Jean De Coen

JEAN DE COEN (Brussels, 1890- Ixelles,1979).
"Les minutes de la vie", 1917.
Marble.
Signed.
Measurements: 90 x 64 x 62 cm.
Exhibitions: "The European sculpture of the 20th century", European Museum of Modern Art (MEAM), Barcelona, 2014.

This is a work of exceptional lyrical beauty and symbolic charge. The work presents a couple entwined in an eternal embrace on a naturalistic rock. It is not a fleeting contact, but a fusion of two bodies. The way the limbs intertwine creates a compact, circular structure that suggests protection and the unity of being in the face of the passage of time (hence the title "The Minutes of Life"). The base is rough and deliberately unfinished (non finito technique popularized by Michelangelo and Rodin). This creates a visual contrast between the hardness of the "wild" stone and the ethereal softness of the carved figures.
De Coen was a multifaceted artist (sculptor, painter and art expert) highly respected in the artistic environment of Brussels and Ixelles. His work is characterized by a search for harmony and the expression of the most intimate feelings. He was part of a generation of Belgian sculptors who kept alive the tradition of carving in stone and marble, competing in elegance with the thriving school of Paris.