Academic Nudes of the 19th Century: 2010-12-19

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Porzellanfabrik Karl Ens: Young Bacchus - A. Berger - circa 1910

I managed to snag a copy of this nice figurative nude on a German auction site this evening. I first saw it on eBay Germany several weeks ago but the price was a bit much for my sagging purse after shelling out mega bucks for two bronzes. It is a product of the Porzellanfabrik Karl Ens, former East Germany, and is, from what I can tell, somewhat rare. The Karl Ens Porcelain Factory dates from the late 19th century (1890) to 1972 and produced a long line of genre porcelain figurines. The subject matter appears to be a young Bacchus.
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Johannes Gotz (1865-1934) Jugendstil Bronze: Balancierender Knabe Auf Kugel (Boy Balancing on a Ball)

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Portrait of the Artist:

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Several weeks ago I promised to photograph the Johannes Gotz bronze so here are the additional photographs. I also found additional biographic information on the artist on the National Gallery of Art website, which I will quote below:

Johannes Gotz was born in Furth, Germany in 1865. He attended the Kunstgewerbeschule in Nuremberg from 1881 to 1884, and went on to study sculpture with Fritz Schaper (1841-1919) at the Berlin Akademische Hochschule in 1884 and 1885. Thereafter, like so many young German sculptors of his generation, he joined the Berlin Studio of the Imperial sculptor Reinhold Begas (1831-1911), where he was employed from 1885 to 1890. As a Begas pupil, Gotz created his Boy Balancing on a Ball (Balancierende Knabe), modeled in 1888; a bronze cast was acquired by the Berlin Nationalgalerie in 1889. In 1892-1893 he received a state stipend to study in Rome, where he modeled Girl Drawing Water, another genre bronze. Gotz continued to collaborate with Begas on major projects to adorn Berlin at the behest of Kaiser Wilhelm II, an ambitious patron of monumental sculpture. Beginning in 1893, Gotz contributed regularly to exhibitions in Berlin with portrait busts, genre groups, and statuettes. The Gladenbeck foundry in Berlin-Friedrichshagen issued reductions of Gotz's works, from the Boy Balancing on a Ball to Achilles (below).

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Here are a few additional examples of the artist's works:

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La Porteuse d'eau ...

Runner at the Start.........

Antiger Jungling Mit Falke und Bogen...

Achilles.... Completed 1910

Woman Holding a Wreath ...

Monday, December 20, 2010

European Gallery and Antiques Dealer Offerings

This weekend I spent some time browsing mostly European Antiques websites searching for figurative works before I get back to photographing the remaining drawings in my collection. I was surprised that the variety of figurative works is somewhat sparce in this genre of sales. Auction sites and European eBay sites seem to be far more fertile in offerings. I culled out what I found and have listed them below. Enjoy.
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Paintings:
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