Alexander Calder | Hellebardier

»Hellebardier« by Alexander Calder (b. 1898 in Lawnton, Pennsylvania, USA – d. 1976), which is also known by the alternate title »Guadeloupe«, was given to the city of Hannover in 1972 by the collector and art patron Bernhard Sprengel and can be seen as a commentary on his belief that the »Street Art Programme« lacked cosmopolitanism. It was initially installed in front of the opera house, but after public protests it was relocated opposite the Sprengel Museum in 1978. The sculpture moderates there on the one hand between the culture venue museum and the Maschsee recreational area as well as makes a clear statement in favour of modernism as opposed to the sculptures from the Nazi era preserved on the lakeside (Hermann Scheuernstuhl’s »Fackelträger« [Torchbearer] and »Fisch mit reitender Putte« [Fish and Riding Cherub], which are explained at the site, are located in the immediate vicinity). » Location: Kurt-Schwitters-Platz