Rooster (Gallic Cock)

1916 (plaster), cast 1919

Rooster (Gallic Cock), 1916 (plaster), cast 1919. Raymond Duchamp-Villon (French, 1876–1918). Painted bronze; overall: 43.5 x 36 x 5.5 cm (17 1/8 x 14 3/16 x 2 3/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Bequest of Lucia McCurdy McBride 1972.227 Before being embraced by artists, the term "Cubism" originated from an insult. The same is true of Gallus, a Latin word meaning both "rooster" and "inhabitant of Gaul" (present-day France). Once used to mock the French, the rooster was reclaimed as a national symbol of triumph, as pictured here.