Want more images or videos?

Request additional images or videos from the seller

1 of 11

Paul Dierkes
Archaic Head / - Shaped Originality -
1952

Price:$2,082.26

About the Item

Paul Dierkes (1907 Cloppenburg - 1968 Berlin), Archaic Head. Limestone, 1952. 15 x 9 x 12 cm (without plinth), 19 x 10 x 11 cm (with plinth), monogrammed "PD" on the reverse. - Shaped Originality - At first glance, the limestone sculpture is recognizable as a human head, although it does not have a fully formed face. The nose, eyes, and ears are only hinted at, and yet they are so present that we immediately recognize them as features of a head, and we identify the bulge above the nose as the forehead, and the area below as the chin and neck, and we think we see the mouth and eyebrows, although they are not even hinted at. We are looking at a kind of prototype of the head, although the head itself does not have the shape of a human head as it exists in nature. Nor is it the geometric shape of a circle or an oval, which would have an original and at the same time timeless character. Rather, we see a form shaped by a creator that cannot be resolved geometrically, although - especially when viewed from the side - it has a geometric rigor similar to that of Oskar Schlemmer's heads. Unlike Schlemmer's figures, however, Dierke's work reveals itself as something created: Traces of the shaving iron and the blows of the chisel are visible everywhere. The head is a handcrafted work of art that looks like an archaic artifact. The impression of originality therefore applies to both the representation and the production: the face only indicated goes beyond any concretely formulated physiognomy, so that a "primal individuality" reminiscent of the figures on Easter Island can be seen here, which appears to have been created with primitive tools by an original creative will. The impression of originality is reinforced by the ancient material of the stone, on which the traces of carving are also perceived as traces of weathering, making the head appear like a mysterious archaeological artifact that reveals ever new aspects depending on how it is turned and how the light falls. The wooden base, which also presents its own material and on which the head rests freely, fits in with this. About the arist As the son of a stonemason, Paul Dierkes was familiar with stone from an early age. After an apprenticeship as a stonemason, he decided to explore this material artistically and become a sculptor. He first studied at the Königsberg Art Academy under Stanislaus Cauer. In 1931 he transferred to the Munich Academy and received a scholarship to Rome. He then settled in Berlin. His first solo exhibitions followed, including at the Ferdinand Möller Gallery in Berlin and the Augusteum in Oldenburg. Dierkes undertook study trips to Amsterdam, Prague, and Paris. To avoid being drafted by the Nazis, he left Berlin and settled in Groß-Glienicke after the war, but moved back to West Berlin after the division of Germany. In 1947, he was appointed to the Berlin Academy of Fine Arts and became a professor in 1948. For 20 years, until his death, he headed the Department of Stone and Wood. One of his students was Heinz Spilker. Paul Dierkes is one of the protagonists who established modern sculpture in post-war Germany. He created archaic-looking forms that exude an aura of originality and, with their figurative allusions, also have a high symbolic value. The original effect gives his art a kinship with architecture, which led Dierkes to collaborate with Egon Eiermann, Peter Poelzig, and Sep Ruf. Many of his works characterize public spaces and demonstrate that Dierkes also understands sculpture as a monumental art that auratizes the respective location through a formed originality and thus develops a social relevance. The aesthetic effect of sculptural originality often goes hand in hand with an emphasis on "being made," which underlines the craft aspect of the act of creation. For this reason, Paul Dierkes was also fond of woodcuts, which are related to the art of carving. In 1954 Paul Dierkes was awarded the Art Prize of the City of Berlin. Every idea creates something we suspected but did not know. Paul Dierkes The young Paul Dierkes already had the ability after his four-year apprenticeship as a stonemason to fathom the properties of each selected piece of wood and each stone and to figuratively transform individual natural processes of the grown organisms by means of his own working process. Herbert Wolfgang Keiser Bibliography Herbert Wolfgang Keiser: Der Bildhauer Paul Dierkes, München, 1977. GERMAN VERSION Paul Dierkes (1907 Cloppenburg - 1968 Berlin), Archaischer Kopf. Kalkstein, 1952. 15 x 9 x 12 cm (ohne Sockel), 19 x 10 x 11 cm (mit Sockel), rückseitig mit „PD“ monogrammiert. Exposé als PDF - Geformte Ursprünglichkeit - Die aus Kalkstein gehauene Skulptur ist auf den ersten Blick als menschlicher Kopf zu erkennen, obwohl er gar kein ausgeformtes Gesicht aufweist. Die Nase, die Augen und die Ohren sind einzig angedeutet und doch derart präsent, dass wir sie sofort als Merkmale eines Kopfes gewahren und die Wölbung über der Nase als Stirn und die Partie unter ihr als Kinn und Hals identifizieren und meinen, den Mund und die Augenbrauen zu sehen, obwohl diese nicht einmal angedeutet sind. Wir betrachten eine Art Urform des Kopfes, wobei der Kopf selbst gar nicht die Form eines menschlichen Kopfes aufweist, wie er in natura beschaffen ist. Es handelt sich aber auch nicht um die geometrische Form eines Kreises oder Ovals, die einen ursprünglichen und zugleich zeitlosen Charakter aufweisen würde. Vielmehr sehen wir eine von einem Schöpfer geformte Form, die sich geometrisch nicht auflösen lässt, obwohl sie – insbesondere aus der Seitenansicht – eine geometrieähnliche Strenge aufweist, wodurch eine Ähnlichkeit mit den Köpfen Oskar Schlemmers gegeben ist. Im Gegensatz zu den Figuren Schlemmers gibt sich das Werk Dierkes aber als etwas Geschaffenes zu erkennen: Überall sind Spuren des Scharriereisens und Schläge der Meißel sichtbar. Der Kopf ist ein handwerklich gemachtes Kunstwerk, das wie ein archaisches Artefakt erscheint. Die Ursprünglichkeitswirkung betrifft folglich sowohl die Darstellung als auch die Herstellung: Das einzig angedeutete Gesicht reicht hinter jede konkret ausformulierte Physiognomie zurück, so dass hier eine an die Figuren der Osterinsel gemahnende ‚Ur-Individualität‘ vor Augen steht, die anmutet, als ob sie mit primitiven Werkzeugen von einem ursprünglichen Gestaltungswillen geschaffen worden wäre. Der Eindruck der Ursprünglichkeit wird durch das uralte Material Stein verstärkt, auf dem die Bearbeitungsspuren zugleich als Spuren der Verwitterung wahrgenommen werden, wodurch der Kopf wie ein geheimnisvolles archäologisches Artefakt wirkt, das je nach Drehung und Lichteinfall immer neue Aspekte offenbart. Dazu passt der ebenfalls sein eigenes Material präsentierende Holzsockel, auf dem der Kopf freibeweglich aufliegt. zum Künstler Als Sohn eines Steinmetzen war Paul Dierkes von Kindesbeinen an mit dem Werkstoff Stein vertraut. Nach einer Steinmetzlehre entschied er sich, dieses Material auch künstlerisch zu erschließen und Bildhauer zu werden. Zunächst studierte er an der Kunstakademie Königsberg bei Stanislaus Cauer. 1931 wechselte er an die Münchner Akademie und erhielt dort ein Romstipendium. Anschließend fand er in Berlin seinen Lebensmittelpunkt. Erste Einzelausstellungen folgten, unter anderem in der Berliner Galerie Ferdinand Möller und dem Augusteum in Oldenburg. Dierkes unternahm Studienreise nach Amsterdam, Prag und Paris. Um der Einberufung unter den Nationalsozialisten zu entgehen, verließ er Berlin und wurde nach Kriegsende in Groß-Glienicke sesshaft, zog nach der Teilung Deutschlands jedoch wieder nach West-Berlin. 1947 wurde er an die Berliner Hochschule für Bildende Künste berufen und 1948 zum Professor ernannt. Bis zu seinem Tod leitete er 20 Jahre den Fachbereich für Stein und Holz. Einer seiner Meisterschüler war Heinz Spilker. Paul Dierkes zählt zu den Protagnisten, die die moderne Skulptur im Nachkriegsdeutschland etabliert haben. Er schuf archaisch wirkende Formen, die eine Aura des Ursprünglichen entfalten und mit ihren figürlichen Allusionen zugleich eine hohe symbolische Valenz aufweisen. Durch die Ursprünglichkeitswirkung ist eine Verwandtschaft seiner Kunst mit der Architektur gegeben, die Dierkes dazu geführt hat, mit Egon Eiermann, Peter Poelzig und Sep Ruf zusammenzuarbeiten. Zahlreiche seiner Werke prägen den öffentlichen Raum und führen vor Augen, dass Dierkes Skulptur auch als monumentale Kunst versteht, die den jeweiligen Ort von einer geformten Ursprünglichkeit her auratisiert und auf diese Weise eine gesellschaftliche Relevanz entfaltet. Die ästhetische Wirkung plastischer Ursprünglichkeit geht oftmals mit einer Betonung des ‚Gemacht-Sein‘ einher, womit der handwerkliche Aspekt des Schöpfungsaktes herausgestellt wird. Daher war Paul Dierkes auch dem der Schnitzkunst verwandten Holzschnitt zugetan. 1954 wurde Paul Dierkes mit dem Kunstpreis Stadt Berlin geehrt. Mit jeder Idee wird etwas gestaltet, das wir ahnen, aber nicht wußten. Paul Dierkes Eigenschaften von jedem ausgewählten Stück Holz und jedem Stein zu ergründen und einzelnen Naturvorgänge der gewachsenen Organismen im übertragenen Sinne sich mittels eines eigenen Arbeitsprozesses anverwandeln zu können, solche Fähigkeiten sind bereits bei dem jungen Paul Dierkes nach vierjähriger Handwerkslehre als Steinmetz vorhanden gewesen. Herbert Wolfgang Keiser Literatur Herbert Wolfgang Keiser: Der Bildhauer Paul Dierkes, München, 1977.

Creator:
Paul Dierkes (1907 - 1968, German)
Creation Year:
1952
Dimensions:
Height: 5.91 in (15 cm)Width: 3.55 in (9 cm)Depth: 4.73 in (12 cm)
Medium:
Stone
Movement & Style:
Post-War
Period:
1950-1959
Condition:
Gallery Location:
Berlin, DE
Reference Number:
1stDibs: LU2438214911512

1960s Post-War Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Earthenware

Pablo Picasso
Tête de faune, Picasso, Tile, Ceramic, Sculpture, Design, Postwar, Mythological, 1968

$97,014

H 5.99 in W 5.99 in D 0.6 in

Visage, Picasso, 1950's, Unique work, sculpture, design, Frame, Portrait

By Pablo Picasso

Located in Geneva, CH

Visage, Picasso, 1950's, Unique work, sculpture, design, Frame, Portrait Visage Unique work 1957 Painted and partially glazed ceramic ; tomette 16.9 x 15.2 cm Certificate of authent...

Category

1950s Post-War Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Ceramic

Pablo Picasso
Visage, Picasso, 1950's, Unique work, sculpture, design, Frame, Portrait, 1957

$88,732

H 6.66 in W 5.99 in D 0.79 in

Petit masque central, Pablo Picasso, 1960's, Unique, Design, Plate, Theater

By Pablo Picasso

Located in Geneva, CH

Petit masque central, Pablo Picasso, 1960's, Unique, Design, Plate, Theater Petit masque central Unique work 16.5.63 Painted and partially glazed ceramic D. 25.4 cm / 9.8 in. D. 33 ...

Category

1960s Post-War Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Ceramic, Earthenware

Pablo Picasso
Petit masque central, Pablo Picasso, 1960's, Unique, Design, Plate, Theater, 1963

$72,169

H 10.01 in Dm 10.01 in

Mother & Child

Located in Knowle Lane, Cranleigh

The sculpture titled "Mother & Child" by Bettina Seitz beautifully captures the intimate bond between a caregiver and an infant through its elegant form. Crafted from a unique white ...

Category

2010s Contemporary Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Stone

Bettina Seitz
Mother & Child, 2024

$2,616

H 10 in W 8 in D 5 in

ITALIAN MARBLE FIGURE OF A GRIFFIN, 19th Century

Located in Milan, IT

ITALIAN MARBLE FIGURE OF A GRIFFIN Italy, early 19th Century marble 87 x 54 x 20 cm 34 1/4 x 21 1/4 x 7 3/4 in

Category

19th Century Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Marble

ITALIAN MARBLE FIGURE OF A GRIFFIN, 19th Century, Italy, 19th Century

$41,408

H 34.26 in W 21.26 in D 7.88 in

A lady. Contemporary bronze sculpture, Abstract & figurative, Polish art

By Stanisław Wysocki

Located in Warsaw, PL

Contemporary bronze sculpture on marble base by Polish artist Stan Wysocki. Artwork comes from limited edition of 8. Sculpture depicts female figure filtered through geometric, synth...

Category

2010s Contemporary Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Marble, Bronze

Stanisław Wysocki
A lady. Contemporary bronze sculpture, Abstract & figurative, Polish art, 2024

$5,915

H 23.23 in W 6.7 in D 4.73 in

Claude-Levy Cast Iron Sculpture of Flora, Dated 1925

Located in New York, NY

Claude-Lévy, 1895 – 1942 Alice Nikitina in the role of Flora, from the Dukelsky/Braque production of the ballet Zephyr & Flore at the Ballets Russes, 1925 Cast Stone Signed and dated: Claude-Levy 1925 on rear face of self-base. The present sculpture is as rare as it is delightful. Mademoiselle Claude-Levy, as the catalogues of the period list her, was one of the truly original talents of the Art Deco period. Painter, architect, decorator, and sculptor, she was a friend of the Parisian, Modernist sculptors, Chana Orloff, Henri Laurens and the Martel brothers, to whom her work was often compared. The ingenuity of her models brought her great critical acclaim, but she seems to have stopped producing in the early 1930s. Her output, although fine, is rare. Claude-Levy’s gentle Cubism might be better described as Purism in sculpture. It is characterized by simplified surfaces, rounded (as opposed to angular) forms, and smooth, lustrous surfaces. The Purist movement included the painters Léger, Ozenfant and Le Corbusier in its ranks. Claude-Lévy, along with other artists of the avant- garde living in the Gallic capital (Czaky, Zadkine, Archipenko, Lipchitz, Lambert Rucki Miklos, Nadelman, Vörös, Orloff) helped to develop a collective twentieth century figurative sculptural idiom that exploited the daring and rich possibilities of geometric abstraction. The present work is Claude-Lévy’s Commedia dell’Arte figures inspired by the Stravinsky/Picasso Ballet...

Category

1920s Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Cast Stone

Claude Levy
Claude-Levy Cast Iron Sculpture of Flora, Dated 1925, 1925

$125,000

H 20.87 in W 11.03 in D 7.88 in

Two-sided bronze sculpture titled "Niño-Niña (Boy-Girl)"

Located in San Francisco, CA

Gabriel Mendoza Niño-Niña (Boy-Girl), 2020 Bronze on marble base 15.50 x 11.30 x 5.20 in Edition XII of XII Sculpture can be shown on two sides: front side is a girl and back side i...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Arte Povera Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Marble, Bronze

Gabriel Mendoza
Two-sided bronze sculpture titled "Niño-Niña (Boy-Girl)", 2020

$2,800

H 15.5 in W 11.3 in D 5.2 in

"Night at the Opera" Psychedelic Sculpture White Carves Stone Mouth Singing Fun

Located in Austin, TX

Abstract sculpture titled "Night at the Opera" by Bob Ragan 24 x 12 x 12 Texas Limestone 240

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Limestone

Bob Ragan
"Night at the Opera" Psychedelic Sculpture White Carves Stone Mouth Singing Fun

$8,500

H 24 in W 12 in D 12 in

Bellowing Bull, White Carrara Marble Stone Figurative Sculpture

By Lutfi Romhein

Located in Clermont-Ferrand, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes

This sculpture depicts a bellowing bull, full of strength and muscular power. This artwork was made in direct cuts, then the bull's hair were finished using a smal power tool. It is not polished. The separated base is made of black veined marble. A graduate from the Academy of Fine Arts of Carrare, in Italy, Lutfi Romhein...

Category

Early 2000s Modern Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Marble

Lutfi Romhein
Bellowing Bull, White Carrara Marble Stone Figurative Sculpture, 2003

$3,549

H 13.39 in W 13.78 in D 5.52 in

More From This Seller

View All

Vegetative Form / - Grown Art -

Located in Berlin, DE

Paul Dierkes (1907 Cloppenburg - 1968 Berlin), Vegetative Form. Mahogany, 1958. 142 x 16 x 10 cm (sculpture), 21 x 17.5 cm (base), monogrammed "PD" on the reverse. - Grown Art - ...

Category

1950s Post-War Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Mahogany

Paul Dierkes
Vegetative Form / - Grown Art -, 1958

$3,312 Sale Price

20% Off

Homage à Kahnweiler / - The Appearance of Genius-

Located in Berlin, DE

Irmgard Biernath (1905 Waldheim in Saxony - 1998 Mainz), Hommage à Kahnweiler, 1984. Terracotta relief, burnished red body, 43.5 x 38 cm, mounted on support plate, in wooden frame 57 x 49.5 cm, monogrammed "IB" at lower right. - Isolated patina losses, but overall good condition, frame slightly bumped. - The Appearance of Genius- This homage to Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler shows the gallerist and art theorist as Pablo Picasso portrayed him in his lithographic portrait of 1957. As an innovative Parisian gallery owner, Kahnweiler had exclusively represented Picasso since 1911, while Picasso had painted his famous portrait of Kahnweiler the previous year as a major work of Cubism. And it is Picasso who appears at the centre of Irmgard Biernath's image. Here, his face echoes the features of the self-portrait he painted in 1907 in the Prague National Gallery. His eyes are wide open as he gazes into the distance, surrounded by the works of his artistic vision that have already taken shape. On the right is the bronze "Man with Sheep...

Category

1980s Contemporary Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Terracotta

Irmgard Biernath
Homage à Kahnweiler / - The Appearance of Genius-, 1984

$1,135 Sale Price

20% Off

Bust of a young woman / - Beauty of youth -

Located in Berlin, DE

Anonymous, Bust of a young woman, c. 1900, artificial marble and gray onyx marble. 37 cm (height) x 37 cm (width) x 22 cm (depth), weight 17.2 kg. Signed “GURRINI” on the reverse. -...

Category

Early 1900s Realist Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Marble

Bust of a young woman / - Beauty of youth -, c. 1900

$899 Sale Price

20% Off

Gradual Rotation / - Dynamic Tectonics -

Located in Berlin, DE

Thomas Röthel (*1969 Ansbach), Gradual Rotation, around 2005. Steel with rust patina mounted on stone plate. Overall dimensions: 38 cm (height) x 34 cm (width) x 27 cm (depth), weigh...

Category

Early 2000s Abstract Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Steel

Thomas Röthel
Gradual Rotation / - Dynamic Tectonics -, c. 2005

$5,323

The Feeding / - Natural grace -

Located in Berlin, DE

Erich Schmidt-Kestner (1877 Berlin - 1941 Nordhausen), The Feeding, around 1915. Gold and black patinated bronze with cast brown patinated plinth mounted on a lightly veined black-gr...

Category

1910s Art Nouveau Nude Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Erich Schmidt-Kestner
The Feeding / - Natural grace -, c. 1915

$4,259 Sale Price

20% Off

Soaring Eagle / - With eagle eyes -

Located in Berlin, DE

Anonymous, Soaring Eagle, mid-20th century Patinated cast metal mounted on quartz block. 24 cm (total height) x 29 cm (width) x 12 cm (depth). - Patina heavily rubbed in places, screw connections between sculpture and stone...

Category