The Ballad of Trotsky

The Ballad of Trotsky is a conceptual art piece comprising a dead taxidermised horse, hanging from the ceiling[1][2], by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan, from 1996.[3]

Description

A taxidermised horse is aligned to the ceiling of an institutional space.[1][3] The statue of a horse is installed in an art gallery.[2][3]

Conceptual art piece

This taxidermised horse refers Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky, a leading figure in the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, and in the Soviet Union, that later, because of his opposition to Stalin, in the 1920s, went to exile in Mexico City; where he consequently was murdered by order of the Soviet dictator.[1][2][3]

Interpretation

Julien Delagrange has viewed the concept to represent a tragedy which aligns with the fate of Trotsky - presented by the work is one of thwarted potential and having to bear witness to the loss of an ideal - Trotsky represents utopia and persistent efforts to achieve a better world, but also a failure, representing the tragi-comic predicament of the human condition as a whole.[1][4]

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Flogging a dead horse". The Guardian. 28 June 2001. Retrieved 29 September 2023.
  2. ^ a b c "These are all of Maurizio Cattelan's Horse sculptures". Public Delivery. Retrieved 29 September 2023.
  3. ^ a b c d "MAURIZIO CATTELAN". Perrotin. Retrieved 29 September 2023.
  4. ^ "Maurizio Cattelan: The Ballad of Trotsky, 1996". Contemporary Art Issue. 6 June 2022. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
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