A fabulous Art Nouveau late 19th Century gilt bronze figure of a very beautiful lady sitting on a rock stretching with a shawl draped behind her, exhibiting excellent detail and very fine contrasting colours. Raised on a marble base, signed Franz Seifert & numbered 10/113
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Height: 31 cm
Condition: Excellent condition
Circa: 1900
Materials: Gilt Bronze
SKU: 7939
ABOUT
Franz Seifert
Franz Seifert (born April 2, 1866 in Schönkirchen and died January 19, 1951 in Linz) was an Austrian sculptor. He studied with Edmund Hellmer and Carl Kundmann at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna . After a long study trip abroad (presumably Rome), he did some work for Hellmer. Seifert made busts, statues and smaller sculptures for the living room or for the garden, often to mythological themes. In 1916 he was appointed professor . In 1929 he retired to private life and moved during the Second World War to Linz, where he also died.
Art Nouveau Bronze
Art Nouveau was a movement that swept through the decorative arts and architecture in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Generating enthusiasts throughout Europe and beyond, the movement issued in a wide variety of styles, and, consequently, it is known by various names, such as the Glasgow Style, or, in the German-speaking world, Jugendstil. Art Nouveau was aimed at modernizing design, seeking to escape the eclectic historical styles that had previously been popular. Artists drew inspiration from both organic and geometric forms, evolving elegant designs that united flowing, natural forms with more angular contours. The movement was committed to abolishing the traditional hierarchy of the arts, which viewed so-called liberal arts, such as painting and sculpture, as superior to craft-based decorative arts, and ultimately it had far more influence on the latter. The style went out of fashion after it gave way to Art Deco in the 1920s, but it experienced a popular revival in the 1960s, and it is now seen as an important predecessor of Modernism.
The desire to abandon the historical styles of the 19th century was an important impetus behind Art Nouveau and one that establishes the movement’s modernism. Industrial production was, at that point, widespread, and yet the decorative arts were increasingly dominated by poorly made objects imitating earlier periods. The practitioners of Art Nouveau sought to revive good workmanship, raise the status of craft, and produce genuinely modern design.
