# George Minne artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/george-minne/
Profile generated: 2026-05-08T09:43:00.000Z
Quality: high confidence, strong sources

## Artist identity

- Nationality: Belgian
- Movements: Symbolism, Art Nouveau, Vienna Secession
- Common media: sculpture (bronze, marble, plaster), drawing, illustration

## About George Minne

George Minne (1866–1941) was a Belgian sculptor, draftsman, and illustrator whose work occupies a central place in late-nineteenth-century Symbolist art. Born in Ghent, Minne developed a deeply personal visual language centered on slender, introspective figures that express inner spiritual struggle and emotional isolation. His most celebrated motif, the Kneeling Youth, exists in several versions in bronze, marble, and plaster and became one of the defining sculptural images of European Symbolism. Minne exhibited alongside Gustav Klimt and the Vienna Secession, and his stylized, elongated forms anticipate elements of Expressionism. His work is held by major institutions including the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Collectors encounter Minne's sculpture and drawings at auction with some regularity, particularly in European sales of Symbolist and Art Nouveau material.

## Common works and media

Bronze figural sculptures (especially Kneeling Youth, Standing Youth, and Mourning figures), plaster and marble versions of the same motifs, charcoal and ink drawings of solitary or anguished figures, book illustrations, and smaller-scale reliefs and medals. Works range from monumental exhibition pieces to intimate tabletop casts.

## Market and appraisal context

George Minne's market centers on his figural sculpture, especially the Kneeling Youth and related standing and mourning figures. Bronze casts with documented foundry marks and edition information tend to be the most commercially significant, while plaster, terracotta, and terracotta versions appear less frequently. Drawings and illustrations connected to his Symbolist practice also surface at auction. Valuation depends on medium, edition, foundry provenance, condition, subject, and whether the work can be tied to a known period or series. The source pack does not include specific realized prices; collectors should consult comparable public auction records for current market context.

## Appraisily data basis

Appraisily artist pages combine artist identity research with auction records, auction-house context, sale dates, realized prices, and comparable lots when those records are available. For George Minne, this page draws on authority records from the Getty ULAN, VIAF, the Library of Congress, and the RKD Netherlands Institute for Art History, supplemented by museum holdings data from the Museum of Modern Art and biographical context from encyclopedic sources.

## Sources

- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q559281
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Minne
- Getty Vocabulary Program: https://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500029293
- VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/15535878/
- Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n85100798
- The Museum of Modern Art: https://www.moma.org/artists/4007
- RKD - Netherlands Institute for Art History: https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/56310