Josef Johan Ludwig Uphues (1850-1911) Bronze Male Nude - The Archer

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This week I located an edition of Josef Uphues' (1850-1911) bronze "The Archer." After negotiations with the seller I made the purchase. There is another title given to this bronze "Hercules and the Stymphalian Birds" (see the variation below) also. The bronze appears to be in good shape with a little bend in the bow which I will check into having restored by a conservator. I will rephotograph the bronze when it arrives and post the results for you.

Josef Uphues was an important German sculptor who has been linked to many of the avant-garde movements of his day. In 1878 he entered the Konigliche Akademische Hochschule fur Bildende Kunste in Berlin. He apprenticed as a carpenter in his early years and later apprenticed as a stonemason in Wiedenbruck. He was a student of Reinhold Begas (1831-1911), a well known German sculptor, and Fritz Schaper (1841-1919). In 1882, he became a master student of Reinhold Begas and from 1885 t0 1891 he worked as an assistant in Begas' private studio. From 1892 he started a business studio of his own and in 1899 he became professor and member of the Berlin Secession. Uphues experimented with Jugendstil, a German decorative arts movement inspired by the Art Nouveau movement in France.

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Here are additional variations of the bronze and another work by Uphues:

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