Lucien Wercollier
Encyclopedia
Lucien Wercollier was a sculptor from Luxembourg
.
While he worked primarily in bronze and marble, some of his work is sculpted in wood, alabaster, stone and onyx. His public monuments in bronze and marble are of particular importance. Works by Wercollier can be found in public places and museums in Belgium
, France
, Germany
, Israel
, Luxembourg
, Switzerland
and the United States
.
During the German occupation of Luxembourg in World War II, Wercollier refused to join the Reichskulturkammer
, the Nazi organization that ensured all artists' works were of an acceptably "Aryan
" spirit. This refusal put him at odds with the Nazi occupiers, and when he participated in the 1942 nationwide strike, he was arrested on September 4, 1942. Wercollier was first imprisoned in the Neumünster Abbey
in Luxembourg City. Today, the Abbey is home to the Lucien Wercollier Cloister, where many works from his private collection are permanently displayed. In 1965 when the lighthouse-shaped National Monument to the Strike
was opened in Wiltz
(which won the title of the "martyred city" for the Germans' particularly strong vehemence leveled against it in response), Wercollier created the two relief
s on the lighthouse displayed there.
Wercollier was later transferred to the Hinzert concentration camp
in Germany
. The camp, located just 30 kilometers from the Luxembourg border, was one of the main sites where Luxembourger resistance leaders were sent. Today, one of his best-known bronze sculptures is on the grounds of the Hinzert concentration camp where it honors the prisoners and those murdered there.
Later Wercollier was moved to Lublin
in German-occupied Poland
, returning to Luxembourg after he was freed at the end of the war. In 1954, he was one of the founding members of Iconomaques
, a group of Luxembourg artists keen to promote abstract art.
His bronze monument Interpénétration stands at the Palace of Europe in Strasbourg
. Wercollier's sculpture that stands in front of the European Court of Justice
in Luxembourg City was featured on Luxembourg's eight-franc postage stamp
in 1974. Another well-known work is his marble monument La Vague ("The Wave"), located on the grounds of the Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital (Centre hospitalier neuro-psychiatrique) in Ettelbruck
, Luxembourg.
When nations around the world gave gifts of art works for display at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
, the government of Luxembourg donated Wercollier's sculpture Ascension
as its gift to honor John F. Kennedy
. Another notable work of Wercollier is his sculpture Altius -- a tribute to the sport of pole vault
ing -- which stands in the Olympic Sculpture Garden at the Olympic Museum
in Lausanne
, Switzerland
.
Among his best-known works are sculptures dealing with the Nazi occupation of Luxembourg during World War II
. For example, his bronze The Political Prisoner
stands at the National Monument to the Resistance and to the Deportation at the Notre-Dame cemetery in Luxembourg City and at the Notre-Dame cemetery in Limpertsberg
. It is also exhibited at the National Resistance Museum
in Esch-sur-Alzette
.
Lucien Wercollier also designed the sculpture that is given to recipients of the Vision for Europe Award
.
Luxembourg
Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...
.
While he worked primarily in bronze and marble, some of his work is sculpted in wood, alabaster, stone and onyx. His public monuments in bronze and marble are of particular importance. Works by Wercollier can be found in public places and museums in Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, Luxembourg
Luxembourg
Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
During the German occupation of Luxembourg in World War II, Wercollier refused to join the Reichskulturkammer
Reichskulturkammer
The Reichskulturkammer was an institution of Nazi Germany. It was established by law on 22 September 1933 in the course of the Gleichschaltung process at the instigation of Reich Minister Joseph Goebbels as a professional organization of all German creative artists...
, the Nazi organization that ensured all artists' works were of an acceptably "Aryan
Aryan
Aryan is an English language loanword derived from Sanskrit ārya and denoting variously*In scholarly usage:**Indo-Iranian languages *in dated usage:**the Indo-European languages more generally and their speakers...
" spirit. This refusal put him at odds with the Nazi occupiers, and when he participated in the 1942 nationwide strike, he was arrested on September 4, 1942. Wercollier was first imprisoned in the Neumünster Abbey
Neumünster Abbey
Neumünster Abbey is a public meeting place and cultural centre, located in the Grund district of Luxembourg City in southern Luxembourg. After the original Benedictine Abbey on the Altmünster Plateau had been destroyed in 1542, the monks built a new abbey or Neumünster in 1606 in the Grund...
in Luxembourg City. Today, the Abbey is home to the Lucien Wercollier Cloister, where many works from his private collection are permanently displayed. In 1965 when the lighthouse-shaped National Monument to the Strike
1942 Luxembourgian general strike
The Luxembourgian general strike of 1942 was a pacific resistance movement organised within a short time period to protest against a directive that conscripted Luxembourg youth into the Wehrmacht...
was opened in Wiltz
Wiltz
Wiltz is a commune with city status in north-western Luxembourg, capital of the canton Wiltz. Wiltz is situated on the banks of the river Wiltz. It was also a battleground in the Battle of the Bulge, near the end of World War II...
(which won the title of the "martyred city" for the Germans' particularly strong vehemence leveled against it in response), Wercollier created the two relief
Relief
Relief is a sculptural technique. The term relief is from the Latin verb levo, to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is thus to give the impression that the sculpted material has been raised above the background plane...
s on the lighthouse displayed there.
Wercollier was later transferred to the Hinzert concentration camp
Hinzert concentration camp
Hinzert was a Nazi concentration camp located in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, 30 km from the Luxembourg border....
in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. The camp, located just 30 kilometers from the Luxembourg border, was one of the main sites where Luxembourger resistance leaders were sent. Today, one of his best-known bronze sculptures is on the grounds of the Hinzert concentration camp where it honors the prisoners and those murdered there.
Later Wercollier was moved to Lublin
Lublin
Lublin is the ninth largest city in Poland. It is the capital of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 350,392 . Lublin is also the largest Polish city east of the Vistula river...
in German-occupied Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, returning to Luxembourg after he was freed at the end of the war. In 1954, he was one of the founding members of Iconomaques
Iconomaques
Iconomaques is the name of a group of Luxembourg artists who moved away from figurative art in order to promote abstract art. Created in 1954, the founding members were Will Dahlem, Henri Dillenbourg, François Gillen, Emile Kirscht, Joseph Probst, Wenzel Profant, Michel Stoffel and Lucien Wercollier...
, a group of Luxembourg artists keen to promote abstract art.
His bronze monument Interpénétration stands at the Palace of Europe in Strasbourg
Strasbourg
Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...
. Wercollier's sculpture that stands in front of the European Court of Justice
European Court of Justice
The Court can sit in plenary session, as a Grand Chamber of 13 judges, or in chambers of three or five judges. Plenary sitting are now very rare, and the court mostly sits in chambers of three or five judges...
in Luxembourg City was featured on Luxembourg's eight-franc postage stamp
Postage stamp
A postage stamp is a small piece of paper that is purchased and displayed on an item of mail as evidence of payment of postage. Typically, stamps are made from special paper, with a national designation and denomination on the face, and a gum adhesive on the reverse side...
in 1974. Another well-known work is his marble monument La Vague ("The Wave"), located on the grounds of the Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital (Centre hospitalier neuro-psychiatrique) in Ettelbruck
Ettelbruck
Ettelbruck is a commune with city status in central Luxembourg, with a population of approximately 7,500. As of 2005, the town of Ettelbruck itself, which lies in the east of the commune, has a population of 6,191. The town of Warken and Grentzingen are also within the commune...
, Luxembourg.
When nations around the world gave gifts of art works for display at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, the government of Luxembourg donated Wercollier's sculpture Ascension
Ascension (sculpture)
Ascension is the name of two sculptures created in 1978 and 1986 by Luxembourgish sculptor Lucien Wercollier.- First Version :A first version of the sculpture was completed in 1978. It had been ordered by the government of Luxembourg as a present to the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C...
as its gift to honor John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
. Another notable work of Wercollier is his sculpture Altius -- a tribute to the sport of pole vault
Pole vault
Pole vaulting is a track and field event in which a person uses a long, flexible pole as an aid to leap over a bar. Pole jumping competitions were known to the ancient Greeks, as well as the Cretans and Celts...
ing -- which stands in the Olympic Sculpture Garden at the Olympic Museum
Olympic Museum
The Olympic Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland houses permanent and temporary exhibits relating to sport and the Olympic movement. With more than 10,000 pieces, the museum is the largest archive of Olympic Games in the world and one of Lausanne's prime tourist draws attracting more than 250,000...
in Lausanne
Lausanne
Lausanne is a city in Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland, and is the capital of the canton of Vaud. The seat of the district of Lausanne, the city is situated on the shores of Lake Geneva . It faces the French town of Évian-les-Bains, with the Jura mountains to its north-west...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
.
Among his best-known works are sculptures dealing with the Nazi occupation of Luxembourg during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. For example, his bronze The Political Prisoner
Le prisonnier politique
Le prisonnier politique is the name of a bronze sculpture created in 1949 by Luxembourgish sculptor Lucien Wercollier...
stands at the National Monument to the Resistance and to the Deportation at the Notre-Dame cemetery in Luxembourg City and at the Notre-Dame cemetery in Limpertsberg
Limpertsberg
Limpertsberg is a quarter in north-western Luxembourg City, in the centre of Luxembourg.In the south, on the border with the main city is the Glacis, a large open air parking lot which hosts the annual Schueberfouer fair, the largest fair in the country...
. It is also exhibited at the National Resistance Museum
National Resistance Museum, Luxembourg
The National Resistance Museum of Luxembourg is located in the centre of Esch-sur-Alzette in the south-east of the country. The specially designed building traces the history of Luxembourg from 1940 to 1945...
in Esch-sur-Alzette
Esch-sur-Alzette
Esch-sur-Alzette is a commune with city status, in south-western Luxembourg. It is the country's second city, and its second-most populous commune, with a population of 29,853 people...
.
Lucien Wercollier also designed the sculpture that is given to recipients of the Vision for Europe Award
Vision for Europe Award
The Vision for Europe Award is an honour that has been bestowed annually since 1995 by the non-profit Edmond Israel Foundation in "recognition of outstanding achievements in taking Europe into the future."...
.