... or: “The failed attempt to pacify or stun the ox”. Woytek here combines two animal figures that are defined as contrasts in their fundamental meaning throughout the history of art: the bull stands for strength, power and virility and is today additionally one of the symbolic animals of the stock market as an image of the trader tackling the market situation offensively. The dove, on the other hand, has been classed as a symbol of peace even since Old Testament times. With the combination of bull and dove, Woytek depicts two contrasting, archaic forces that find themselves – for a brief moment – in a precarious balance in his sculpture. Edition in bronze, cast using the lost wax technique, hand chased and patinated.

Edition in bronze, cast using the lost wax technique, chased and patinated by hand.

Woytek (1962)