Death of Ompdrailles
by STAPPEN, Charles van der, Bronze
From the late 1880s, van der Stappen took his subjects from the life of the poor and the workers, and the result was informed by social preoccupations, as in the Death of Ompdrailles, an epic group inspired by a novel by the French writer L�on Cladel. The influence of Rodin is discernible in this piece.
Ompdrailles was a triumphant gladiator who, in his old age, committed suicide. This magnificent sculpture depicts the scene where the Northern Bear, Arribial, his old rival, presents the body for the crowd’s adoration.
The bronze group was inaugurated in June 1897.