Strobl Zsigmond Kisfalvdi (1884-1975): Portrait of a Young Girl - Marble Sculpture

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I was browsing last years Hungarian auctions and I ran across this beautifully executed marble portrait of a young girl by Hungarian artist Strobl Zsigmond Kisfalvdi (1884-1975). The artist has captured the delicate features of the model with exceptional skill. Unfortunately, I could find very little biographic information on the artist. I have some more Hungarian works for you and will post them later. Most of the works I have to scan through are post 1940 works and are modernist in execution. Just an observation, but it is strange that few pre-1900 Hungarian academic nudes have come to my attention during the course of my postings and most of the auction houses seem to concentrate on Old Master works and modernist post 1940 works. The nudes that I do find are, in my opinion, not worth the effort to post.

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Cornelia Paczka-Wagner (1864-1930): Female Nudes - circa 1897

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I was browsing the print section of eBay Austria this morning and I ran across two beautiful Algraphs by the German painter and graphic artist Cornelia Paczka-Wagner (1864-1930). Apparently she specialized in the female nude and her etchings and lithographs are characterized by contrasting naturalistic symbols focusing on the human form. Algraphy was an early photographic technique similar to zincography using paper impregnated with aluminium salts.

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 Paczka-Wagner, Cornelia. - Armor und Psyche. - Studie zu einer jungen Psyche (1897)

CORNELIA PACZKA-WAGNER - Weiblicher Akt - Algrafie um 1900

Tokai Ferenc (1962-): "Reneszánsz" - "Renaissance" - Contemporary Hungarian Artist

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I was browsing Hungarian Auction House past auctions for 2011 today and I ran across this nice contemporary work. The title is "Renaissance" and, unfortunately, I could not find much biographic information on the artist. This is really a thought provoking work and I thought I would post it and let you decide the meaning behind it. It's not 19th century but it certainly got my attention. Enjoy.

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European Winter Auction Season Offerings: December 2012

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The winter European auction season has produced some nice late 19th century nude works. I have posted them, along with a few non-nude genre paintings for your enjoyment. I have more from last months offerings and will post them later. Enjoy.

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Edmond Sijben de Maroye (1876-1970): Mother with her children in Landscape

Edmond Sijben de Maroye (1876-1970): Female Nude

Edmond Sijben de Maroye (1876-1970): Expulsion from the Garden of Eden

Marcel Sijben de Maroye (1878-1962): Nude Girl - Children Playing at the Beach

Marcel Sijben de Maroye (1878-1962): Nude Female

Marcel Sijben de Maroye (1878-1962): Nude Boy

Marcel Sijben de Maroye (1878-1962): Nude Boy

Marcel Sijben de Maroye (1878-1962): Standing Nude Female

Marcel Sijben de Maroye (1878-1962): Semi-Nude Male with Laurel Wreath

Marcel Sijben de Maroye (1878-1962): Seated Male Nude

Marcel Sijben de Maroye (1878-1962): Nude Girl (Watercolor on Paper)

Unknown Artist: Nude Boy with Staff - Mid-19th Century European school

Onges (?): Thinking - Seated Male Youth

Oldrich Homolac (1872 - ?) Semi-nude Girl - 1892

Charles Mayer (Died in 1840): Standing Male Nude

Emanuel Baschny (1876-1932) Liegender Akt - 1910

Wilhelm Hauschild (1827-1877): Seated Male Nude

Hugo Havenith (1853-1900): Flote spielender Knabe mit Hund im Wald -1892

Hugo Walzer (1884-1923): Fruhlingslandschaft mit jungen Parr

Unknown Italian Artist: Fishing the Whip - Bay of Naples- Two Nude Boys in a Fishing Boat - circa 1890-1900

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This fun little painting of two nude boys fishing in the Bay of Naples will be on its way into my collection in a week or so. Last week I saw it listed in the current "Arts and Antiques" auction catalog of Auktionshaus Dannenburg, Berlin, DE at a reasonable starting price, so I programmed my bid and this afternoon I bought it at auction. I think what really caught my eye was that playful subject matter of boys being boys and that interesting 19th century wave frame. I love the soft pastels of the Italian light captured in oils by the artist. Way off on the horizon you can see Vesuvius making an ash of itself and on the coastline, the bulwark of Castel dell'Ovo. What a beautiful idyllic little composition of the male form in a natural landscape by an accomplished artist. Chances are it will need a good cleaning, something I can do myself. When it arrives, I will photograph it and post more detailed illustrations for you.

Addendum: (Jan. 10, 2013) Well this has become a minor ordeal. The Auction House mis-stated the shipping costs (way too low) and I had to make arrangements with a Worldwide Carrier to ship the painting from Berlin. The package finally made it out of the Auction House doors this afternoon and should be in my hands next week. I will be very cautious about buying from an Auction house in Europe from now on. With VAT (As high as 19%), Auction House buyers fees (as high as 24% of the hammer price), bloated shipping costs, and  bank funds transfer fees here in the US (35 bucks if they do the exchange rate calculation first), it just is not cost effective to buy at Auction these days. Did I mention the lousy exchange rate?  Thanks fearless leader Obama! Do not get me started on that Marxist Douche Nozzle!  I may just stick with European eBay sites and forget the Auction House circuit unless the artwork is really worth the effort. Life is a big beach and then you die....

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Title: Fishing the Whip - Bay of Naples

Artist: Unknown Italian Artist

Medium: Oils on Canvas

Size: 63 cm x 38 cm

Dated: circa 1890-1900

LÉONCE JOSEPH DE JONCIERES (1871-1930): Narcisse - Nude Ephebe _ circa 1890

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This painting by Leonce Joseph de Joncieres (1871-1930), titled by the seller as "Narcisse" (Narcissus), has been listed by a seller in France for a small fortune. It is in oils on paper mounted on canvas. The frame appears to be in mostly good shape in spite of the obvious damage. I would venture to say that the darker images in the listing are closer to the actual appearance of the painting than those bright flash lit photographs. A flash will always light up a dark painting and brighten the colors, much to the detriment of a potential buyer. Needless to say the painting could stand a major cleaning. Unfortunately, I could find very little information on the artist other that a few past auction reports.

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Otto Greiner (1869-1916): Heliogravures - Nude Studies

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Portrait of the artist 1911

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If and when the list of 19th century "Old Masters" is drawn up, I will bet you a box of fresh doughnuts that Otto Greiner (1869-1916) will be at the top of the list. The man was a drawing genius when it came to the human form. I do not think there are many in the world of artistic accomplishment who could come close his talents. I was browsing my usual haunts this morning and I ran across a collection of Heliograveures of some of his finest studies listed on eBay Germany. Greiner studied initially in Leipzig, where he trained in lithography and etching. He later studied at the Akademie der Bildenden Kunst in Munich. He traveled to Rome in 1891 where he became acquainted with Max Klinger and Kathe Kollwitz. In his definitive Grove Dictionary of Art, Sepp Kern described Greiner's tallents in terms of his favorite subject: "The nude was central to his interests, and, like Klinger, he saw the nude as the epitome of beauty in nature and believed it should be the basis for all stylistic formation."  You have to love the cooters (that's Southern US dialect for balls, testicles) on an artist who would pose nude for a portrait of himself (above). If that photo doesn't say "I'm in charge buddy, thanks for asking," then I don't know what would. My kind of guy!

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Here is just a small collection of his figurative works (Below):

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Addendum: While I was browsing eBay Germany, I found and bought a pristine 1925 edition of Julius Vogel's illustrated book on Otto Greiner's works, published just nine years after his death. I am sure there are illustrations in there that I have never seen so I look foward to scanning them for the blog.  

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