Lucien Wercollier (26 July 1908 – 24 April 2002) was a sculptor from

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

. While he worked primarily in

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals (such as phosphorus) or metalloid ...

and

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) that have recrystallized under the influence of heat and pressure. It has a crystalline texture, and is ty ...

, some of his work is sculpted in

wood Wood is a structural tissue/material found as xylem in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulosic fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin t ...

alabaster Alabaster is a mineral and a soft Rock (geology), rock used for carvings and as a source of plaster powder. Archaeologists, geologists, and the stone industry have different definitions for the word ''alabaster''. In archaeology, the term ''alab ...

, 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, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

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and the

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. During the German occupation of Luxembourg in World War II, Wercollier refused to join the

Reichskulturkammer The Reich Chamber of Culture (''Reichskulturkammer'', abbreviated as RKK) was a government agency in Nazi Germany. It was established by law on 22 September 1933 in the course of the '' Gleichschaltung'' process at the instigation of Reich Minist ...

, the

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

organization that ensured all artists' works were of an acceptably "

Aryan ''Aryan'' (), or ''Arya'' (borrowed from Sanskrit ''ārya''), Oxford English Dictionary Online 2024, s.v. ''Aryan'' (adj. & n.); ''Arya'' (n.)''.'' is a term originating from the ethno-cultural self-designation of the Indo-Iranians. It stood ...

" spirit. This refusal put him at odds with the Nazi occupiers, and when he participated in the 1942 nationwide strike, he was arrested on 4 September 1942. Wercollier was first imprisoned in the Neimënster Abbey in

Luxembourg City Luxembourg (; ; ), also known as Luxembourg City ( or ; ; or ), is the capital city of Luxembourg and the Communes of Luxembourg, country's most populous commune. Standing at the confluence of the Alzette and Pétrusse rivers in southern Luxe ...

. 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 Relief is a sculpture, sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''wikt:relief, relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give ...

s on the lighthouse displayed there. Wercollier was later transferred to the

Hinzert concentration camp Hinzert was a concentration camp in Nazi Germany, in what is now Rhineland-Palatinate, from the border with Luxembourg. Between 1939 and 1945, 13,600 political prisoners between the ages of 13 and 80 were imprisoned at Hinzert. Many were in trans ...

. 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

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in German-occupied

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, returning to Luxembourg after he was freed at the end of the war. In 1948 he became part of the Nouvelle Équipe, a group of four Luxembourg artists that wanted to break with traditional art and sought innovation. In 1954, he was one of the founding members of Iconomaques, a new group of Luxembourg artists keen to promote abstract art. His bronze monument ''Interpénétration'' stands at the Palace of Europe in

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

. Wercollier's sculpture that stands in front of the

European Court of Justice The European Court of Justice (ECJ), officially the Court of Justice (), is the supreme court of the European Union in matters of European Union law. As a part of the Court of Justice of the European Union, it is tasked with interpreting ...

was featured on Luxembourg's eight-franc

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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 ( , ) is a Communes of Luxembourg, commune with list of towns in Luxembourg, town status in central Luxembourg, with a population of inhabitants. History Until 1850, both Erpeldange and Schieren were part of the Ettelbruck commune a ...

, Luxembourg. When nations around the world gave gifts of art works for display at the

Kennedy Center The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, commonly known as the Kennedy Center, is the national cultural center of the United States, located on the eastern bank of the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. Opened on September 8, ...

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, the government of Luxembourg donated Wercollier's sculpture '' Ascension'' as its gift to honor John F. Kennedy.Gifts on Tour at the Kennedy Center (pdf)
Another notable work of Wercollier is his sculpture ''Altius'' ("Higher")—a tribute to the sport of

pole vault Pole vaulting, also known as pole jumping, is a track and field event in which an athlete uses a long and flexible pole, usually made from fiberglass or carbon fiber, as an aid to jump over a #bar, bar. Pole jumping was already practiced by the ...

ing—which stands in the Olympic Sculpture Garden at the

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 artifacts, the museum is the largest archive of Olympic Games memorabilia in the world and on ...

Lausanne Lausanne ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of towns in Switzerland, city of the Swiss French-speaking Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway bet ...

. Among his best-known works are sculptures dealing with the

occupation of Luxembourg during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. 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 Limpertsberg,

. It is also exhibited at the National Resistance Museum in

Esch-sur-Alzette Esch-sur-Alzette (, ; ; or ''Esch an der Alzig'') is a city in Luxembourg and the country's List of communes of Luxembourg by population, second-most populous commune, with a population of 36,625 inhabitants, . It lies in the south-west of the ...

. Lucien Wercollier also designed the sculpture that is given to recipients of the Vision for Europe Award.

Bibliography

* Joseph-Émile Muller, 1976. ''Lucien Wercollier.'' Collection: Les Maîtres de la Sculpture Contemporaine. Arted, Éditions d'Art, Paris. 49 pages. . *Joseph-Émile Muller, 1983. ''Lucien Wercollier''. Publication de la Section des arts et lettres de l' Institut grand-ducal. Imprimerie Saint-Paul, Luxembourg. 132 pages. Sans ISBN. Other publications: *Paul Bertemes (coord.), 2005. ''Lucien Wercollier au cloître de l'Abbaye Neumünster''. Catalogue édité à l’occasion de l’installation des sculptures de la collection privée de l’artiste au Centre culturel de rencontre Abbaye de Neumünster. 64 pp. . * Linda Eischen (coord.), 2003. ''Wercollier et ses amis peintres Gillen, Stoffel, Trémont. Exposition à la Villa Vauban''. Catalogue de l’exposition du 30 avril au 7 septembre 2003. (Sans indication du nom de l’imprimeur). . * Josée Kirps, 2001. ''Lucien Wercollier.'' In Robert Theisen (coord.) : ''Luxembourg sculptures. Skulpturen - Sculptures.'' Éditions Îlôts, Steinsel, Luxembourg. . (See the pp. 123–127 for L. Wercollier). * Joseph-Émile Muller, 1988. ''Lucien Wercollier pour son 80e anniversaire.'' Les Cahiers luxembourgeois no 2: 17-24. * Ragon M. & M. Seuphor, 1974. ''Wercollier Lucien. L'art abstrait 1945-1970. Biographie des artistes''. Ed. Maeght, Paris. * Joseph-Émile Muller, 1954. ''Lucien Wercollier et la sculpture moderne.'' Les Cahiers luxembourgeois, no 3.

External sources

Lucien Wercollier on the Website of the National Museum of History and Art (Musée national d'histoire et d'art), Luxembourg

Picture of the sculpture ''Altius'' in Lausanne

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wercollier, Lucien 1908 births 2002 deaths Luxembourgian sculptors Male sculptors Artists from Luxembourg City Hinzert concentration camp survivors Luxembourgian artists 20th-century sculptors