Lot 17 | Selbstbildnis

KOLLWITZ, KÄTHE
1867 Königsberg - 1945 Moritzburg

Titel: Selbstbildnis.
Date: 1926-36 (Design).
Technique: Bronze, patinated brown.
Measurement: 37 x 24 x 29cm.
Notation: Signed on the neck underneath the right ear: Kollwitz.
Foundry Mark: Foundry mark beneath the outer edge under the mount: NOACK BERLIN.
Frame/Pedestal: On shell limestone base (11 x 22 x 20cm; total height: 48cm).

Provenance:
- Galerie Pels Leusden, Berlin
- Private collection South Germany

Literature:
- Seeler, Annette: Käthe Kollwitz - Die Plastik. Werkverzeichnis, Munich 2016, cat. rais. no. 26.

After reviewing the bronze in the original, the author of the catalogue raisonné, Dr. Annette Seeler, Berlin, evaluates this work as follows:
"It is a beautiful differentiated casting which, according to the current state of knowledge, is considered by the author of the catalog raisonné to be a reproduction of the original work model. This was already no longer available, at least for the majority of post-war production. The copy was possibly made during the lifetime of Käthe Kollwitz, but perhaps only shortly after the war, probably by Willy Geisler as the first caster of the artist, whereby the Noack mark is wrong. It is not clear at this time, however, whether or not the artist (or her legal successors) authorized this reproduction. This question may have to remain unanswered permanently - due to a lack of historical evidence.
The work will be included in the next version of the online catalog as an interesting casting-historical copy, which will supplement the catalog raisonné printed book."