Brabofontein
Jef Lambeaux
1887
Details
- Collection: Antwerp, Folkloric sculptures, Animal sculpture, The collection
- Material: bronze
- Acquisition method: commision
- Object number: KIS.0022
This monumental fountain is one of the best-known and most popular public artworks in the city of Antwerp – not only because of its central location on the Grote Markt, opposite City Hall, but also because of the legend it depicts.
At the very top of the sculptural group stands a naked young man, the Roman soldier Silvius Brabo. Full of energy and movement, his face is tense and concentrated. In his right hand he holds a severed hand, bigger than his own head: the hand of the giant Antigoon, who terrorized the city by demanding tolls from ships on the Scheldt. Brabo killed this oppressor, cut off his hand, and threw it into the river. This “hand-throwing” was absorbed into local folklore as the origin of the city’s name, Antwerpen (hand-werpen: hand-throwing).
The rest of the monument is full of impressive visual surprises: those who walk around it and look closely will spot terrifying sea creatures, the lifeless body of the giant Antigoon, sensual sea nymphs, a sea lion, a sea turtle, and more.
Jef Lambeaux (1852–1908) was a Belgian sculptor. He studied sculpture at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp. His oeuvre is characterized by a Neo-Baroque formal language and consists mainly of monumental sculptures and portrait busts.
From the same artist
Jef Lambeaux
Two wrestlers are engaged in a fierce fight. It is abundantly clear that one of them will be floored. Jef Lambeaux was fascinated by fights: “What has always particularly appealed to me are the fights in the fairgrounds. There, in that unpredictable action, I enjoy the wonderful play of muscles. In the nude and arched torsos, in the stiffened limbs, I discern the planes and lines of an undeniable beauty.”