The Passion of Collecting Academic Nudes

Join me as we explore my collection of Academic Nudes from the 18th, 19th, and Early 20th Centuries and serendipitous finds in the Museum, Art Auction, and Gallery world......examples from the Golden Age of the European Academie


Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Current European Auction Finds: April 2011

Here are the remainder of the artworks currently listed in German Auction Houses. I am cross-eyed from stitching these things back together so I will come back later and make the appropriate attributions regarding the artists. Enjoy:
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Wilhelm Bormann (1855-1938) Nackter Knabe



(?) Female Nude



Ferdinand Wagner (1819-1881) Standing Female Nude



(?) The Kiss



Istvan Szonyi (1894-1960) Two Female Nudes, 1919





Walter Sebastian Resch (1889-1962) Weiblicher Akt auf Ziegenbock



Robert Philippi (1877-1959) Der Heilige Sebastian



Peter Breuer (1856-1930) Venus and Amor



Paul Oestreicher (1874-1936) Nude Boy



Max Pietschmann (1865-1952) Badende Jungen am Bach




Mark Weinberger Vedres (1870-1961) Flotespielender Jungling um 1910


Ludovico Carracci (1554-1619) Liegender Christus




Alfred Leithauser (1898-1979) Girl in Bath Tub




Chr Hensen (?) Jungling mit Wanderstab


Josephine Stott-Scheidegg (?) Venus and Amor (?)



Johannes Gotz (1865-1934) Nude Youth with Falcon



Hugo Boettinger (1880-1934) Female Nude



Gustav Wust (1873-1939) (?)



Unknown German Painter (early 20th Cent.) Cupid with Bow




Fritz Erler (1868-1940) Die Jagdgottin Diana



Daniel Friedemann Fuchs (?) Uommo Atlantico



Unknown Artist, Bronze, Marathon Runner, 1933



Arthur Kampf (1864-1950) Semi-Nude Female


Alexander Frenz (1861-1941) Geburt der Venus



Adolf Hengeler (1863-1927) Wassermann mit zwei Madchenakten am Strand

Monday, April 25, 2011

J. Mund (?): Venus and Cupid / (?) Schilling : Female Nude in the Dunes

Caption: Female Nude in Dunes
Artist: Schilling (?)
Material: Pastels on Paper
Dated: ca 1930-40

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Yesterday and this morning I went to my favorite German Auction House and culled out some of the current figurative offerings. I will list a few of these individually (below and above) because of their uniqueness (to my eye) and the rest as a group. Unfortunately, I have not been able to find much biographical information on J. Mund and Schilling (?) but these artworks certainly caught my eye. The auction title on the painting (below) is listed in the description below the photograph but I suspect, based upon the subject matter, that it depicts "Venus and Cupid." A nicely done modern reinterpretation of a classic subject. The female nude above is in one of my favorite mediums: pastels. I love how beautifully flesh tones can be rendered in pastels.

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Caption: Female Nude holding an Orange with Standing Nude Boy (Venus and Cupid?)
Artist: J. Mund
Material: Oils on Canvas
Dated: ca 1900

Heinrich Carl Baucke (1875-1915): The Victorious Boxer

Heinrich Carl Baucke (1875-1915) was a well known German artist who specialized in a Neo-Baroque style. This particular bronze is currently listed on a German Auction House Site and is titled "The Victorious Boxer." I have also seen it listed as "Der Sieger" (The Winner). It really is a beautiful celebration of the male youth in bronze.
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Here are a few more examples of the above bronze and a few additional works by Baucke:


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Gladiator


Death of Abel







Okay, I give up! What the Heck is this all about?

I know this is a bit off topic but I will admit I am completely stumped as to what the artist intended in the subject matter on this one. This painting is currently listed on an English Auction House site and at first I had a good laugh at the erotic meaning of the boy with that in-your-face pleased look on his face and the obvious phallic shape of that object protruding between his legs but then I just sat here trying to figure out what the heck was going on. What are they harvesting? My knowledge of how hops are grown on trellis' and the contents of the frame the kid is sitting on tells me they are sorting hops for making beer, although it could be a harvest of coca leaves and the boy is on a post consumption high and he is just happy as punch to see the artist with his own personalized sign of appreciation. What is the boy sitting on that protrudes in such an erotic fashion between his legs? Why is he posed in such an erotic defiant fashion? The artist has left us with an erotic mystery. Indeed, this painting obviously asks more questions than it answers. I can die happy now because I have seen it all.
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Caption: Female and Boy Harvesting Crops

Artist: Signature illegible
Medium: Oils on Canvas

Dated: circa 1918