Berlinde De Bruyckere
Belgian, born 1964
Lost III, 2011
Horsehide, wood, iron, and epoxy
We are, quite radically, forced to confront death, the ultimate form of rupture, in Lost III. Berlinde De Bruyckere has long been inspired by images of horses in art, but it wasn’t until she studied a trove of World War I photographs depicting battlefields strewn not only with the bodies of dead soldiers but also those of horses that she adopted the horse for her own art. Lost III gives physical form to history and draws out feelings of fear, anger, and loss as they relate to war. The powerful expression of vulnerability and tenderness in this work also reminds us that while death always stands for loss, it can also be welcomed for its ability to provide deliverance and mercy.
