One of the most renowned sculptors of the 20th century, Igor Mitoraj is best known for his fragmented depictions of the human body, this being a maquette for a large scale public installation entitled EROS BENDATO SCRIPPOLATO, created exclusively for and exhibited with the Vancouver Biennale in 2009-2011. Mitoraj’s sculptural style is rooted in the classical tradition, but also introduces a post-modern twist, emphasizing the damage sustained by most original classical sculptures. 

In the maquette for EROS BENDATO SCRIPPOLATO, the sculpture is made to look like a fragment of an ancient monument to Eros, the god of love. His works aim to address the questions of the human body, its beauty and fragility, its suffering as well as deeper aspects of human nature, which as a result of the passing of time undergo degeneration. Igor Mitoraj’s work has been exhibited extensively throughout Europe with major installations in Krakow, Madrid, Valencia, Lisbon, Rome, Milan, Yorkshire Sculpture Park and the British Museum. Near the end of his life, Mitoraj divided his time between Poland and Italy where he was bestowed with awards from the Vittorio De Sica prize of 2001, to an honourary degree from the Krakow Academy in 2007, to the Commander’s Cross of the Order of the Polonia Restituta. He died in 2014.