766. CARL MILLES. “Wings”.

Black patinated bronze, height 59 cm. Signed Carl Milles. Numbered Nº 2 and dated 1947. Casting stamp Herman Bergman fud.

PROVENANCE
Doctor Eric Malmström, Mölndal.

LITERATURE "Catalogue of bronzes from Herman Bergmans Konstgjuteri AB Stockholm”, the model listed as well as depicted as no. 19 (61 cm).

It was a small travel grant from the Swedish Crafts Association that made Carl Milles
was able to travel to Paris in 1897, and not to Chile where his father, Major Mille Andersson, wanted to send him to train as a physiotherapist. Once in Paris, Carl Milles created an artistic education for himself by apprenticing with the animal sculptor Frémiet and attending classes at the Sorbonne.
The current catalogue number “The Wings” (also called “Boy with Eagle”) is conceived in 1908 after Milles was staying as a convalescent for his lung problems in Austria and Italy. Perhaps it is because of this background that the sculpture is one of the most powerful and strong compositions he performs. The boundaries between the young and the eagle are blurred to create a whole, and at first glance it is difficult to tell whether the eagle is pulling the young up or whether the young man is using all his strength to hold the eagle. In addition to the monumental version, which is 270 cm high, the “Wings” is also available in size 123 cm and the auction format of 59 cm. The background of the motif goes back to the Greek myth of the young Ganymede who, because of his otherworldly beauty, was robbed by Zeus disguised as an eagle. Zeus wanted to bring Ganymede to Mount Olympus where he would serve as a mouthpiece to the gods. This story exists in several variants throughout art history and has served as the basis for artists such as Michelangelo, Peter Paul Rubens, and Rembrandt. In the contemporary era in which Milles creates “Wings”, the idealized male body is an obvious part of visual culture, and in the beer cafes and bars around Stockholm where male waiters are present, these were colloquially referred to as “ganymeder”. When director Mauritz Stiller premiered his film “The Vingarne” in 1916, it revolves around a sculptor who falls in love with his young model when he poses for a monumental sculpture depicting Icarus (also a myth of a flying youth). Stiller's love story doesn't end well.
The “Wings” can be found as monumental sculpture in several places around the public space. In Stockholm, a 270 cm high (plus stone plinth) version enthrones outside the Nationalmuseum. There is also a version outside the Gothenburg Museum of Art and at Millesgården on Lidingö.