"Spring Awakening" by Ferdinand Preiss

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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Height:                                      36 cm       

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Width:                                       22 cm 

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Depth:                                       10 cm                              

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Condition:                                 Excellent Original Condition

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Circa:                                        1925

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Materials:                                 Bronze and Marble

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Book Ref:                                  Art Deco & Other Figures by Bryan Catley

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Page No:                                  267

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SKU:                                         9662

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ABOUT

Ferdinand Preiss (German, 1882–1943)

Although Ferdinand Preiss is best known for his celebrated bronze and ivory figures, he also produced sculptures in bronze, demonstrating the same exceptional sense of movement, proportion and elegance that characterises his most famous work.

Working in Berlin, Preiss established the firm Preiss & Kassler with Arthur Kassler during the first decade of the twentieth century. Preiss acted as the artistic force behind the company, designing the great majority of its models. Bronze casting was initially undertaken by the prestigious Berlin foundry Aktien-Gesellschaft Gladenbeck, while later production was associated more directly with the Preiss & Kassler workshops.

Preiss particularly excelled in depicting the human figure. His subjects reflected the fashionable, energetic world of the 1920s and 1930s and included dancers, athletes, sportsmen and elegant young women. His bronze figures display remarkably natural poses, carefully observed anatomy and a convincing impression of movement. Cold-painted and patinated surfaces were frequently employed to emphasise costume and detail.

Whether produced entirely in bronze or incorporating bronze as the principal sculptural medium, Preiss’s work epitomises the sophistication of German Art Deco. His combination of technical precision, graceful modelling and modern subject matter established him among the most important European sculptors of the Art Deco period. 

Ferdinand Preiss is particularly famous for the elegant figurative sculptures produced by his Berlin workshop during the Art Deco period. Many of his best-known models were created in the combination of bronze and carved ivory generally described as chryselephantine. However, it is important to recognise that a number of these same subjects were also produced entirely in bronze.

The existence of an all-bronze version of a model more commonly encountered in bronze and ivory is therefore entirely consistent with the production practices of the Preiss workshop. During the Art Deco period, clients could in certain instances acquire models in a choice of materials and finishes. The all-bronze versions could represent a more costly option, and consequently appear to have been ordered in considerably smaller numbers. This helps to explain why surviving examples of some Preiss subjects executed entirely in bronze are substantially scarcer today than their better-known chryselephantine counterparts.

This is particularly significant with important models such as Spring Awakening, where collectors may be more familiar with the bronze-and-ivory version. An authentic period example executed entirely in bronze should not therefore be regarded as an inferior or later interpretation simply because it differs in material from the more frequently illustrated version. On the contrary, its relative scarcity can make it especially interesting to collectors.

In recent years these all-bronze versions have attracted increasing attention in the international market. Their rarity, combined with growing appreciation of Preiss’s modelling and the practical advantages of bronze, has contributed to strengthening values for particularly desirable subjects.

This development has been further encouraged by increasingly stringent restrictions governing the commercial sale, export and import of ivory in numerous countries. Such regulations can make the international ownership and resale of chryselephantine sculpture considerably more complicated. All-bronze period examples avoid these ivory-related restrictions while retaining the quality, composition and unmistakable Art Deco character of Preiss’s original models.

Consequently, the relatively small number of surviving all-bronze examples of important Preiss subjects such as Spring Awakening represents an increasingly significant and desirable area of the market. Their combination of period authenticity, rarity and freedom from ivory restrictions has resulted in greater recognition among collectors and correspondingly stronger prices in today’s retail market.

For more sculptures by Ferdinand Preiss click here