Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 7

Hans Harders
Goethe / - Goethe's Will -

c 1935

$1,152.53
$1,440.6620% Off
£843.88
£1,054.8520% Off
€960
€1,20020% Off
CA$1,564.96
CA$1,956.2120% Off
A$1,754.31
A$2,192.8920% Off
CHF 914.83
CHF 1,143.5420% Off
MX$21,503.60
MX$26,879.5020% Off
NOK 11,592.49
NOK 14,490.6120% Off
SEK 11,021.35
SEK 13,776.6820% Off
DKK 7,306.10
DKK 9,132.6320% Off
Shipping
Retrieving quote...
The 1stDibs Promise:
Authenticity Guarantee,
Money-Back Guarantee,
24-Hour Cancellation

About the Item

Hans Harders (1875 Mörel - 1955 Berlin), Goethe (bookend). Patinated brass mounted on a wooden base, 15 x 12 x 6 cm (depiction), 17 x 14.5 x 7 cm (with base), signed in the cast "HARDERS", um 1935. - Nose tip somewhat rubbed, otherwise in very good condition - Goethe's Will - Hans Harder's Goethe joins the still largely unwritten art history of the bookend. With the emergence of bourgeois libraries, this new genre of art developed in the 19th century. The bookend fulfills its potential as a work of art when it refers to the book, not only in formal terms, but also as a manifestation of the spiritual. In this sense, Hans Harder's Goethe is a major work of the then young but flourishing art genre. We see a portrait bust of Goethe in which the extremely strikingly carved features lend the face of the poet-prince something monumental. The powerful nose juts forward in a straight line, the chin also protrudes, the lips are slightly pressed together, the eyes are widened in a visionary manner, while the wrinkles on the high forehead testify to somber thoughts as well as the unwavering will to confront himself with the destiny he sees before him. On the background panel that forms the surface of the bookend, Mephistopheles is depicted in semi-relief on the left and Faust on the right, as if they had stepped out of Goethe's head. There is something mischievous about Mephistopheles, who moves through the world with an elegant, seductive stride reminiscent of a Morris dancer. Faust, on the other hand, is portrayed as a prophet who has left the knowledge of the world behind him and, like Gothe, begins to see through words. A reflection on the inadequacy of book knowledge, as Faust formulates it in his famous monologue: I've studied now Philosophy And Jurisprudence, Medicine,-- And even, alas! Theology,-- From end to end, with labor keen; And here, poor fool! with all my lore I stand, no wiser than before. Mere reading, as the monologue can be applied to the library represented by the bookend, leads only to a great deal of knowledge, but to nothing of substance. Accordingly, Friedrich Nietzsche, in the essay Vom Nutzen und Nachteil der Historie für das Leben (1874), which is part of his Unzeitgemäße Betrachtungen (1874), distinguishes between a monumental, an antiquarian, and a critical type of history. The antiquarian view having a merely affirmative character, which regards the past, or rather the accumulated written material, as a value in itself. While the antiquarian perspective also has its justification in Unzeitgemäße Betrachtungen, in Fröhliche Wissenschaft (1887), the monumental-heroic is the only world view that allows man to transcend himself. "What is heroic?" - At the same time," says Nietzsche, "to go towards one's highest suffering and one's highest hope. It is precisely in this late Nietzschean intensification that Harders has shaped the expressive content of Goethe's face. Goethe becomes the quintessential "Faustian" who, through heroic determination, overcomes his inner turmoil and thus penetrates to the true meaning of life, which cannot be revealed through much reading. The quest for a new transcendence unites Harder's work with the creations of Fidus. And the power to overcome oneself is also nourished by the power of the written word, which is kept in the library. The books that really matter are heroic creations, born of this very struggle, as Goethe himself created them. About the artist Hans Harder's artistic talent was already evident as a child, when he made animal figures out of clay. His parents, farmers from Mörel, encouraged their son's talent and enabled him to study at the art academies in Berlin and Dresden. Following his artistic roots as a sculptor, he became a sculptor and medalist. Based in Berlin, his bronze works were produced by the Rosenthal & Maeder foundry and later by Preiss & Kassler. From the 1920s he also created models for the porcelain manufacturers Fraureuth and Hutschenreuther. GERMAN VERSION Hans Harders (1875 Mörel - 1955 Berlin), Goethe (Buchstütze). Patinierter Gelbguss auf Holzsockel montiert, 15 x 12 x 6 cm (Darstellung), 17 x 14,5 x 7 cm (mit Postament) im Guss mit „HARDERS“ signiert. - Nasenspitze etwas berieben, sonst in sehr gutem Zustand - Goethes Willen - Hans Harders Goethe reiht sich in die noch weitgehend ungeschriebene Kunstgeschichte der Buchstütze ein. Mit dem Aufkommen der bürgerlichen Bibliotheken entwickelte sich im 19. Jahrhundert diese neue Kunstgattung. Die Buchstützte schöpft ihr Potenzial als Kunstwerk aus, wenn sie sich auf das Buch bezieht und dies nicht allein in formaler Hinsicht, sondern auf das Buch als Manifestation des Geistigen. In diesem Sinne steht mit Hans Harders Goethe ein Hauptwerk der damals noch jungen, aber äußerst florierenden Kunstgattung vor Augen. Wir sehen eine Porträtbüste Goethes, bei der die äußerst markant herausgearbeiteten Züge dem Antlitz des Dichterfürsten etwas Monumentales verleihen. Die mächtige Nase stößt gradlinig nach vorne und auch das Kinn wölbt sich vor, die Lippen sind leicht aufeinandergepresst, die Augen seherisch geweitet, während die Falten der hohen Stirn ebenso von düsteren Gedanken zeugen wie vom unumstößlichen Willen, dem geschauten Schicksal gerecht zu werden. Auf der die Fläche der Buchstütze bildenden Hintergrundplatte sind im Halbrelief links Mephistopheles und rechts Faust dargestellt, als ob sie Goethes Kopf entstiegen wären. Mephistopheles weist etwas spitzbübisch Durchtriebenes auf und bewegt sich in einem an Moriskentänzer gemahnenden elegant-verführerischen Schritt durch die Welt, um sie sich Untertan zu machen. Faust hingegen ist wie ein Prophet dargestellt, der das Wissen der Welt hinter sich gelassen hat und – wie Gothe – durch die Worte zu sehen beginnt. Eine Reflexion über das ungenügende Buchwissen, wie es Faust in seinem berühmten Monolog formuliert: Habe nun, ach! Philosophie, Juristerei und Medizin, Und leider auch Theologie Durchaus studiert, mit heißem Bemühn. Da steh ich nun, ich armer Tor! Und bin so klug als wie zuvor. Das bloße Lesen, so lassen sich die Worte auf die von der Buchstützte repräsentierte Bibliothek beziehen, führt einzig zu Vielwisserei aber zu nichts Substanziellen. Dementsprechend unterscheidet Friedrich Nietzsche in der zu seinen Unzeitgemäßen Betrachtungen gehörenden Abhandlung Vom Nutzen und Nachteil der Historie für das Leben (1874) eine monumentalische, eine antiquarische und eine kritische Art der Historie, wobei die antiquarische Betrachtung einen bloß affirmativen Charakter hat, der das Vergangene, beziehungswiese das angesammelte Geschriebene als einen Wert per se betrachtet. Während in den Unzeitgemäßen Betrachtungen auch die antiquarische Perspektive ihre Berechtigung hat, ist in der ergänzten Fröhlichen Wissenschaft (1887) das Monumental-Heroische die einzig den Menschen über sich selbst hinauswachsen lassende Weltsicht. „Was macht heroisch?" – Zugleich“, so Nietzsche „seinem höchsten Leide und seiner höchsten Hoffnung entgegengehn.“ In eben dieser spätnietzscheanischen Zuspitzung hat Harders den Ausdrucksgehalt von Goethes Antlitz gestaltet. Goethe wird zum ‚Faustischen Menschen‘ schlechthin, der seine innerliche Zerrissenheit durch heroische Entschlossenheit überwindet und damit zum eigentlichen Sinn des Lebens vordringt, den die Vielleserei nicht zu eröffnen vermag. Der Aufbruch zu einer neuen Transzendenz verbindet Harders Werk mit den Schöpfungen von Fidus. Und die Kraft zur Selbstüberwindung speist sich auch aus der Kraft des in der Bibliothek verwahrten geschriebenen Wortes. Die tatsächlich relevanten Bücher sind aus eben jenem Kampf hervorgegangene heroische Schöpfungen, wie sie Goethe selbst geschaffen hat. zum Künstler Bereits als Kind zeigte sich Hans Harders künstlerisches Talent, indem er aus Lehm Tierfiguren formte. Die Eltern – Bauern aus Mörel – förderten die Begabung ihres Sohnes und ermöglichten ihm ein Studium an der Berliner und der Dresdener Kunstakademie. Seinen künstlerischen Wurzeln als Plastiker folgend, wurde er Bildhauer und Medailleur. In Berlin ansässig, führten die Bildgießereien Rosenthal & Maeder und später Preiss & Kassler seine Werke aus. Ab den 1920er Jahren schuf Harders zudem Modelle für die Porzellanmanufakturen Fraureuth und Hutschenreuther.
  • Creator:
    Hans Harders (1875 - 1955, German)
  • Creation Year:
    c 1935
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 6.7 in (17 cm)Width: 5.71 in (14.5 cm)Depth: 2.76 in (7 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
  • Gallery Location:
    Berlin, DE
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU2438214895292

More From This Seller

View All
Sun God Ra / - The Light of Knowledge -
Located in Berlin, DE
Anonymous, Sun God Ra (bookend), 16 x 13.5 x 6 cm (depiction), 17.5 x 13.5 x 8 cm (with pedestal), patinated brass, c. 1935. - Nose slightly rubbed, otherwise very good condition ...
Category

1930s Art Deco Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Brass

Gerhart Hauptmann / - Modern Classicism -
By Emil Orlik
Located in Berlin, DE
Emil Orlik (1870 Prague - 1932 Berlin), Gerhart Hauptmann, 1922. Etching, 17.5 cm x 14 cm (image), 30 cm x 23.8 cm (sheet size), signed in pencil “Emil Orlik” and inscribed “Probedru...
Category

1920s Impressionist Figurative Prints

Materials

Paper

Young Roman / - Youthful Sprezzatura -
Located in Berlin, DE
Fritz Heinemann (1864 Altena - 1932 Berlin), Young Roman, 1892. Brownish patinated bronze on a cast round plinth, mounted on a red marble base (8.5 cm high), total height 36 cm, dime...
Category

1890s Realist Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

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

Psyche / - Fulfilled longing -
Located in Berlin, DE
Jan Jozef Jaquet (1822 Antwerp - 1898 Brussels), Psyche, 1847. Black-brown and brown patinated bronze on a cast base. 30 cm (height) x 22 cm (width) x 12 cm (depth), weight 5 kg. Ver...
Category

1840s Realist Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Mother Happiness / - The ecstasy of maternal joy -
Located in Berlin, DE
Johannes Boese (1856 Ostrog - 1917 Berlin), Mutterglück, um 1910. Goldbraun patinierte Bronze auf gegossener rechteckiger Plinthe, montiert auf zweifarbigem Marmorsockel (9,5 cm Höhe...
Category

1910s Art Nouveau Nude Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

You May Also Like

Art Deco Period French Bronze Bust
Located in Austin, TX
Vintage bust from France made of bronze and supported by a marble base. This piece features the likeness of a man. It showcases the smelter’s stamp. This piece is in very nice vintag...
Category

Vintage 1940s French Art Deco Busts

Materials

Marble, Bronze

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Bronze Figure by Christian Daniel Rauch
Located in Worpswede / Bremen, DE
Christian Daniel Rauch (1777-1857), very fine bronze showing the standing figure of Goethe in his typical thinking pose, wearing his 'Hausrock' ...
Category

Antique 1830s German Romantic Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Art Deco Bronze by Amedeo Gennarelli
By Amadeo Gennarelli
Located in Bridgewater, CT
Amedeo Gennarelli (1881-1943). "Woman with Lyre" Black patinated bronze, cire perdue casting, numbered 7 in a limited edition of 10. Sign...
Category

20th Century French Art Deco Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Art Deco Sculpture Author G. Arisse
By G. Arisse
Located in Buenos Aires, Argentina
Art Deco sculpture author G. Arisse Origin France Circa 1930 Materials: white metal (patinated) Very good conditions Natural wear.
Category

Vintage 1930s French Art Deco Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Pewter

Art Deco Sculpture Author G. Arisse
$2,240 Sale Price
20% Off
Sculpture, 1920, Art Deco, Sign: Akl. Ges.H.Gladenbeck & Sohn
Located in Ciudad Autónoma Buenos Aires, C
Sign: Aktien-Gesellschaft Gladenbeck was a foundry located in Berlin, Germany, that operated from 1851 until 1926. During the 75-year period when the foundry was in operation it was...
Category

Vintage 1920s German Art Deco Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Marble, Bronze

Art Deco Bronze Sculpture Male Bust Ugo Cipriani on marnel base France 1930
By Cipriani
Located in Antwerp, BE
Art Deco bronze sculpture male bust by Ugo Cipriani. Patinated bronze. Belgian black marble base. France 1930. Literatuur: “Art Deco sculpture” Alastair Duncan.
Category

Mid-20th Century French Art Deco Busts

Materials

Belgian Black Marble, Bronze