This bronze sculpture was made by Ercole Priori in a later period (about 1965) and it was realized on a memory basis. It represents an ancient work tied to the river.
Priori was a great swimmer and canoeist and he was very attached to the Po: he built by himself a canoe and projected many others, as deduced by a curious and unpublished series of draws, sketches and models (reminiscent of Leonardo's style) located in his studio. He used to confront himself with water resistance as an athlete; it is not a surprise that Priori faced the man-nature theme in this powerful sculpture, where the river is invisible, but is perceived as the antagonist energy to human fury.
The pain of these figures is accentuated by the plastic deformation inspired by the expressionist and Cubist movements. This sufferance recalls to memory the workers (tied with ropes as pack animals) who had to drag the boats from the river stream to the banks.
Donated by Tiziana Priori, 2011
