The Ballad of Trotsky is a conceptual art piece comprising a dead taxidermised horse, hanging from the ceiling, by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan, from 1996.
Description
A taxidermised horse is aligned to the ceiling of an institutional space. The statue of a horse is installed in an art gallery.
Conceptual art piece
This taxidermised horse refers Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky, a leading figure in the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, and in the Soviet Union, that later, because of his opposition to Stalin, in the 1920s, went to exile in Mexico City; where he consequently was murdered by order of the Soviet dictator.
Interpretation
Julien Delagrange has viewed the concept to represent a tragedy which aligns with the fate of Trotsky - presented by the work is one of thwarted potential and having to bear witness to the loss of an ideal - Trotsky represents utopia and persistent efforts to achieve a better world, but also a failure, representing the tragi-comic predicament of the human condition as a whole.
References
- ^ "Flogging a dead horse". The Guardian. 28 June 2001. Retrieved 29 September 2023.
- ^ "These are all of Maurizio Cattelan's Horse sculptures". Public Delivery. Retrieved 29 September 2023.
- ^ "MAURIZIO CATTELAN". Perrotin. Retrieved 29 September 2023.
- "Maurizio Cattelan: The Ballad of Trotsky, 1996". Contemporary Art Issue. 6 June 2022. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
| Maurizio Cattelan | |
|---|---|
| Sculptures |
|
| Related |
|
 | This sculpture article is a stub. You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it. |