Prometheus

In many of his works, Kirchner focuses on mythological themes, which he reinterprets and brings into the present. In Greek mythology, the figure of Prometheus is the founder of culture, who goes against the will of Zeus by creating mankind from clay and bringing fire to humanity on earth as a symbol of knowledge and understanding. By doing so he rebelled against the gods. Kirchner illustrates this conflict between heaven and earth with the grand gestures of the bronze figure. The right foot of the sculpture is standing on a stone, which is evocative of Zeus’s punishment: Prometheus was bound to a rock in the Caucasus, where every day an eagle pecked out his liver, which was perpetually renewed. The right leg on the stone appears to be coming away from the ground, as if to reach up. His right arm, with fingers stretched towards the sky, and his head, which is straining upwards, also underline this gesture. However, Prometheus’s left leg is safely positioned on the ground and his left arm is also pointing downwards. This contrast between being firmly embedded in the earth and reaching for the stars is also formally reflected in the long, spider-like arms and legs, which stand in direct contrast to Prometheus’s egg-shaped body.

The inscription on the base is to be interpreted as a call for balance. Man should establish a balance between striving for higher things and being rooted in the soil.