Sale: 455 / Art of the 19th Century, Nov. 24. 2017 in Munich Lot 59

 

59
Franz von Stuck
Amazone, 1897.
Bronze
Estimate:
€ 15,000 / $ 16,200
Sold:
€ 40,000 / $ 43,200

(incl. surcharge)
Amazone. 1897.
Bronze , with black patina.
Inscribed "Franz von Stuck" on front part of plinth. Upper left edge of base with foundry mark. Total height ca. 64.8 cm (25.5 in). Base: 34 x 17,3 cm ( 13,4 x 6,8 in).
Cast by Cosmas Leyrer, Munich, in 1905. [CB].

PROVENANCE: Private collection Austria (in family ownership since ca. 1925).

In comparison with his paintings, the sculptural works by Franz von Stuck occupy just a small section of his oeuvre. He made around twelve statuettes and seven reliefs, as well as several decorative reliefs for his residence and studio, the Villa Stuck in Munich. Stuck showed first plastic works to the public in the early 1890s.The themes he covered are in line with those found in his paintings and the then popular contemporary motifs: Figuresfrom Greek and Roman mythology, dancers and athletes. To Stuck the plaster- and bronze works are mostly decorative elements in a wider artistic concepts that unites painting and sculpting to form a total work of art. Unlike his paintings, which were often met with a rather critical reception, the response to his sculptural works was positive from the beginning on. Surely also because his motifs were more traditional than those of most of the other contemporary sculptors.The "Reitende Amazone“ presumably is Franz von Stuck‘s best-known sculpture, earning him great acclaim as a sculptor. Different from most of his representations of women, for which he usually chose gentle dancers or sinful and lascivious seductresses, he found the type of the Amazon in Greek mythology in 1897. For this bronze Stuck put more emphasis on the athletic than the erotic aspect of the spear-throwing warrior. Despite all its nudity, it emanates natural strength, power and pride. For the Amazon‘s helmet Stuck used motifs of an ancient head of Athene, which he found in his vast collection of antique casts. A monumental version of the Amazon was made in 1936 and found its place in front of the portico of Villa Stuck, the artist‘s residence and studio in Munich.



59
Franz von Stuck
Amazone, 1897.
Bronze
Estimate:
€ 15,000 / $ 16,200
Sold:
€ 40,000 / $ 43,200

(incl. surcharge)