Sale: 479 / Classics of the 20th Century I, Dec. 08. 2018 in Munich Lot 839

 

839
Max Beckmann
Schlangenbeschwörerin, 1950.
Bronze with dark brown patina
Estimate:
€ 50,000 / $ 54,000
Sold:
€ 62,500 / $ 67,500

(incl. surcharge)
Schlangenbeschwörerin. 1950.
Bronze with dark brown patina.
Numbered "0/2" and inscribed "R.B.W." on stand. Presumably one of 5 authorized copies. 13.9 x 37.4 x 12.6 cm (5.4 x 14.7 x 4.9 in).
Cast by bronz foundry Roman Bronze Works, New York (with stamp "R.B.W.“).
This is one of just 8 sculptures in Max Beckmann's oeuvre.
To date only one other copy of the "Schlangenbeschwörerin" has been offered on the international auctions market (source: www.artprice.com)
.

We are grateful to Mrs. Mayen Beckmann, Cologne, for her kind expert advice. The work will be included into the forthcoming catalog raisonneé of bronzes.

PROVENANCE: Private collection USA.
Private collection Southern Germany.

EXHIBITION: Max Beckmann, Catherine Viviano Gallery, New York 1959. (presumably different copy)
Max Beckmann, exhibition Catherine Viviano Gallery, New York 1962, no. 11 (possibly our copy).
Beckmann. A Retrospektive, ex. cat. The Saint Louis Art Museum; County Museum of Art, Los Angeles; Haus der Kunst, Munich; Nationalgalerie, Berlin, 1984/85, illu. on p. 139 (presumably different copy).
Max Beckmann, Galleria Nazionale d`Arte Moderna, Rome 1996, cat. no. 6, with illu. on pp. 164-165 (presumably different copy).
Max Beckmann, 8 Bronzen, Städel Museum, Frankfurt a. M. 2008, illu. pp. 24/25 (different copy).

LITERATURE: Sabine Schulze, Acht Bronzen, in: Max Beckmann: 8 Bronzen, ex. cat. Städel Museum Frankfurt a. M. 2008, pp. 8-25, with illu. on pp. 24/25 (different copy).
"If you take all this - war or just life itself - as only one scene in the theater of infinity, it is much easier to bear."
Max Beckmann, diary entry on September 12, 1940, quote after Max Beckmann: 8 Bronzen, ex. act. Kat. Städel Museum Frankfurt a. M. 2008, p. 53.




839
Max Beckmann
Schlangenbeschwörerin, 1950.
Bronze with dark brown patina
Estimate:
€ 50,000 / $ 54,000
Sold:
€ 62,500 / $ 67,500

(incl. surcharge)