George Minne

George (Georges) Minne (born Georgius Joannes Leonardus Minne; 30 August 1866 – 18 February 1941) was a Belgian artist and sculptor famous for his idealized depictions of man's inner spiritual conflicts, including the "Kneeling Youth" sculpture series.

A contemporary of Gustav Klimt and Egon Schiele, Minne's work shows many similarities in both form and subject matter to the Viennese Secessionists, the fathers of Art Nouveau.

[1] He had made his first visit to Paris in 1886 where he met the writers Maurice Maeterlinck and Gregore Le Roy, who introduced him to the French Symbolists.

The sculptures were confiscated by the Nazis, and only through extensive restitution efforts were they returned to Bloch-Bauer's niece Maria Altmann, and eventually acquired by the museum.

For the Basilica of Koekelberg Minne made the sculpture of the Sacred Heart for the altar in the apse.