Messenger of Victory (Nenikhkamen)
Messenger of Victory (Nenikhkamen)
Max Kruse – Gladenbeck Bronze Sculpture
Messenger of Victory (Nenikhkamen)
Max Kruse (1854-1942)
Bronze Sculpture by H. Gladenbeck & Sohn
Germany
Early 20th Century
20.5” x 17.5 x 5”
An expressive bronze by German sculptor Max Kruse depicting the legendary messenger of Marathon at the moment he announces the Greek victory over the Persians. The figure lunges forward with one arm raised, capturing both the exhilaration of triumph and the physical exhaustion of the runner’s final moments.
Kruse conceived Der Siegesbote von Marathon (The Messenger of Victory from Marathon) in 1881. The composition became one of his best-known works and was subsequently cast in several sizes by the renowned Berlin foundry H. Gladenbeck & Sohn.
The inscription “Nenikhkamen,” derived from the ancient Greek for “We have won,” refers to the messenger’s legendary announcement of victory. Kruse’s dramatically diagonal composition emphasizes forward momentum, while the strained expression and athletic modeling convey the physical intensity of the journey.
Signed Max Kruse fec. and bearing the H. Gladenbeck & Sohn foundry mark, this finely cast bronze combines classical subject matter with the heightened naturalism characteristic of late-19th-century German sculpture.
Inventory #1012
Price $4,500