Rozjuszony słoń. Brąz. Mendoza. XX wiek.

I bought the elephant a few years ago in Warsaw's Kole district. It probably came to us from across the western border. Despite the rather high price, I couldn't resist the dynamism and expressiveness of this sculpture.

Many people collect elephant figurines. Apparently, the animal's raised trunk brings luck to its owner. Elephant sculptures are usually cute, pretty, almost childlike.

Few people want to remember that this is a huge, dangerous animal. An angry, frightened elephant tramples everything around it, spreading terror and destruction. In ancient history, troops of war elephants defeated many armies.

This sculpture depicts such an elephant. I see a frame captured in a fraction of a second, showing an enraged animal, where it is even difficult to make out the anatomy of the giant, because the overlapping images of rapid movement blur the picture.

It is difficult to determine the author of the sculpture, despite the inscription with the author's name occupying almost the entire base. Mendoza is a popular surname in Spanish-speaking countries. I found several sculptors with this surname. If I had to attribute the elephant sculpture to someone, I would, in accordance with my own opinion, bet on the Mexican artist Fernando Mendoza. Unfortunately, I cannot say much about him other than that he creates bronze sculptures that are on the borderline between realism and abstraction.

The sculpture is quite large. Its irregular shape makes it difficult to give its precise dimensions. The height of the elephant is 37 cm. Its length at the tips of the legs is 20 cm. The base forms an irregular figure measuring 16 by 16 cm.