Bull sculpture thumbnail 1
Bull sculpture thumbnail 2
Not on display

Bull sculpture

Maquette
1984 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

The model is the maquette for the concrete sculpture of a red bull constructed for the Liverpool International Garden Festival in the spring of 1984. The completed sculpture at Liverpool is approximately 10 feet high.

Dhruva Mistry was born in Kanjari, (Gujarat) in 1957. He studied sculpture at the Faculty of Fine Arts, MS University of Baroda (1974-79), graduating with distinction and a gold medal. He went on to gain an MA at Baroda (1979-81) and then came to Britain on a British Council scholarship to take an MA in sculpture at the Royal College of Art (1981-83). Mistry has since gained international recognition and many prizes. He was elected Royal Academician in 1991 and was the first Indian sculptor to be made Fellow of the Royal Society of British Sculptors in 1993. In 1997 he returned to Vadadora and in 1997 was appointed Professor, Head of Sculpture and Dean of the Faculty of Fine Arts at the University of Baroda. He was awarded an honorary CBE in 2001.

Mistry's work ranges from huge public commissions to maquettes and wall reliefs, related in part to Hinduism and Buddhism, but also encompassing influences from the West - Egyptian and Cycladic art and European traditions of figurative sculpture. Not all of his work is narrative; in some pieces he explores the processes of making art and the inevitable intellectual debate that ensues between artist and viewer, whether implied or expressed.

Object details

Category
Object type
TitleBull sculpture (generic title)
Materials and techniques
plaster maquette
Brief description
Sculpture of bull, by Dhruva Mistry, plaster, United Kingdom, 1983-84
Physical description
This model is the maquette for the concrete sculpture of a red bull constructed for the Liverpool International Garden Festival in the spring of 1984. Two other models exist of which this was used for the technical drawing after being squared up with self-adhesive tape. Traces of a pencil grid can be seen on one of the rear legs. The position of the completed sculpture has been removed so that it turns towards the left. The completed sculpture at Liverpool is approximately 10 feet high.

This maquette is made of plaster-of-paris, modelled and scraped with a hacksaw blade.
The plaster is stained ochre and red with black outlines. The left ear was broken before staining
Dimensions
  • Length: 24cm
  • Height: 19.3cm
  • Width: 14cm
Marks and inscriptions
Signed and dated below 'Dhruva Mistry, 1983/4'.
Object history
Purchased from Anthony Stokes. Rp 84/1043
Historical context
Dhruva Mistry was born in Kanjari, (Gujarat) in 1957. He studied sculpture at the Faculty of Fine Arts, MS University of Baroda (1974-79), graduating with distinction and a gold medal. He went on to gain an MA at Baroda (1979-81) and then came to Britain on a British Council scholarship to take an MA in sculpture at the Royal College of Art (1981-83). Mistry has since gained international recognition and many prizes. He was elected Royal Academician in 1991 and was the first Indian sculptor to be made Fellow of the Royal Society of British Sculptors in 1993. In 1997 he returned to Vadadora and in 1997 was appointed Professor, Head of Sculpture and Dean of the Faculty of Fine Arts at the University of Baroda. He was awarded an honorary CBE in 2001.
Summary
The model is the maquette for the concrete sculpture of a red bull constructed for the Liverpool International Garden Festival in the spring of 1984. The completed sculpture at Liverpool is approximately 10 feet high.

Dhruva Mistry was born in Kanjari, (Gujarat) in 1957. He studied sculpture at the Faculty of Fine Arts, MS University of Baroda (1974-79), graduating with distinction and a gold medal. He went on to gain an MA at Baroda (1979-81) and then came to Britain on a British Council scholarship to take an MA in sculpture at the Royal College of Art (1981-83). Mistry has since gained international recognition and many prizes. He was elected Royal Academician in 1991 and was the first Indian sculptor to be made Fellow of the Royal Society of British Sculptors in 1993. In 1997 he returned to Vadadora and in 1997 was appointed Professor, Head of Sculpture and Dean of the Faculty of Fine Arts at the University of Baroda. He was awarded an honorary CBE in 2001.

Mistry's work ranges from huge public commissions to maquettes and wall reliefs, related in part to Hinduism and Buddhism, but also encompassing influences from the West - Egyptian and Cycladic art and European traditions of figurative sculpture. Not all of his work is narrative; in some pieces he explores the processes of making art and the inevitable intellectual debate that ensues between artist and viewer, whether implied or expressed.
Bibliographic reference
Contemporary Art in Baroda, ed. by Gulammohammed Sheikh, Tulika, 1997.
Collection
Accession number
IS.150-1984

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Record createdJune 25, 2009
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