Hey! My name is Richard Pols, a Double Degree student in Economics and Law.
As a student, it is important to take time to relax and explore what the beautiful city of Rotterdam has to offer. Aside from its many shops, parks, bars and cafes, Rotterdam is also the place to be for fans of visual art.
It is not unusual to have your eye caught by one of the world's most famous sculptures when walking through our beautiful city.
Here are my favourite public sculptures in Rotterdam
- The Rowers by Yair Aschkenasy
- Santa Claus by Paul McCarthy
- La Grande Musicienne by Henri Laurens
- L'Homme Qui Marche by Auguste Rodin
- Rigardus Rijnhout – ‘The Giant of Rotterdam’ by Herman Lamers
- The Destroyed City by Ossip Zadkine
- Sylvette by Carl Nesjar
1. The Rowers by Yair Aschkenasy
Rotterdam is, among other things, known for its fantastic port, the largest in Europe. Enough reason for Aschkenasy to honour our port with a sculpture. This led to 'de Roeiers’, located on the ‘first head of Katendrecht’.
The sculpture represents the rowers who, in all weathers, secured the heavy mooring lines of cargo and passenger ships to the buoys, an ancient profession practised in the port. Notice how Aschkenasy included 'the Rotterdam’ mentality in the sculpture; sleeves rolled up and an imperturbable look over the water. This 'don't bullshit but clean up' mentality is typical for Rotterdam. Rotterdammers are generally hard workers who are used to putting their shoulders to the wheel.
2. Santa Claus by Paul McCarthy
At first sight, it is hard to imagine that this sculpture was responsible for one of the largest art disputes in the last decade. So what was the issue? It is just a big, smiling Santa Claus with a Christmas tree right? Well... no. He is holding a butt plug, a sexual toy.
Due to the public dispute that followed, the statue has been moved all over the city in an attempt to find the right place.
Now, you can admire Santa Claus on Eendrachtsplein. With Santa Claus, McCarthy ironically criticises our consumption society, while also bringing ‘high’ and ‘low’ cultures together.
3. La Grande Musicienne by Henri Laurens
One of the most popular sculptures decorating Rotterdam’s famous statue terrace is La Grande Musicienne, located on the Westersingel near Rotterdam Centraal.
All shapes of this lyre playing lady flow into one another as if there are no clear sides. Only the back has a deep groove that marks the left and right sides. This groove forms a central spine around which the elements of the sculpture rotate; this movement invites the viewer to look at the figure from different perspectives. Rotterdam bought this sculpture in 1966 to celebrate the opening of the Doelen concert hall. A wonderfully lyrical stylised sculpture that represents Rotterdam's passion for culture!
4. L'Homme Qui Marche by Auguste Rodin
Just a stroll away from La Grande Musicienne is L'Homme Qui Marche, also located on Rotterdam's famous statue terrace. ‘L'Homme Qui Marche’, is one of the finest pieces of modern visual arts. Rodin's pieces were found to be so realistic, that his colleagues accused him of making casts of living people instead of carving or modelling a piece. This piece represents an interesting contradiction between movement and stillness.
The statue stresses a vivid and walking person, but the hard bronze material depicts its immobility. The genesis of this statue is somewhat ambiguous, most likely it was put together from different sketches made over a period of 30 years.
Ironically, it took approximately the same amount of time after Rotterdam bought this statue before this sculpture was placed in public in Rotterdam.
5. Rigardus Rijnhout – ‘The Giant of Rotterdam’ by Herman Lamers
When you walk down the popular West-Kruiskade street, just a 4-minute stroll from Rotterdam Central, you will find it very hard to miss this sculpture.
It is a statue of Rigardus Rijnhout, the tallest Dutchman ever to live. He was a Rotterdam citizen and lived from 1922 till 1959. For the keen observer, a pair of Rijnhout’s big shoes – size 62 - can be seen as well. He earned his money by renting himself out as a walking billboard. Even though he was often bullied because of his giant stature, Rijnhout always remained friendly.
6. The Destroyed City by Ossip Zadkine
With head and arms raised towards the sky, this sculpture shows a distraught figure. The arms, legs and hands point in different directions, which gives the sculpture an even more sinister feeling. Perhaps the most distressing aspect of the sculpture is the absence of its heart.
This represents the destruction of the ‘heart’ of Rotterdam on 14 May 1940. According to the sculptor, the idea of this statue originated when he drove into the war-ravaged Rotterdam in 1946; 'A cry of disgust at the inhuman cruelty of this torture'.
7. Sylvette by Carl Nesjar
This sculpture is an enlargement of one of the spatial metal models that Picasso made in 1954. The girl in the sculpture is the twenty-year-old Sylvette, Picasso's muse, whom he met in the spring of 1954. Picasso was then already 73 years old. The technique used for this sculpture was an invention of the sculptor Carl Nesjar, who was a friend of Picasso.
Nesjar developed a technique for enlarging the models by building them from cast concrete in which black pebbles were poured. Sandblasting revealed the black colour. This made it possible to draw in the concrete with the sandblast. This post-war manifestation celebrates the reconstruction of Rotterdam and underlines the modern and progressive character of the city.