With great enthusiasm, MDD announces the exhibition The lost son — an exceptional focus exhibition dedicated to the work of George Minne, one of Belgium’s most significant Symbolist sculptors. This presentation offers a rare opportunity to delve into Minne’s deeply emotional and spiritual universe, where human fragility and devotion are expressed through gestures of tenderness and introspection. The exhibition sheds new light on how Minne’s art bridges the personal and the universal, combining psychological depth with a profound sense of empathy.

In 1931, collectors Jules Dhondt and Irma Dhaenens faced the devastating loss of their only son. Around that same time, George Minne unveiled The lost son — a poignant portrayal of a father and son locked in an intimate embrace. By distancing himself from traditional biblical representations of the Prodigal Son, Minne reinterprets the theme as an allegory of grief, forgiveness, and unconditional love. The sculpture’s restrained yet powerful emotional charge reflects the artist’s fascination with human vulnerability and his search for redemption through form and gesture.

The exhibition gathers an extraordinary selection of works from the museum’s permanent collection, complemented by important loans from public and private collections. Visitors will discover a dialogue between sculptures, drawings, and studies — many of them rarely exhibited — that explore Minne’s recurring themes of mourning, corporeality, and emotional connection. Together, these works reveal an artist whose timeless sensitivity continues to resonate, offering a moving reflection on loss, compassion, and the enduring strength of human bonds.

(Courtesy to curator Marjan Sterckx, University of Ghent, Faculty of Arts and Philosophy, and ThIS. The Inside Story)