Joseph Ducaju

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Joseph Ducaju

Joseph Ducaju (born August 31, 1823 in Antwerp ; † July 5, 1891 there ) was a Belgian sculptor and painter .

Life

Joseph Ducaju initially studied at the Koninklijke Academie voor Schone Kunsten (Royal Academy of Fine Arts) in Antwerp and was a student of Joseph Geefs .

He is one of the artists commissioned to create national statues with which the young Belgian state wanted to assert its identity. This includes u. a. the statue of the Celtic commander of the Belgian people, the Nervier Boduognatus , which was erected in Antwerp in 1862; the statue no longer exists.

Also by Ducaju is the colossal statue of the goddess of wisdom Athena weighing 25 tons, which towers over the pediment of the Palace of Justice in Brussels .

In 1865 a statue of the Flemish lawyer and humanist Gabriël Mudaeus, also by Ducaju, was erected in the city of Brecht in Belgium .

Ducaju also made various busts of members of the royal family.

Statue of Leopold II of Belgium

Statue of Leopold II in Ekeren on the market in front of the Lambertus Church

The statue of Leopold II created by Joseph Ducaju was unveiled in 1873 in the market square of Ekeren (a district of Antwerp ).

The work of coarse-grained Bentheim sandstone was the very first statue of King Leopold II of Belgium in public space. In the 21st century, like other monuments to Leopold II, the statue was no longer considered appropriate due to the deadly policy in the Congo Free State (1885-1908). The parish council believed that removing the statue would obliterate the past and decided to put up an information sign in 2018 to commemorate the tribute of colonization. The following year the statue was protected as an established architectural heritage.

As a result of the protests over the death of George Floyd in 2020, the statue was devastated several times in a short period of time. On May 19th it was smeared with graffiti (swastikas, "Heil" and "CONGO IS VAN ONS"). On June 1st, the statue was showered with red paint. Three days later, she was set on fire at night. The blackened work of art was lifted from its pedestal on Tuesday, June 9th and taken to a depot in the open-air museum in Middelheim .

Other works (selection)

  • Saint George kills the dragon; Wooden figure on the pulpit in the Church of Saint George in Antwerp
  • The Fall of Babylon (1884) in the Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Brussels city .
  • Burial chapel for Van Oosthuyse-de Jongh in Rijsenburg in the church of Saint Peter 'chains in the province of Utrecht
  • Statue of Baron Leys in Antwerp
  • Statue of David Teniers in Antwerp
  • Statue of Boduognatus in Antwerp
  • Athena with helmet on the Palace of Justice in Brussels (1880)
  • Statue of Gabriël Mudaeus in Brecht (1865)

Picture gallery

  • Van Oosthuyse-de Jongh burial chapel

  • Statue of Baron Leys

  • St. George kill the dragon

  • Boduognatus

  • Athena with helmet (1880) on the pediment of the Palace of Justice in Brussels

  • Fall of Babylon in the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Brussels

literature

  • Marc Lodewijckx: Belgian Archeology in a European Setting , Volume 2, Leuven University Press, 2001, p. 53 digitalisat (French)

Web links

Commons : Joseph Ducaju  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ After protests, the statue of King Leopold II was removed
personal data
SURNAME Ducaju, Joseph
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Belgian sculptor and painter
DATE OF BIRTH August 31, 1823
PLACE OF BIRTH Antwerp
DATE OF DEATH July 5, 1891
Place of death Antwerp