Flag Pole Finial 1935 - 1942

Editor: We are looking at Victor Muollo's "Flag Pole Finial," created between 1935 and 1942, employing watercolor, drawing and oil painting techniques. It's strikingly…stark. The limited color palette emphasizes the sculpture's form, but leaves me wondering about its original intent. What do you see in this piece that might illuminate Muollo’s artistic choices? Curator: Let's consider this work within its formal properties. Observe how the artist used value to describe three-dimensional form. Notice the variations in shading and how the contrast creates the illusion of depth. The brushstrokes are visible, yet controlled, giving a tactile quality to the depicted bronze. Editor: It feels like the piece could benefit from more visual variation and bolder choices with color. Is the piece elevated by the sharp detailing on the sculpture itself, particularly on the eagle’s feathers? Curator: The linearity in rendering the eagle is critical, yes, as well as the relationship to the solid volume below. It presents us with an exercise in semiotics, doesn't it? We are examining both mass and volume—it makes us confront form and content. It strikes me that it would feel very different were it a true three-dimensional sculpture. How do you feel about the choice of the eagle for this flagpole finial? Editor: I wonder if it being an emblem changes my reaction or reading? But thinking just in terms of design elements, the form itself – its contours, the texture suggested – evokes a sense of gravitas, and power. I never thought so much about form! Curator: And that, in essence, is the key, wouldn't you say? What we derive as interpretation comes initially from visual cues within the composition.