Pelican (Pelikaan)

About this artwork.

For the then newly built Christian primary school Vijverschans (now called De Borg), Rinus Meijer made a stone sculpture of a pelican pecking his chest. The motif of the pelican pecking his chest to feed his young with his blood refers to Christ's self-sacrifice on the cross. The pelican can be seen as the symbol of love (for the child).

Rinus Meijer (1917-1985) studied at the Minerva Academy in Groningen, where he was a pupil of Willem Valk, among others. He then obtained a teaching certificate for drawing (1939) and modelling in The Hague, and later taught at Minerva himself. As a sculptor, Meijer carried out several commissions for works of art in the public spaces of the city of Groningen. Meijer belonged to the group of artists who provided works of art in the so-called reconstruction period (1940-1965) and in the following decade. They strived for a synthesis of art and architecture in their work. 

Facts & Figures.

• Design
  Rinus Meijer

• District
  Haren en omgeving

• Year of creation
  1974

• Art type
  Freestanding sculpture

• Material
  Stone

• Dimensions
  h 0,80 x b 0,70 x d 0,60 m