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Art Subject: Face
Large French Bronze Bust of Diana the Huntress
By Jean-Antoine Houdon
Located in Beachwood, OH
After Jean-Antoine Houdon (French, 1741-1828)
Bust of Diana
Bronze
Signed on side, Susse Frères foundry stamp on base
28.5 x 16.25 inches
Jean-Antoine Houdon's bust of Diana is an 1...
Category
19th Century Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
White Alabaster Marble Sculpture Psyche Revived by Cupid
s Kiss After A. Canova
Located in Roma, IT
A scale version grand tour size carved in white alabaster of Psyche Revived by Cupid's Kiss, carved in Italy probably in Florence in the 19th century. The original Psyche Revived by ...
Category
19th Century Other Art Style Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Alabaster
After Botero Bronze Sculpture Man in Horse
Located in Cuauhtemoc, Ciudad de México
This AFTER BOTERO sculpture is a very beautiful, faithful reproduction in the style of BOTERO'S work that has sold very well here on 1st Dibs.
The edition is 50 in Roman numerals. ...
Category
20th Century Contemporary Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Marble, Bronze
$960 Sale Price
20% Off
White Alabster Marble Sculpture Dancing Satyr Grand Tour Italian 19th Classical
Located in Roma, IT
The sculpture, is a Grand Tour scale, derived from the splendid marble that once belonged to the collection of the Roman prelate Eurialo Silvestri. After a brief stay at Villa Giulia...
Category
19th Century Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Alabaster
Large Ceramic Head Sculpture – Expressive Textured Surface, Testa Series No. 15
Located in FISTERRA, ES
Large ceramic head sculpture with an expressive and textured surface, part of Óscar Aldonza’s Testa series. This monumental head (70 × 36 × 34 cm) is crafted from refractory clay wit...
Category
2010s Expressionist Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Clay, Glaze
The Three Skunks of WWII, Carved Wooden Figures of Hitler, Mussolini
Tojo
Located in Beachwood, OH
Three Skunks of WWII
c. 1940s
Carved and painted wood
Unsigned
8 x 10 in. h. each
These skunks are depicted as Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, and Hideki Tojo.
Condition: There ...
Category
1940s Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Wood, Paint
Psyche Revived by Cupid
s Kiss, Large Marble Sculpture after Canova, 19th C.
Located in Beachwood, OH
After Antonio Canova (Italian, 1757-1822)
Psyche Revived by Cupid's Kiss
Marble
24 x 19 x 16 inches
135 lb.
The love affair between Cupid and Psyche is one of the best known classic...
Category
19th Century Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Marble
Antonio Canova (After) Marble Sculpture Of Venus Italica On Marble Base
Located in Roma, IT
a superb scale size of the Venere italica, the famous and notable sculpture carved by Antonio Canova in the 19th century standing on circular Carrara marble base.
At the top of his ...
Category
19th Century Other Art Style Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Marble
Polychrome Marble Sculpture Portrait Emperor Marcus Aurelius Italian 20th
Located in Roma, IT
A portrait head of the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius, carved in Carrara marble, with deeply cut curls and detailed classical roman accents in the hair and in the shave; the carefull...
Category
20th Century Other Art Style Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Marble
$6,282 Sale Price
30% Off
“Danseuse Aux Cymbales”
Located in Southampton, NY
ABOUT
Beautiful and impressive Art Deco statue of a dancing woman with cymbals. Circa 1935.
Original title "Danseuse Aux Cymbales".
Signed “Fayral” on base which is the pseudonym of...
Category
1930s Art Deco Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Metal
French Polychrome and Gilded Statue of The Virgin Mary
Located in Cotignac, FR
A polychrome and gilt plaster statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The quality of the original gilding and the handling of the folds in the clothing are exceptional.
A wonderful statu...
Category
Late 19th Century Renaissance Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Gold Leaf
Late 19th Century Italian Finely Finished Bust of Renaissance Lady w/ Pedestal
Located in Beachwood, OH
Italian, Late 19th Century
Finely Finished Bust of Renaissance Lady
White marble, garment in veined buff colored marble on fitted green marble pedestal
Bust: 22 x 18 x 9 inches
Pedes...
Category
Late 19th Century Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Marble
Antonio Canova Ebe Aprés Ebe White Marble Sculpture 19th Century Italian
Located in Roma, IT
An important grand tour Antonio Canova Ebe (Aprés), carved in white marble by an Italian sculptor artist in the 19th century from a block of white marble.
The work depicts the go...
Category
19th Century Other Art Style Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Marble
$29,320 Sale Price
30% Off
Gothic Renaissance wooden sculpture: bust of a young Saint or Angel
Located in Norwich, GB
This remarkable, deeply evocative fragment is a hand-carved piece of religious statuary from 16th Century France. It depicts the torso of a serene figure, likely a Saint or Archangel...
Category
16th Century Renaissance Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Wood
Grand Tour Bronze Figure of Seated Hermes, Early 19th Century After the Antique
Located in Beachwood, OH
Large Figure of Seated Hermes, Grand Tour Bronze, Early 19th Century
19th Century Continental School After the Antique
The large size figure well cast, with brownish green patination...
Category
Early 19th Century Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Marble, Bronze
Expressive Stoneware Ceramic Head Sculpture with Oxidized Iron Base. Testa n 13
Located in FISTERRA, ES
Expressive ceramic head sculpture in stoneware with vanadium glaze and oxidized iron base. Testa No. 13 belongs to Óscar Aldonza’s “Testas” series, a body of work in which each ceram...
Category
2010s Expressionist Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Clay, Glaze
Listening, bronze sculpture, childs portrait, black granite base, green patina
Located in Santa Fe, NM
Listening, bronze sculpture, childs portrait, black granite base, green patina 35 lbs
Category
2010s Contemporary Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Granite, Bronze
Veracruz Mexico Pre-Columbian ceramic Warrior figure sculpture
Located in Wilton Manors, FL
Figure of a Chanting Warrior
Ceramic with bitumen highlights
300-600 CE (Classic Period)
Mexico, Veracruz, possibly Nopiloa
Veracruz Culture
Pre-Columbian, Mexico, Vera Cruz culture...
Category
15th Century and Earlier Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Ceramic
$6,000 Sale Price
50% Off
Ricordo Italy Cast Bronze Figurine Man Sculpture by Aron Demetz
By Aron Demetz
Located in Brescia, IT
This intense bronze sculpture was made by the well known Italian artist, Aron Demetz, in 2004, Italy.
This is a lost wax bronze hand painted. The title is "Ricordo" translated in "Me...
Category
Late 20th Century Post-Modern Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
Busto Neoclassico in Marmo Apollo del Belvedere epoca Grand Tour
Located in Pistoia, IT
Piccolo busto neoclassico in marmo bianco di Carrara raffigurante l'Apollo del Belvedere. Bottega romana, metà del XIX secolo. I
busti di piccole dimensioni raffiguranti capolavori ...
Category
Mid-19th Century Academic Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Marble
Architectural Cement Sculpture - "LarA 004", Hand-Tinted in Dark Bluish Gray
By Jose Perozo
Located in FISTERRA, ES
"LarA 004" is an original sculpture from the LarA series by Spanish artist José Perozo, completed in 2024. Measuring 21 x 29 x 17 cm, this artwork merges the female figure with archi...
Category
2010s Contemporary Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Concrete
Model Girl
Located in Zofingen, AG
Classic female torso inspired by examples of high Greek sculpture. Sculptor explores the lines and shapes of the female body, embodied the diversity, slightly changed the poses.
Thi...
Category
1980s Realist Nude Sculptures
Materials
Stone, Bronze
Silver Maple (Large) - figurative, wall-mounted, outdoor aluminum sculpture
By Dale Dunning
Located in Bloomfield, ON
This contemporary wall sculpture of a mask is made out of metal.
An iconic Canadian symbol—the maple leaf appears in stunning detail in this unique work by sculptor Dale Dunning. H...
Category
2010s Contemporary Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Metal
Italy Cast Lost Wax Woman Figurine Bronze Sculpture by Aron Demetz Guardando
By Aron Demetz
Located in Brescia, IT
This intense bronze sculpture was made by the well known Italian artist, Aron Demetz, in 2004, Italy.
This is a lost wax bronze hand painted. The title is "Guardando" translated in ...
Category
Early 2000s Post-Modern Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
Grand Tour Bronze Sculpture of Dionysus, 19th Century Italian School
Located in Beachwood, OH
19th Century Italian School
Grand Tour Bronze Sculpture of Dionysus, 19th Century
Bronze with black-green patination
24 x 10 x 10 inches
Dionysus, in Greco-Roman religion, a nature ...
Category
19th Century Italian School Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
Frine (Phryne), 19th Century Large Marble Sculpture of Nude Woman
Located in Beachwood, OH
Ercole Rosa (Italian, 1846 - 1893)
Frine (Phryne)
Marble
Signed 'E. Rosa, Studio O. Andreoni, Roma' on back
34.5 x 12 x 10 inches
80 lb.
Phryne was a 4th century BC famous Greek ...
Category
19th Century Italian School Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Marble
Madonna and Child, Polychrome Stucco Relief, workshop of Luca della Robbia.
Located in Pistoia, IT
Madonna and Child, polychrome stucco relief, workshop of Luca della Robbia. Second half of the 15th century.
Modeled as half-length, the Child holds his mother's veil in one hand, th...
Category
15th Century and Earlier Medieval Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Other Medium
Bust Of A Young Girl In Arte Povera Style. Italy. Mid 20th Century.
Located in Firenze, IT
Bust Of A Young Girl In Arte Povera Style, Italy,mid 20th century.
Bust of a young girl , follower of Arte Povera artistic movement, Italy, around 1970.
Sculpture in fir wood. Italy...
Category
Mid-20th Century Arte Povera Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Wood, Intaglio
Horse Playing with a Dog (The Good Companions) Pierre-Jules Mene (1810-1879)
Located in SANTA FE, NM
Antique Horse Bronze
"Horse in the Stable Playing with a Dog (The Good Companions)"
Jument à l'écurie jouant avec un chien
Pierre-Jules Mene (French, 1810-1879)
Bronze
19 x 10 inc...
Category
1860s Realist Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
Sesame Street, Set of 4 (Elmo, Oscar, Big Bird, Bert
Ernie)
By KAWS
Located in Dubai, Dubai
Sesame Street, Set of 4 (Elmo, Oscar, Big Bird, Bert & Ernie)
By KAWS
2025
Allrightsreserve x DDT store
Vinyl
Elmo: 25,4 cm 10 in
Oscar: 25,4 cm 10 in
Big Bird: 33 cm 13 in
...
Category
2010s Contemporary Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Vinyl
Ceramic Expressionist Head in Refractory Stoneware with Copper Glaze Testa nº 11
Located in FISTERRA, ES
Ceramic expressionist head sculpture created in refractory stoneware with a semi-transparent copper glaze. This ceramic head belongs to the Testas series, a body of work composed of ...
Category
2010s Expressionist Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Clay, Glaze
Renaissance Italian sculptor - 16th century carved wood sculpture - Saint Robert
Located in Varmo, IT
Carved wooden sculpture - Saint Robert. Italy, 16th century.
54 x 30 x h 112 cm.
Entirely carved and painted wood with traces of polychrome and gilding.
- Inscribed on the base: "...
Category
16th Century Renaissance Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Wood
$3,590 Sale Price
25% Off
Great Catch, Contemporary Bronze Figure Sculpture
Located in Taichung, TW
Tainan’s Anping has long been a fishing community where, towards the end of World War II, fishermen lived between hardship and reward. They rose with the sun, ventured into uncertain...
Category
Late 20th Century Contemporary Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
Early 19th century Empire figure bronze sculpture - woman
s bust
Located in Varmo, IT
Small bronze ornament - Bust of a woman. Italy, early 19th century.
8 x 8 x h 29 cm, without base h 23 cm.
Made entirely of patinated and gilded bronze. Depicting a female figure i...
Category
Early 19th Century Old Masters Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Marble, Bronze
$1,436 Sale Price
33% Off
19th Century Grand Tour Figure of Sophocles after the Antique, F. Barbidienne
Located in Beachwood, OH
19th Century Grand Tour after the Antique
Figure of Sophocles
Bronze with green patination
Signed F. Barbidienne, Fondeur
25 x 8.5 x 6.5 inches
Standing figure of the Greek poet, we...
Category
19th Century Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
Senne- 21st Century contemporary figurative wooden sculpture of a girl
Located in Nuenen, Noord Brabant
Boris Paval Conen
Senne, sitting
H50xD50xW30 cm
lime wood
Unique/ one piece
The sculptures of the Amsterdam artist Boris Paval Conen, mainly made of wood,...
Category
2010s Contemporary Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Wood
Expressionist Ceramic Head Sculpture in Refractory Stoneware – Testa #10
Located in FISTERRA, ES
This large ceramic head sculpture, Testa nº 10, is part of the Testas series, a body of expressionist ceramic heads created in refractory stoneware and fired in reduction. The series...
Category
2010s Expressionist Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Clay, Glaze
A Monumental Patinated Bronze Bust of Jesus Christ by Clesinger and Barbedienne
Located in Queens, NY
A Monumental and Truly Exceptional French Patinated Bronze Bust of Jesus Christ, Circa 1858, Signed J. Clesinger, Rome 1858
F. Barbedienne Fondeur
This monumental and extraord...
Category
19th Century Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
Amazone
Located in Berlin, DE
ALBERT-ERNEST CARRIER-BELLEUSE
French
1824 - 1887
signed: A. CARRIER
Bronze Marmor
Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse (1824–1887) was a prominent French sculptor of the 19th centur...
Category
1870s Art Nouveau Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
A Monumental French Patinated Bronze Bust of William Shakespeare, after Houdon
Located in Queens, NY
A Monumental French Patinated Bronze Bust of William Shakespeare, after Houdon, by F. Barbedienne Foundry, circa 1870.
Masterfully and realistically sculpted in solid bronze, this b...
Category
19th Century Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
Early 20th Century Ceramic Bust of a Woman, Cleveland School Artist
Located in Beachwood, OH
Edris Eckhardt (American, 1905-1998)
Bust, 1933
Ceramic
Signed and dated base
8.5 x 4.5 x 4.5 inches, including base
Born in Cleveland, Ohio January 28, 1905, Edris was given the na...
Category
1930s Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Ceramic
Arvid Knöppel, The Virgin Mary, Bronzed Wall Relief Plaster Sculpture, Signed.
Located in Stockholm, SE
A finely sculpted dark bronzed wall relief plaster sculpture of Virgin Mary by Arvid Knöppel, signed and dated 1921. An unusual subject of his...
Category
1920s Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Plaster
Dogman grew a pear 21/25 - figurative, contemporary, bronze sculpture
Located in Bloomfield, ON
Cast in bronze, this contemporary figurative sculpture of an anthropomorphic dog is by Gillie and Marc.
British and Australian artists, Gillie and Marc have been called “the most su...
Category
2010s Contemporary Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
Seated Mercury, or Hermes - God of Speed
Located in New York, NY
This Mercury by Montagne has lovely patina and surface and is a pleasingly different depiction of Winged speed as he is seated! It is an arresting pose and elegant and covers all fa...
Category
1860s Academic Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
19th Century Bronze Figure of Crouching Venus or Naked Aphrodite
Located in Beachwood, OH
19th Century Bronze Figure of Crouching Venus or Naked Aphrodite
Bronze with dark patination
22.5 x 13 x 11 inches
The Crouching Venus is a Hellenisti...
Category
19th Century Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
Juggler / - Artistic naturalness -
Located in Berlin, DE
Claire Jeanne Robertine Colinet (1880 Brussels - 1950 Asnières-sur-Seine), Juggler, around 1920. Brownish patinated bronze with gilded balls on a round, multi-profiled stone base (10...
Category
1920s Art Deco Nude Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
Female Figure
Located in New York, NY
It is marvelous to find discoveries such as Lorrie Goulet's female form, one of our few American women sculptors who direct carved in marble. Goulet has an attractive technique of u...
Category
1960s American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Marble
19th Century Bronze
Marble of Boy w/ Lizard and Column
Located in Beachwood, OH
Louis Kley (French, 1833-1911)
The Lizard, 19th Century
Gilt bronze and marble
Signed to base
6.25 x 4.5 x 3 inches
In Greco-Roman times, the lizard represented good fortune and reg...
Category
19th Century Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Marble, Bronze
Sandstone head of Buddha, Khmer, Angkor period, post-Bayon
Located in Wilton Manors, FL
Beautiful Khmer head of Buddha. Angkor period, style of the post-Bayon. 14th century. Carved sandstone. Height 12 5/8 inches, width 5 5/8 inches, profile 5 ...
Category
15th Century and Earlier Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Sandstone
$4,000 Sale Price
60% Off
Hebru Brantley Flyboy Set of 2 (Hebru Brantley art toys)
Located in NEW YORK, NY
Hebru Brantley Beyond the Beyond, 2018. Set of 2 Hebru Brantley Flyboy’s, each new in original packaging.
Medium: Painted cast vinyl.
Dimensions (applies to each individual figure): 9 x 8 x 4 inches (22.9 x 20.3 x 10.2 cm).
Each new in its original packaging.
From a sold out edition of unknown; published by Hebru Brantley, Billionaire Boys Club & BAIT.
Safely packed and shipped from New York, NY.
Artist Statement:
"Flyboy came out of characters of colour within popular culture. I hate saying “popular culture,” but it’s really popular culture. I mean you look at cartoons. You’ve got animated sponges and ducks and birds and whatever, and it’s very rare to see a popular character within any medium that is African-American, Latino, even Asian.
What I wanted to do was create that, but in a space of high art and be able to have some historical context to that character. So I looked at the Tuskegee Airmen...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Pop Art Prints and Multiples
Materials
Resin, Vinyl
Satyr with Cymbals and Kroupezion, Grand Tour after the Antique, 19th century
Located in Beachwood, OH
19TH CENTURY CONTINENTAL SCHOOL
Satyr with Cymbals and Kroupezion, Grand Tour after the Antique
Bronze with marble base
26 in. h. x 15 in. w. x 10 in. d.
This dancing faun is now mo...
Category
19th Century Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Marble, Bronze
Porcelain Sculpture by Javier Calleja and Lladró, Limited Edition
Located in Madrid, MD
Javier Calleja collaborates for the second time with the Spanish company Lladró.
As a result of this collaboration, they have created this sculptural piece featuring three figures fr...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Porcelain, Glass, Wood
Pre-Columbian Colima Shaman terracotta figure vessel Mexican sculpture
Located in Wilton Manors, FL
Seated Shaman
Colima culture
Mexico
ca. 300 BCE - 300 CE
Pre-Columbian, West Mexico, Colima, ca. 300 BCE to 300 CE. A hollow-cast and highly-burnished terraco...
Category
15th Century and Earlier Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Terracotta
Life-Size Bronze Sculpture: "Alms Bowl" Monk by Cheng-Hsiung Chen
Located in Taichung, TW
Artist: Cheng-Hsiung Chen (b. 1942, Taiwan).
Title: "Alms Bowl"
Medium: Bronze with signature stone-like texture.
Dimensions: H 151 × W 43 × D 42 cm (approx. 59.5 × 17 × 16.5 in).
Ed...
Category
Late 20th Century Contemporary Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
“Diana”
Located in Southampton, NY
Beautiful golden brown patina bronze of Diana, the goddess of the moon by the French sculptor, Emmanuel Villanis. Signed on her shoulder. Impressed foundry stamp on base, “Society de...
Category
1880s Academic Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
$2,600 Sale Price
25% Off
Antique French Egyptian Revival Bronze Bust Sculpture Statue "Queen of Babylon"
Located in Portland, OR
A good antique cast bronze sculpture an Egyptian Revival bust "The Queen of Babylon", by the 19th century French sculptor Paul Auguste Gagne, circa 1875.
This rare & unusual bronze b...
Category
1870s French School Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
Trail of Prayers 66" tall bronze bust on walnut pedestal
By Denny Haskew
Located in Loveland, CO
Trail of Prayers by Denny Haskew
Figurative Female Bust 66x16x20" Bronze/Walnut #20/20
sold out edition available on the secondary market, sold...
Category
1980s Contemporary Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
The Victorious David / - The melancholy of the radiant hero -
Located in Berlin, DE
Henri Honoré Plé (1853 Paris - 1922 Paris), The Victorious David, around1890. Red-brown and brown patinated bronze with terrain plinth mounted on a round base. 42 cm (total height) x...
Category
1890s Realist Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
The Blacksmith of Solingen / - The Double-edged Sword -
Located in Berlin, DE
Wilhelm Albermann (1835 Werden an der Ruhr - 1913 Cologne), The Blacksmith of Solingen, after 1895. Bronze-color patinated zinc cast on plinth, 47 cm (height) x 20 cm (width) x 16 cm (depth), weight 5.5 kg. Signed “Albermann.” on the plinth and identified as a cast by “AKT.[TIEN] GES.[ELLSCHAFT] GLADENBECK BERLIN”. Dedication on the front: “Mr. Ing. F. Kuhlmann to the wedding. Management and officials of the Hannoversche Waggonfabrik. Aircraft construction department".
- The zinc showing through in spots, the patina somewhat stained, the right upper arm under the sleeve retouched in black.
- The Double-edged Sword -
The figure is a reduction of Wilhelm Albermann's 1895 fountain figure of the armourer of Solingen, who has always been identified with the historical blacksmith Peter Hahn. In 1839, Karl Simrock wrote the poem “The Blacksmith of Solingen" and thus coined the legendary figure. The first and penultimate verses read:
A blacksmith spoke to Solingen
With every bayonet,
That came to his diligence:
"Oh, that Fritz had it!"
The war took its course,
Many battles were fought,
Which often made him fearful and anxious
In his soul.
The blacksmith had given up his trade to fight for Frederick the Great. Not least because of his strength and will to fight, the battles were won. With his fountain sculpture, Albermann has given the legendary blacksmith a figurative form and at the same time created a landmark for the city of Solingen, which was once famous for the art of sword forging and today still stands for the production of high-quality knives. During the bombing raid in November 1944, the fountain was destroyed along with the entire old town of Solingen. Only the head remained.
The broad-shouldered blacksmith stands securely behind his anvil, his leather apron tied around him, and has just finished a sword blade with his own "weapon" - the blacksmith's hammer. His entire body shows the strength with which he wields the hammer, but also the strain of this activity, as evidenced by the wide open shirt, the somewhat 'untidy' apron, and especially the furrowed face.
However, the blacksmith does not look at the finished work, but resolutely and at the same time thoughtfully into the distance, in line with the quoted verse from Simrock's poem that the battles "often made him fearful and anxious in his soul". There is certainly something melancholy in his gaze, fed by the knowledge of the necessity of forging swords and taking up arms and their deadly use - experiences Albermann had to make during his own war missions. The flowing full beard gives his gaze into the distance an almost prophetic character.
In keeping with the craft of the perfectly formed art of blacksmithing, the detailed casting reproduces the respective materials depicted in perfect form: the leather apron convincingly conveys the impression of leather and lies - also in the back view - like a second formed layer over the body, while the shirt and trousers illustrate their own textile qualities.
Due to its masterful execution and profound content, the “Blacksmith of Solingen”, which has survived in its cast reproductions, remains Albermann's most famous work to this day.
About the artist
The son of a carpenter, Wilhelm Albermann began an apprenticeship as a joiner, but then followed his artistic calling and trained as a sculptor in Elberfeld. In 1855, at the age of twenty, he was drafted into the army in Berlin, where he served until 1857. Albermann attended the Berlin Art Academy on the side and began regular studies after his service. While still a student, he completed commissioned works for his teachers August Fischer and Hugo Hagen. His first independent commissions followed, enabling him to establish a flourishing sculpture studio in Cologne in 1865. His artistic activities were repeatedly interrupted by military service, and he took part in the German-Danish War in 1864, the war against Austria in 1866, and the Franco-Prussian War in 1870/71. After his last war service, Albermann, already a respected artist, founded a commercial drawing school at the request of the city government, where he taught the modeling class and served as director until 1896. In 1890 he also worked for the "Society for the Promotion of Sculpture in the Rhineland and Westphalia".
Albermann was one of the most prolific sculptors in Cologne in the second half of the 19th century. He created numerous monuments, fountains, tomb sculptures, architectural ornaments, and domestic statues. At its peak, his workshop employed up to thirty sculptors and stonemasons at a time.
GERMAN VERSION
Wilhelm Albermann (1835 Werden an der Ruhr - 1913 Köln), Der Schmied von Solingen, nach 1895. Bronzefarben patinierter Zinkguss auf gegossener Plinthe, 47 cm (Höhe) x 20 cm (Breite) x 16 cm (Tiefe), Gewicht 5,5 kg. Auf der Plinthe mit „Albermann.“ signiert und als Guss der „AKT.[TIEN] GES.[ELLSCHAFT] GLADENBECK BERLIN“ ausgewiesen. Schauseitige Widmung: „Herrn Ing. F. Kuhlmann zur Vermählung. Direktion und Beamte der Hannoverschen Waggonfabrik. Abt. Flugzeugbau“.
- Punktuelles Durchscheinen des Zinks, Patina etwas fleckig, der rechte Oberarm unter dem Ärmel schwarz retuschiert.
- Die Zweischneidigkeit des Schwertes -
Die Figur ist eine Reduktion von Wilhelm Albermanns 1895 geschaffener Brunnenfigur des Waffenschmieds von Solingen, der seit jeher mit dem historischen Schmied Peter Hahn identifiziert wurde. 1839 hatte Karl Simrock das Gedicht „Der Schmied von Solingen“ verfasst und damit die legendäre Figur geprägt. Die erste und die vorletzte Strophe lauten:
Zu Solingen sprach ein Schmied
Bei jedem Bajonette,
Das seinem Fleiß geriet:
»Ach, daß der Fritz es hätte!«
Der Krieg ging seinen Gang,
Man schlug noch viele Schlachten,
Die oft ihm angst und bang'
In seiner Seele machten.
Der Schmied hatte sein Handwerk ruhen lassen, um selbst für Friedrich den Großen zu kämpfen. Nicht zuletzt durch seine Kraft und seinen Kampfeswillen verliefen die Schlachten siegreich. Dem legendären Schmied verlieht Albermann mit seiner Brunnenskulptur eine bildliche Gestalt und schuf damit zugleich ein Wahrzeichen der Stadt Solingen, die einst für die Kunst des Schwerterschmiedens berühmt war und bis heute für die Herstellung qualitätvoller Messer einsteht. Beim Bombenangriff im November 1944 wurde mit der gesamten Solinger Altstadt auch der Brunnen zerstört. Einzig der Kopf blieb erhalten.
Mit sicherem Stand und umgebundener Lederschürze steht der breitschultrige Schmied hinter seinem Amboss und hat gerade mit seiner eigenen ‚Waffe‘ – dem Schmiedehammer – eine Schwertklinge fertiggestellt. Seinem gesamten Körper ist die Kraft abzulesen, mit der er den Hammer führt, aber auch die Anstrengung dieser Tätigkeit, wovon das weit geöffnete Hemd, die etwas ‚unordentlich‘ arrangierte Schürze und vor allem das zerfurchte Gesicht zeugen.
Der Schmied schaut aber nicht auf das vollendete Werk, sondern entschlossen und zugleich sinnierend in die Ferne, entsprechend der zitierten Zeile von Simrocks Gedicht, dass die Schlachten „oft ihm angst und bang‘ in seiner Seele machten“. Der Blick hat durchaus etwas Melancholisches, dass sich aus dem Wissen um die Notwendigkeit, Schwerter zu schmieden und zu den Waffen zu greifen und deren tödlichem Einsatz speist – Erfahrungen, die Albermann bei seinen eigenen Kriegseinsätze machen musste. Der wallende Vollbart verleiht dem in die Ferne schauenden Blick einen beinahe prophetischen Charakter.
Dem Handwerk der formvollendenden Schmiedekunst entsprechend, gibt der detaillierte Guss die jeweils dargestellten Materialien in vollendeter Ausformung wieder: Die Lederschürze vermittelt überzeugend den Eindruck des Leders und liegt – auch in der Rückenansicht – wie eine zweite ausgeformte Schicht über dem Körper, während das Hemd und die Hose...
Category
1890s Realist Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Metal
Figure of Crouching Venus/Naked Aphrodite, 19th Century Italian School Sculpture
Located in Beachwood, OH
Bronze Figure of Crouching Venus, or The Naked Aphrodite, 19th Century Italian School
Bronze raised on a marble base
21 in. h. x 10 in. w. x 7 in. d., overall
18 in. h. x 8.5 in. w....
Category
19th Century Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Marble, Bronze




