Fountain with Kneeling Youths

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The fountain is a replica of the original on display at the Museum of Fine Arts in Ghent, Belgium. The Fountain with Kneeling Youths is undoubtedly Minne's most renowned sculpture. Five identical, introverted, naked young men are kneeling on the edge of a basin. Inspired by Rodin, Minne employed the ancient technique of repetition here. A decorative rhythm gives the work a certain lightness while reinforcing the expression. The fragile young figures, executed in a simple linear form language, convey feelings of loneliness and longing. The figure of the young man kneeling at the water recalls the myth of Narcissus, a demigod who falls deeply in love with his own mirror image, unable to attain the unattainable object of his affection. Studies related to "The Source of Life" can be found in Minne's sketchbooks, similar to those depicted on the Ghent Altarpiece by the Van Eyck brothers, which justifies a more religiously tinged interpretation of the fountain. The concept dates back to 1898. Minne created several versions in plaster, marble, and bronze. In 1900, German collector Karl Ernst Osthaus commissioned a marble version now housed at the Folkwang Museum in Essen, Germany. The Fountain with Kneeling Youths from the Museum of Ghent is the only surviving plaster model, which remained in the artist's studio until his death. Bronze groups from the thirties located in the center of Ghent and outside the parliament building in Brussels were devised by Minne herself. These works are consistent with the Art Deco style prevalent at the time but lack the simplicity of line and tight geometric nature of the original draft. The kneeling figure in the version on display at the Museum of Ghent originated around 1905; a second version, conceived between 1927-1930, features a more pronounced pelvic region.