Artist
Jean Tinguely Swiss, 1925–1991
CultureSwiss
Titles
- Moulin à prières (Prayer Wheel)
Date1954
Made inFrance
MediumSteel wire, wood base, and electric motor
Dimensions29 1/2 × 21 × 14 in. (74.9 × 53.3 × 35.6 cm)
Credit LineMuseum purchase funded by D. and J. de Menil
Object number65.12
Current Location
The Nancy and Rich Kinder Building
Gallery 102
On view
Explore Further
Department
Modern and Contemporary ArtObject Type
Exhibition History"Tinguely: Meta," Galerie Alexandre Iolas, Paris, December 10, 1964–January 9, 1965.
"Jean Tinguely: Sculptures," Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, April 3–May 16, 1965.
"Two Kinetic Sculptors: Jean Tinguely and Nicholas Schoeffer," The Jewish Museum, New York, November 17, 1965–January 2, 1966.
"The Machine as Seen at the End of the Mechanical Age," Museum of Modern Art, New York, November 15, 1968–February 9, 1969, 1969; Institute for the Arts, Rice University, Houston, March 25–April 18; San Francisco Museum of Art, June 23–August 24, 1969.
"7+5: Sculptors of the 50s," Art Galleries of the University of California, Santa Barbara, January 6–February 15, 1976; Phoenix Art Museum, March 5–April 11, 1976.
"Western European Art: The Postwar Decade 1945-1955," Des Moines Art Center, September 18–October 29, 1978.
"Jean Tinguely Exhibition," Kunsthaus, Zurich, June 10–August 8, 1982; Tate Gallery, London, September 8–November 11, 1982; Palais Beaux-Arts, Brussels, December 15, 1982–January 30, 1983; Musee d' Art & Histoire, Geneva, February 23–April 10, 1983.
"Collection: A Texas Phenomenon," McNay Art Museum, San Antonio, November 21–December 24, 1986.
Museum Tinguely, Basel, Switzerland, October 1, 1996–October 30, 1997.
"Art at Midcentury: Spotlight on the Collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston," The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, April 13–September 3, 2001.
"Jean le Jeune," Museum Jean Tinguely, Basel, Switzerland, September 10, 2002–March 30, 2003.
"Experiments with Truth: Gandhi and Images of Nonviolence," The Menil Collection, Houston, October 2, 2014–February 1, 2015.
"Jean Tinguely and Jesús Rafael Soto," Nancy and Rich Kinder Building Inaugural Exhibition, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, November 15, 2020–ongoing.
Cataloguing data may change with further research.
If you have questions about this work of art or the MFAH Online Collection please contact us.
Jean Tinguely
1963
Structural steel-channel base, steel rod, small tricycle wheel without tire, round rubber belt, and electric motor
65.19
Jean Tinguely
1962
Sheet steel base, steel rods, fur pelts, horse hair, and electric motor
65.18
Jean Tinguely
1954
Steel tube frame, steel wire, painted cardboard, and electric motor
65.13
Jean Tinguely
1960
Steel rods and wire, aluminum pulley, brass bell, round rubber belt, and electric motor
65.17
Jean Tinguely
1958
Round rubber belt, steel rods, painted sheet metal, wire wooden pulleys, two clothes pins, and electric motor
65.16
Jean Tinguely
1954
Shallow wood box, wood pulleys, round rubber belt, wire and paper attachments, and electric motor
65.22
Jean Tinguely
1963
Clear sheet plastic support, two radios, two electric motors, electric wires, and red plastic fly-wheel
65.23
Jean Tinguely
1964
Steel plate, iron and steel spoked wheels, slant line pulleys, rubber V-belt, and electric motor
65.21
Jean Tinguely
1964
Steel, steel pipe section, iron wheels, rubber V-belt, flat belt, and electric motor
65.20
Jean Tinguely
1955
Wood panel, polychrome wood, metal, wooden pulleys, round rubber belt, and electric motor
65.15
Jean Tinguely
1954
Shallow wooden box, metal attachments, wooden pulleys, round rubber belt, and electric motor
65.14
Jean Tinguely
1967
Iron rocker bars, wood fly-wheel, steel tube, rubber V-belt, and electric motor
68.44