, 2008. Fibreglass stone and airplane. National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa. Purchased 2011. Photo © Roman März](/images/content/menuSeeGallery.png)
Benjamin West
The Death of General Wolfe (Detail), 1770
oil on canvas
152.6 x 214.5 cm
Transfer from the Canadian War Memorials, 1921 (Gift of the 2nd Duke of Westminster, England, 1918)
National Gallery of Canada (no. 8007)
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Born, 2002
Kiki Smith
German, American, 1954
bronze
99.1 x 256.5 x 61 cm
Purchased 2007
National Gallery of Canada (no. 42085)
© Kiki Smith, Courtesy PaceWildenstein, New York
This fantastical sculpture presents us with a surprising and unnatural circumstance: a small doe has just given birth to a full-grown woman. The internationally renowned artist Kiki Smith works with the body in her sculptures, prints, and drawings, often referring to mythological female figures. Two legends in particular are linked to "Born". One is the Germanic tale of Saint Genovefa, a queen falsely accused of infidelity and sentenced to death. She escaped, taking refuge in the forest where she and her child were sustained by a doe that nursed them both. A second figure evoked by "Born" is Saint Geneviève, a shepherd’s daughter who became the patron saint of Paris. Smith has made a number of works based on Geneviève, one of which depicts her stepping from the belly of a wolf. The artist reinterprets these stories to portray animals that not only sustain, but also give life to humans.
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