Nearly everyone is familiar with this Art Deco bronze sculpture at the Rockefeller Center complex, with Atlas shown holding up the heavens, his punishment by Zeus after his loss in the Battle of the Titans. It was created by Lee Lawrie in 1936 - he has 14 pieces attributed to him at Rockefeller Center. Lawrie (1877-1963) was born in Germany and moved to Chicago in 1882. At age 14, he began working for many sculptors in Chicago; he later moved East where his work with Ralph Adams Cram and Bertram Goodhue brought him into the artworld limelight. The sculpture sits in the small entrance courtyard to the International Building; this is a great viewing area for St. Patricks Cathedral - click here for more photos. It is interesting to note that there is a frieze on the curved beam on Atlas's shoulders which shows symbols for the planets, the moon and the 12 constellations of the zodiac. However, Pluto, discovered in 1930, is absent from the planetary group - a glaring omission given this was created in 1936. Ironically, Pluto's status as a planet is now being called into question. Another example of art predicting life?Tuesday, December 05, 2006
Atlas
Nearly everyone is familiar with this Art Deco bronze sculpture at the Rockefeller Center complex, with Atlas shown holding up the heavens, his punishment by Zeus after his loss in the Battle of the Titans. It was created by Lee Lawrie in 1936 - he has 14 pieces attributed to him at Rockefeller Center. Lawrie (1877-1963) was born in Germany and moved to Chicago in 1882. At age 14, he began working for many sculptors in Chicago; he later moved East where his work with Ralph Adams Cram and Bertram Goodhue brought him into the artworld limelight. The sculpture sits in the small entrance courtyard to the International Building; this is a great viewing area for St. Patricks Cathedral - click here for more photos. It is interesting to note that there is a frieze on the curved beam on Atlas's shoulders which shows symbols for the planets, the moon and the 12 constellations of the zodiac. However, Pluto, discovered in 1930, is absent from the planetary group - a glaring omission given this was created in 1936. Ironically, Pluto's status as a planet is now being called into question. Another example of art predicting life?
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7 comments:
Hey, great pics!
i love watching your blog, think you live in a beatiful city with soooo much to show to the world!
keep on doin'!
oh,godness!!
very wonderful angle!!!i think i need to find some place to hide in order to avoid something fall down at once.
:D
and interested in the information, and very good question about life and predictive...
jing
shanghai daily photo
When I started this site, I was worried I would run out of material - silly.
Brian
How l-o-w did you go? It's nice to see a familiar site from a fresh perspective.
Are you kidding? You thought you might run out of material? Come to East Lansing and try. :)
Ruth;
I didn't have to go that low - the statue and its pedestal are quite tall.
Brian
when i worked in that building, a common place to meet would be "by the ass". nicest building in all of rockcenter in my opinion.
I especially like the additional photos you included! Nice pictures as always.
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