# The Mysterious Sphinx [View the canonical artwork record]() ## Artwork - Artist: [STAPPEN, Charles van der]() - Date: 1851-1900 - Technique: Ivory, bronze, height 56 cm ## Commentary Van der Stappen finished his chryselephantine \(ivory and metal\) sculptures to the ultimate degree of craft perfection. The bust of the Sphinx unites all the features of <i>fin-de-siecle</i> Belgian art and constitutes a sort of incunabulum of Art Nouveau in Belgium. The Sphinx is the image of literary Symbolism incarnate, while the use of exotic ivory underlines the aura of mystery. ## Related artworks - [Death of Ompdrailles]() - [Exterior view]() - [Teaching of Art]() ## Attribution [Web Gallery of Art]()