Before the Contest

myminifactory

The sculpture shows a well-trained athlete. Mortensen specialized in depicting athletes, and the body is both realistic and idealized. Here the nude male body is being objectified. The sculpture shows the passion of the early 1900s for the well-trained body, an ideal for all of society at a time of fear of cultural and national decline. The importance of competitive sports increased and the new ideal emphasized the abilities of the individual. Photo : CC BY-SA - Linn Ahlgren / Nationalmuseum