most strongly revealed during his last years in a number of drawings on religious themes.