Poseidon
The sea god stands in the middle of the fountain on Götaplatsen in Gothenburg. Milles is Sweden’s best-known sculptor, and his works stand in parks and squares around the world.
The elongated, stylised body belongs to the 1930s – not to antiquity.
Carl Milles created Poseidon for Götaplatsen in Gothenburg, and the statue was unveiled in 1931. The square had been laid out for the Jubilee Exhibition of 1923, when Gothenburg celebrated its tercentenary. The Gothenburg Museum of Art was built at that time as the backdrop to the square, and the city theatre and concert hall were added later. The fountain with Poseidon became the centrepiece of the square.
The statue depicts the sea god Poseidon from Greek mythology. He stands naked and greatly elongated on a tall pedestal in the middle of a fountain. The figure is about seven metres high. Around the fountain are sea creatures in bronze, with water streaming around them. Poseidon looks out along Kungsportsavenyn, the city’s grand boulevard, towards the city and the harbour.
The composition is designed to be seen from a distance and from many angles. The slender, upright body forms a vertical accent against the broad museum building behind it. Close up you can see the details of the muscles and the face, which are strongly stylised. Seen from below, the long body gives an almost unearthly impression.
The statue is cast in bronze and has acquired a dark patina. Milles worked with bronze foundries and had a large workshop. He first worked out the figure in clay or plaster, and it was then cast in sections. The elongated, simplified style is typical of the classicism and Art Deco of the 1920s and 1930s, and it differs clearly from ancient sculpture.
The statue provoked debate as soon as it was erected. According to an often repeated story, some felt that the god was too obviously male, and Milles had to make the genitals smaller. The story is widespread but the details are uncertain. The people of Gothenburg gave him nicknames, and he quickly became a symbol of the city.
Milles was Sweden’s most internationally famous sculptor in the first half of the 20th century. Shortly after Poseidon was unveiled he moved to the United States to teach at the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan, where he made many public works. His home and studio on Lidingö outside Stockholm, Millesgården, is now a museum with many of his sculptures. Milles was born near Uppsala in 1875 and as a young man worked in Paris, where he was influenced by Auguste Rodin. Among his other well-known works are the Orpheus Fountain outside the Concert Hall in Stockholm and Europa and the Bull in Halmstad.
Poseidon has become one of Gothenburg’s most important symbols. The statue is an obvious meeting place, and students and football fans like to gather there. It often appears on postcards and in pictures of the city. In this way an ancient god in modern form has become part of everyday life in a Swedish city.