Artwork Data

Title

Personificatie van de elektriciteit

Artist

Dirk Bus

Year

1942

Material

Steen

Dimensions

h. 75 cm

Artwork Location

Address

Van Diepenburchstraat 34, Den Haag

City district

Haagse Hout

GPS data

52.098849443033, 4.3125195208321 View on map

Artwork Description

Text

At first glance, the statue that stands in front of the transformer house on Van Diepenburchstraat looks like a hero from Greek or Roman mythology. The male figure has all the characteristics attributed to classical sculpture. It takes little imagination to discover similarities with the world-famous Hercules statue in the Museo Pio-Clementino in Vatican City.

The life-size male bunting that was still in the Palazzo Colonna in Rome around 1430 and is also known as 'the Belvedere male bunting' represents a superman who dares to take on even the most extreme challenges. This heroic figure is the symbol of a forceful person with a mission. The 'Personification of Electricity' that Dirk Bus designed in 1942 bears a strong resemblance to the Hercules statue. Yet there is also a remarkable difference. Bus' sculpture still has all its limbs and therefore does not belong in the category of torsos. But apart from that, it answers to all the ideals of beauty that the ancient Greeks and Romans held and translated into their statues.

Bus studied at both the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague and the Rijksakademie in Amsterdam. He translated his academic training one-to-one into academic art. This academism is reflected in the rather literal translation of handed-down sculptural principles that were common in antiquity. Bus knew his classics and liked to be inspired by them. With his 'Personification of Electricity' he provides convincing proof that he has taken a good look at his illustrious predecessors and that he has taken their advice to heart regarding the representation of the timeless, balanced human being and the unyielding hero.

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