Fighting Goats

Wilhelm Hunt Diederich

ca. 1936 · Bronze · Modern and Contemporary Art

Of his lifelong devotion to depicting animals at play and in combat, Diederich was quoted as saying: “Animals are a part of art themselves, they possess such glorious rhythm and spontaneity.” Diederich returned to the theme of fighting goats several times between 1917 and the mid-1930s. In this late interpretation, the base consists of an exaggerated boulder-like mass, and one goat rises dramatically on its hind legs. Diederich’s keen observation of animals is exemplified in this graceful, interlocking arrangement of the two goats whose bodies are lean and tensely posed.

Artist

Wilhelm Hunt Diederich

Date

ca. 1936

Medium

Bronze

Department

Modern and Contemporary Art

Credit line

Fletcher Fund, 1955