Artist: Carl Milles
Carl Milles (1875-1955) was the sculptor who dominated Swedish art life in the first half of the 20th century. He carried out a very large number of public commissions in Sweden and abroad.
Milles can be described as both a traditional and an innovative artist. He was traditional in his choice of subjects. Ancient and Christian mythology and Swedish history were often his sources of inspiration. His innovation lay in his personal interpretations of the motifs and in the fact that, especially in his later years, he raised the sculptures on high columns and used hidden steel structures to make them appear to float freely in the air.
He sculpted in heavy, hard materials such as granite and bronze and brought the sculptures together with the lightest of materials, water and air, by placing them in fountains or lifting them into the air so that they interacted with the sky. His greatest creation was Millesgården, the life work he worked on for 50 years.
