Michael Ayrton ‘Minotaur Waking’ SOTAG : 1973/93D ModelNoAI
Born in London, Michael Ayrton was a British artist and writer.In the 1940s—1950s, artist and friend Henry Moore encouraged Ayrton to turn to sculpture. Moore praised his early work and advised Ayrton on technique.
Ayrton was continually drawn to classic mythological themes, especially after he and Moore visited Crete in the late 1950s. Much of the artist’s distinctive work is associated with flight, mirrors, and mazes.From 1961, Ayrton began writing and creating many works associated with the Greek mythological tales of Daedalus and Icarus, as well as the Minotaur. The legendary inventor and maze builder Daedalus built a labyrinth to imprison the Minotaur, a monstrous half-bull, half-man figure later killed by the Athenian hero Theseus.
Southampton acquired Ayrton’s powerful bronze, ‘Minotaur Waking’, in 1973, which depicts a sentient figure staring closely at his human hand, struggling to comprehend his identity and man/animal form.
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