Franz von Stuck

Mounted Amazon

ca. 1900

HENRI CROS (1840-1907) Female Relief Plaque, polychrome enameled stoneware, c. 1895; signed in black ink verso: “H. Cros”, and a scrap of paper from A.A. Hebrard, Paris attached verso; measuring h: 11.25 x w: 9.38 inches. The symbolist bust in relief of a nude young woman with strawberry blonde hair is a depiction of pensive reverie. With lips slightly pursed, she is lost in thought, looking inward. The female visage hovering just over the nude’s shoulder, perhaps an allusion to a fountain, is by contrast flat and lifeless. With lips parted to reveal a watery blue orifice and wavy tresses of hair blending into a watery expanse, the purely decorative nature of the fountain’s face...

Published by F. Champenois, Paris. "Bénédictine shows two girls pressing flowers amid book leaves, to remind us of the herbs that go into making the liqueur; the bottom part of the poster has a panorama of the Fecamp Abbey where the drink originated. Around 1510, one of the monks, Dom Bernardo Vincelli, prepared a liqueur using local wine and native herbs found in nearby woods, together with a few imported ingredients including muscat, ginger, clove and cardamom" (Wine Spectator, 70). As with all poster this size, the lithograph was made, in color, on two panels and joined at the center. Alphonse Mucha was a painter and decorative artist best known for the sensual Art...

Jan Toorop was born in Java, studied in Holland and then spent three key years in Brussels, where he was a member of the circle of artists, "Les XX," during which time he befriended ...

Lithograph printed by Albert Berger, Vienna. This design "was considered very advanced in 1899, with its large scale portrayal of the motif and the almost complete renunciation of interior drawing. The silhouette of the body is in mysterious contrast to the realistically portrayed head and hands. The unwavering gaze of the woman underlines the symbolism of the design: the Norn [ancient Norse goddess of fate] with the hour-glass and snake-ring embodies the eternal circle of life and the running out of time" (Vienna Secession, Denscher, p. 45). As the poster was originally used in 1899, the waning sand in the hourglass quite naturally can be assumed to be the coming of the end of the century. KOLOMAN MOSER: Instead of applying his flair and art education to paintings, Koloman Moser embodied the idea of Gesamt Kunstwerk (all-embracing art work) by designing architecture, furniture, jewelry, graphics, and tapestries meant to coordinate every detail of an environment. His work transcended the imitative decorative arts of earlier eras and helped to define Modernism for generations to come. Moser achieved a remarkable balance between intellectual structure (often geometric) and hedonistic luxury. Collaborating with Gustav Klimt and Josef Hoffmann, the artist was an editor and active contributor to Ver Sacrum, (Sacred Spring), the journal of the Viennese Secession that was so prized for its aesthetics and high quality production that it was considered a work of art. The magazine featured drawings and designs in the Jugendstil (Youth Style) along with literary contributions from distinguished writers from across Europe. It quickly disseminated both the spirit and the style of the Secession. In 1903 Moser and Hoffmann founded and led the Wiener Werkstatte (Viennese Workshop) a collective of artisans that produced elegant decorative arts items, not as industrial prototypes but for the purpose of sale to the public. The plan, as idealistic then as now, was to elevate the lives of consumers by means of beautiful and useful interior surroundings. Moser’s influence has endured throughout the century. His design sensibility is evident from the mid-century modern furniture of the 1950s and ‘60s to the psychedelic rock posters...

Charles Rennie Mackintosh was a Scottish architect, designer, and visual artist. His artistic approach had much in common with European Symbolism. His work, alongside that of his wif...

“One of Mucha’s best Czech posters, printed by the firm of V. Neubert in the Smichov quarter of Prague, was for Princezna Hyacinta, a fairy-tale ballet and pantomime with music by Oskar Nedbal and libretto by Ladislav Novák. The portrait of the popular actress Andula Sedlácková as the princess dominates the poster. The plot develops as a dream of a village blacksmith who falls asleep after digging for a buried treasure. In his dreams he becomes lord of a castle, and his daughter Hanicka becomes the Princess Hyacinth. Of her three suitors, one is a sorcerer who abducts her to his underground palace, but she is rescued by a poor knight who looks like her real-life lover. Mucha used the motif of the hyacinth throughout the entire design, from embroideries to silver jewelry, and for an elaborate circle sparkling against the mossy green background. The portrait of the actress is seen against a sky full of stars and encircled with images from the dream: the blacksmith’s tools...

Wonderful miniature bronze cast figurative sculpture of a young barefoot shepherd girl holding a staff by R. Hobold (German, 19th c). The girl is dressed in a flowing peasant dress a...

Antique, Art Nouveau bronze of a beautiful maiden in the Neo-Classical manner by Emmanuel Villanis, Circa 1900. The bronze, titled "Phryne" depicts a beautiful Neo-Classical maiden, ...

"The Song" by Félix Charpentier (1858-1924) A very fine bronze sculpture with nuanced dark brown patina Signed "Fx. Charpentier" Cast by "E. Colin & Cie Paris" France around 1900 he...

Presenting a magnificent early Art Nouveau bronze by Belgian artist Jef Lambeaux(1852-1908.) “Leda and the Swan”, is an original Art Nouveau Bronze,...

Unsigned bronze buste of a woman, with fine characteristics. The sculpture was mounted on a hand-made ceramic socle with a marble top. Very heavy, solid and qualitative piece.

Agathon LÉONARD (1841–1923) Lamp "Danseuse à L'Écharpe" "Dancer with the scarf" lamp A very rare sculpture forming a table lamp, made in gilded bronze The scarf hides the light bulb Signed on the side of the dress "A. Léonard Sclp" Cast by Susse Frères (with founder stamp) France circa 1905 height 60 cm A similar model is reproduced in "Les bronzes du XIXe siècle", P. Kjellberg, Les éditions de l'amateur, 2005, page 460. Biography: Léonard Agathon Van Weydeveldt, said Agathon Léonard (1841-1923) was a sculptor of Belgian origin naturalized French. After studying art at the Lille Academy of Fine Arts and then at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, Agathon Léonard settled in Paris for a long time, where after having exhibited at the Salon of 1868, he joined the Society of French artists in 1887, then to the National Society of Fine Arts in 1897. Very involved in the artistic movement of the Art Nouveau style, he exhibited many pieces (medallions, bronze statuettes and ceramics) finely worked. Following an order from the Manufacture Nationale de Sèvres, dating from 1898, Agathon Léonard exhibited at the Universal Exhibition of 1900 in Paris his famous table centerpiece "Game of the scarf" in porcelain biscuit, composed of fifteen statuettes representing dancers with pleated dresses reminiscent of Loïe Fuller's choreographies or Neo-Greek dancers...