The Old Man (De oude man)

About this artwork.

The sculpture is located above the entrance gate of the former 'Gasthuis voor den Werkenden Stand'. This house was built in 1935 by order of 'the Algemeen Diaken Gezelschap' in order to provide shelter to poor, elderly or vulnerable labourers. 
 

Willem Valk created a sculpture of a poorly-dressed old man leaning on a cane or staff. He holds out his right hand, begging. 
 

In 1921 Valk came to Groningen, where he would give sculpting lessons at the Minerva Art Academy for 43 years. In addition to his apprenticeship, he made numerous portraits, nudes and sculptures for buildings in Groningen. Because of the latter he was given the unofficial title of city sculptor. 
 
Valk rarely did sketches for a sculpture or a relief. He first created a life-size design in clay and then executed it in stone. Usually the artist stayed very true to the original stone slab, resulting in a sleek, stylised form. Valk liked to work with difficult materials, such as hard rocks like granite and syenite, but he also made many sculptures in the much softer sandstone and limestone.

Facts & Figures.

• Design
  Willem Valk

• District
  Oosterpoort & Europapark

• Year of creation
  1935

• Art type
  Art in / on a building, Wall sculpture

• Material
  Sandstone (Obernkirchner)

• Dimensions
  h 1,45 m