Agriculture and Cattle Breeding (Landbouw en Veeteelt)

About this artwork.

A young but solidly built girl stands with her chest forward. Shes represents the city virgin. She puts her right foot on the head of a lying calf. A band of ears of corn runs across her waist, symbolising the connection between the city and the countryside. After all, agriculture and cattle breeding were the province's main source of income for a long time. Her posture is prominent, but also somewhat strange because of the way she holds her arms back. This can be explained by the laborious production history of the sculpture. 
 
Sculptor Wladimir de Vries had the girl hold the ears of corn with both hands in the original design, but this was not adopted in the bronze foundry. More things went wrong with casting and welding. For example, according to De Vries, the calf's ears were too far back, making it look more like a sheep; certain welds are still visible and parts of the sculpture do not match up well.
 
It wasn't just the artist who was dissatisfied with the result. Initially, many inhabitants of the city had difficulty with the pronounced nudity of the statue. In addition, many people found the girl's legs too firm and her bosom too flat. The placing of the foot on the calf's head also evoked memories of the German oppression, which was relatively recent at the time.
 
Now Bare Bet (Blote Bet), as she is also known, has been one of the landmarks for the city's inhabitants and visitors for fifty years.

There are various works of art by Wladimir de Vries in the city, the most famous being The Foal at the Radesingel, The Bison in the Noorderplantsoen and this Agriculture and Cattle Breeding (Bare Bet). His works – all figurative in nature – were created in the period from around 1950 to 1980. This was precisely the time when a predominant preference for abstract art began to emerge. But Wladimir de Vries continued to work in his original – traditional – style. De Vries' wilfulness also characterises his sculptures from which pride and well-being are expressed.

Facts & Figures.

• Design
  Wladimir de Vries

• District
  Centrum

• Year of creation
  1953

• Art type
  Freestanding sculpture

• Material
  Bronze

• Dimensions
  h 3,15 m