The presented work comes from the collection of Feliks “Manggha” Jasieński, a Kraków-based collector active at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. The white plaster sculpture is 44.5 cm high and 29 cm wide.

The sculpture depicts the naked figures of a man and a woman intertwined in a loving embrace. It is one of the models for a life-sized bronze cast. The bodies are rendered sketchily, with the artist focusing primarily on the emotions of the figures.

He sits on a pedestal. She half-lies across his lap. He buries his lips in her long hair. She hides her face in his shoulder. His right arm embraces her back, his left cradles her buttocks. She wraps her arms around his neck and back. Her legs are bent at the knees. She presses herself into him completely. Her body is delicate; his is robust, with strong arms and large hands. Both surrender themselves to the kiss with utter abandon.

Gustav Vigeland studied under Auguste Rodin and is regarded as one of Norway’s greatest sculptors. In this highly sensual and expressive composition, the human body plays the central role, portrayed freely yet in a simplified manner that conveys the passionate nature of the scene. The Kiss became, for the artist, a starting point for expressing intimate closeness and the beauty of the human form.

Vigeland is considered Norway’s most important sculptor. His life’s work was the design of the sculpture park in Oslo that bears his name. It contains over 200 stone and bronze sculptures presenting nearly 600 human figures in total.

Audio description consultation: Adrian Wyka
Content consultation: Miłosz Kargol