Walking Polar bear artwork by Jaap Kaas
This sculpture of a walking polar bear is one of the works by artist Jaap Kaas (1898-1972) that can be found at ARTIS. Kaas was known for his dynamic sculptures of animals.
‘I feel for ARTIS an affection that can best be compared to every person's love for their native soil, perhaps equally unreasonable, but no less deep for that.’
ARTIS artist
artwork in a nutshell
- made in
- 1960
- crafted by
- Jaap Kaas
- made of
- brons
- size
- 35 (h) x 56 (w)
Polar bears in ARTIS Zoo
This statue of the walking polar bear, together with a bronze statue of a brown bear, was donated to ARTIS by the Jaap Kaas Foundation five years after Kaas' death in 1972. The sculptures were given a place near the new bear enclosure, which opened in 1974. The left rock was for polar bears, the right for Syrian brown bears. Until then, the bears resided in the Bear Castle, a castle-like structure built in 1897. The new open enclosures were an advance for both animal welfare and public experience at the time, but perceptions change. Today, bears no longer live in ARTIS. The enclosures are now inhabited by a group of mandrills and a red panda, alongside the bronze sculptures of Kaas.
