Reclining Figure (1969)

Fritz Wotruba

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photo Pieter Vandermeer

photo Pieter Vandermeer

photo Jannes Linders

photo Jannes Linders

The artwork

The sculpture Reclining Figure by Fritz Wotruba was purchased from the artist’s studio in 1971 and is one of the larger objects in his oeuvre. It was made in 1969 and is part of a series of reclining figures he executed in stone and bronze from around 1960. Like the other reclining figures, this version consists of elemental forms.

The figure is composed of geometric volumes stacked on top of each other at different angles. In these block- and cylinder-shaped elements we recognize segments of body parts. It seems as if the sculpture is composed of individual parts. In reality, however, the limestone sculpture was cut from a single piece. Limestone was Wotruba’s favorite material. He wanted to keep material and working method visible and recognizable to the viewer: he often left visible as such the traces in the surface that were created by working with chisel, toothed iron or diamond saw.

The elongation of the figure emphasizes the long sides, which give the impression of forming the front view. The ends of the sculpture seem less important. This structure gives the sculpture a landscape-like appearance, something that can easily be reconciled with Wotruba’s following statement: ‘I dream of a sculpture, in which landscape, architecture and city become one! It can be a city like Marseilles, a city blazing with heat, which suddenly changes shape, it becomes an immense sculpture, a gigantic figure, composed of white blocks and articulated by flat, horizontal terraces, set in a barren and motionless landscape…’

Year
1969
Location
Westersingel 42
Dimensions
145 x 310 x 104 cm
Material
limestone
Client
Gemeente Rotterdam
Owner
Gemeente Rotterdam

The location

Reclining Figure, which came into the possession of Gemeente Rotterdam in 1971, was a donation. The decision to acquire a sculpture by Wotruba had been made after a retrospective exhibition of his sculptures was shown at Museum Boijmans van Beuningen in 1968. The Commissie Stadsverfraaiing was very charmed by the concept of the reclining figure, which Wotruba developed around 1960 and showed in various versions at the retrospective. Money had already been set aside to purchase a final version Wotruba made in 1969, when a trading company offered and accepted the sculpture to the municipality.

For a long time, the sculpture was the only one on the walkway of Westersingel, it was given a place there after its purchase in 1971. After a period when the appearance of the quay left much to be desired, in the run-up to Rotterdam Cultural Capital 2001 it was decided to redesign the quay and realize the current sculpture terrace.

Reclining Figure underwent a thorough cleaning prior to reinstallation. Discoloration from organic debris was removed by blasting the sculpture with a special powder, carborundum. To increase the durability of the fragile limestone, the way it rests on the pedestal was modified. Plastic blocks were placed under the stone so that moisture such as rain or condensation could no longer soak directly into the stone. The sculpture also underwent a treatment that makes the porous stone more resistant to graffiti.

After 52 years, the work was removed from the Beeldenterras in December of 2023. Early that year, a passerby found several chipped pieces of limestone on the pedestal. The corrosion had been caused by decades of weather and wind, deteriorating the sculpture’s condition. An investigation revealed that the statue should be given shelter. As a precaution, Reclining Figure has been lifted from its pedestal and stored in a depot. A suitable solution is being sought for both the sculpture and the empty pedestal on Westersingel.

Fritz Wotruba

Fritz Wotruba

Fritz Wotruba (Vienna, Austria, 1907 – 1975) was born to a Czech father and a Hungarian mother. In the early 1920s he trained to be an engraver and took lessons in sculpture under Anton Hanak. He began to work independently as a sculptor in 1927. Around 1930 he visited Germany and became acquainted with the sculptors Wilhelm Lehmbruck and Aristide Maillol. Wotruba had his first solo exhibition abroad in 1931. He worked in a realist, figurative style in stone and bronze and was yet to develop his own distinctive style.
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