The Dying Centaur

William Rimmer

1869; cast 1905 · Bronze · The American Wing

The mythical centaur, with the head and torso of a man and lower body of a horse, represented Rimmer’s recurrent fascination with dueling forces of the spiritual and the physical, the mortal and the immortal, the animal and the human. Here, a centaur who has collapsed futilely attempts to rise. The truncated, upraised arms express the pathos of the dying creature’s plight. Rimmer modeled the sculpture while he was teaching at the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art in New York and left no commentary on its enigmatic meaning. However, among the proposed interpretations is a connection to the moral tales of poet and theologian Edward Young, in which a centaur confronts his death after a lifetime of debauchery. Facing God’s judgement, he desperately seeks salvation, possibly referring to Rimmer's own moral tumult and lifelong struggles with mental illness.

Artist

William Rimmer

Date

1869; cast 1905

Medium

Bronze

Culture

American

Department

The American Wing

Credit line

Gift of Edward Holbrook, 1906