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Paul Ludwig Kowalczewski
Field worker with rake / - The Humility of the Farm Worker -

c. 1900

About the Item

Paul Ludwig Kowalczewski (1865 Mieltschin - 1910 Berlin), Field worker with rake, around 1900. Brown and brown-greenish patinated bronze with cast naturalistic plinth mounted on a white veined marble base (10 cm high), total height 50 cm. Dimensions of the bronze: 40 cm (height), x 16 cm (width) x 13 cm (depth), weight 10.8 kg. Signed “P.[aul] L.[udwig] Kowalczewski.” on the plinth and also with the abbreviation “fc. [fecit]” as the work of the artist. - Slightly rubbed and minimally stained in places, overall in excellent condition for its age - The Humility of the Farm Worker - Paul Ludwig Kowalczewski, who himself grew up in a rural region of Poznan, elevated the field worker to an independent pictorial subject. However, not as a new hero of the time, as the metalworker in particular was portrayed as an agent of progress, but as a humble older man. Having finished his work, as indicated by the pedestal, the barefoot worker has taken off his hat to say a prayer bareheaded. He leans on his tool, a simple rake. Just as the Bible says after the expulsion from paradise, he has worked by the sweat of his brow throughout the advanced years of his life. A burden you can see on his hunched back. He may have prayed the Lord's Prayer with his eyes half closed, reaching the line "Give us this day our daily bread". A thanksgiving for the daily bread, which the field worker helps to produce, and at the same time a plea for the nourishment of the soul, for man does not live by bread alone. About the artist Paul Ludwig Kowalczewski studied sculpture at the Berlin Academy of Arts from 1895 to 1898. From 1899 to 1906, the artist, who died at the age of 45, exhibited salon bronzes and life-size busts at the Great Berlin Art Exhibition. Kowalczewski was one of the first artists to depict workers and peasants in bronze. GERMAN VERSION Paul Ludwig Kowalczewski (1865 Mieltschin - 1910 Berlin), Feldarbeiter mit Rechen, um 1900. Braun und braun-grünlich patinierte Bronze mit gegossener naturalistischer Plinthe auf weißgeädertem Marmorsockel (10 cm Höhe) montiert, Gesamthöhe 50 cm. Maße der Bronze: 40 cm (Höhe), x 16 cm (Breite) x 13 cm (Tiefe), Gewicht 10,8 kg. Auf der Plinthe mit „P.[aul] L.[udwig] Kowalczewski.“ signiert und zudem mit dem Kürzel „fc. [fecit]“ als Werk des Künstlers ausgewiesen. - vereinzelt leicht berieben und minimal fleckig, insgesamt in einem altersgemäß ausgezeichneten Zustand - Die Demut des Landarbeiters - Paul Ludwig Kowalczewski, selbst in einer ländlichen Region in Posen herangewachsen, erhebt den Feldarbeiter zum eigenständigen Bildsujet. Allerdings nicht als neuer Heros der Zeit, wie insbesondere der den Fortschritt voranbringende Metallarbeiter dargestellt wurde, sondern als demütigen älteren Mann. Nach getaner Arbeit, die von der Terrainplinthe angedeuteten wird, hat der barfüßige Feldarbeiter seinen Hut gezogen, um barhäuptig ein Gebet zu sprechen. Dabei stützt er sich auf sein Arbeitsgerät – einen einfachen Rechen. Ganz so, wie es in der Bibel nach der Vertreibung aus dem Paradies heißt hat er über die inzwischen fortgeschritten Lebensjahre hinweg im Schweiße seines Angesichts gearbeitet. Eine Last, die seinem gekrümmten Rücken abzulesen ist. Er mag mit halb geschlossenen Augen in sich gesammelt das Vaterunser sprechen und bei der Zeile „Unser tägliches Brot gib uns heute“ angelangt sein. Ein Dank für das tägliche Brot, an dessen Herstellung der Feldarbeiter mitwirkt, und zugleich die Bitte um eine Speisung der Seele, da der Mensch nicht vom Brot allein lebt. zum Künstler Paul Ludwig Kowalczewski studierte von 1895 bis 1898 an der Berliner Akademie der Künste Bildhauerei. Ab 1899 bis 1906 stellte der bereits mit 45 Jahren verstorbene Künstler auf der Großen Berliner Kunstausstellung Salonbronzen und bis zu lebensgroße Büsten aus. Kowalczewski gehörte zu den ersten Künstlern, die Arbeiter und Bauern in der Bronzeplastik darstellen.
  • Creator:
    Paul Ludwig Kowalczewski (1865 - 1910, German)
  • Creation Year:
    c. 1900
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 19.69 in (50 cm)Width: 6.3 in (16 cm)Depth: 5.12 in (13 cm)
  • Medium:
    Bronze
  • Movement & Style:
    Realist
  • Period:
    1900-1909
  • Condition:
  • Gallery Location:
    Berlin, DE
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU2438215215652

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Eugène Laurent (1832 Gray - 1898 Paris), Joan of Arc, around 1880. Brown patinated bronze on a cast rectangular plinth with tree trunk and distaff. 40 cm (height) x 15.5 cm (length) x 15.5 cm (depth), weight 6.1 kg. Signed “E.[ugène] Laurent.” on the plinth and inscribed “HZ” on the reverse. - somewhat stained due to patina, traces of oxidation behind the distaff, slightly rubbed in places, overall still in very good condition for its age - The Liberating Power of Faith - At the age of 13, Jeanne, a peasant girl born in Lorraine around 1412, heard the voices of Saints Catherine and Margaret and the Archangel Michael telling her that she had been chosen to liberate France from English occupation. By 1428, Henry VI's troops had advanced to the Loire and besieged Orléans, a strategic city for the further conquest of France. Joan of Arc went to the exile of Charles VII and, with the king's consent, led the French army into battle against the besiegers. 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Leaning against a tree trunk, she treads with one foot on a raised stone, which, together with her upward gaze, gives her an upward movement that announces her higher mission. At the same time, however, she steps down from the stone to the earth, emphasizing her earthly mission, for which she has already taken the first step. In doing so, she steps over the discarded distaff, which refers to her "lower" origins and belongs to the life she has now left behind. Laurent manages to capture the fateful emotion that makes us look at Joan of Arc in awe, even though she is a simple peasant girl. Even if the design is aimed at the overall impression, the artist has nevertheless worked out certain details, such as the tied waistcoat, very realistically and, in addition to the skin, has particularly depicted the material quality of the textiles. About the artist Eugène Laurent studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, where he won a prize in 1860. He then joined the studio of Jacques Antoine Theodore Coinchon. As a freelance artist, he supplied the Paris Salon with statues, portrait busts, and medallions from 1861 to 1893. He also created large sculptures such as the monument to Jacques Callot in Nancy (1877) and the statue of François Boucher at the Paris City Hall. GERMAN VERSION Eugène Laurent (1832 Gray - 1898 Paris), Jeanne d’Arc, um 1880. Braun patinierte Bronze auf mitgegossener rechteckiger Plinthe mit Baumstamm und Spinnrocken. 40 cm (Höhe) x 15,5 cm (Länge) x 15,5, cm (Tiefe), Gewicht 6,1 kg. Auf der Plinthe mit „E.[ugène] Laurent.“ signiert und rückseitig mit „HZ“ bezeichnet. - patinabedingt etwas fleckig, Oxidationsspuren hinter dem Spinnrocken, stellenweise leicht berieben, insgesamt in einem altersgemäß noch sehr guten Zustand - Die befreiende Kraft des Glaubens - Als 13jähige vernahm das um 1412 in Lothringen geborene Bauernmädchen Jeanne Stimmen der Heiligen Katharina und Margarete und des Erzengels Michael, die ihr verkündeten, auserwählt zu sein, Frankreich von der englischen Besatzung zu befreien. 1428 waren die Truppen von Heinrich VI. bis zur Loire vorgerückt und belagerten die für eine Weitereroberung Frankreichs strategisch wichtige Stadt Orléans. Jeanne d’Arc begab sich ins Exil Karls VII. und führte mit der Einwilligung des Königs das französische Heer gegen die Belagerer ins Feld. Nach viertätiger Schlacht unterlagen die Engländer und Orléans war befreit. Es folgten weitere siegreiche Kämpfen bis sie 1430 in die Hände des Feindes fiel, der bei der Inquisition ihre Hinrichtung als Hexe erwirkte. Im Mai 1431 wurde Jeanne d’Arc in Rouen verbrannt. Im Anschluss an die endgültige Vertreibung der Engländer wurde die „Jungfrau von Orléans“ 1456 von der Kirche rehabilitiert. 1920 erfolgte schließlich ihre Heiligsprechung. Inzwischen galt Jeanne d’Arc als Nationalheldin und Schutzpatronin Frankreichs. In der Nachfolge der Französischen Revolution, dem Erstarken der Nationalstaatlichkeit und dem Deutsch-Französischen Krieg von 1870/71 erfuhr Jeanne d‘Art eine neue Verehrung und wurde in zahlreichen Bronzestatuen dargestellt. Eugène Laurent zeigt das junge Mädchen wie sie die Stimmen der Heiligen vernimmt, die ihr das von der Vorsehung bestimmte Schicksal offenbaren. Mit weit geöffneten Augen blickt sie gen Himmel als ob sie die offenbarte Zukunft schauen würde. 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Paul Dubois (1829 Nogent-sur-Seine - 1905 Paris), Florentine singer, 1865. Light brown patinated bronze with cast round plinth mounted on a square marble base (3.5 cm high). Total height 53 cm. Bronze dimensions: 49.5 cm (height) x 20 cm (length) x 10 cm (width), weight 5.6 kg. Inscribed on the plinth "P.[aul] DUBOIS", dated "1865", with the foundry's mark "F. BARBEDIENNE FONDEUR" and the signet "REDUCTION MECANIQUE A. COLLAS". - Patina very occasionally darkened, lute with loss of one tuning peg, otherwise in excellent condition. - The renaissance of the Renaissance - The bronze is a precisely executed and masterfully cast contemporary reduction of Paul Dubois 155 cm tall masterpiece "Florentine Singer", which is exhibited in the Musée d'Orsay and for which the artist was awarded the Medal of Honor at the Paris Salon in 1865. The work acted as a beacon, and was followed by a plethora of depictions of juveniles. Inspired by Donatello and Luca della Robbia, but also by painters such as Piero della Francesca, Benozzo Gozzoli, and Pinturicchio, the "Florentine Singer" is not an epigonal work that pays homage to a vanished era, but a successful attempt to draw vitality from the art of the past and thus give it new life. The effect of vitality is the core of Italian Renaissance art theory. In order to fulfill itself as art, art had to appear like nature. This naturalism also characterizes the "Florentine Singer". The young man appears to have been taken from life, which is reinforced by the momentary nature of his action. He has just struck a now fading chord. In addition, the natural appearance is enhanced by the detailed shaping of the figurative details, such as the laces with the slightly curved leather of the shoes, the belt buckle, or the ornamentation on the body of the lute. Even the fingernails are clearly defined. Unlike the Renaissance, however, the effect of liveliness here is not based on the "discovery" of nature and the human body, but primarily on the rediscovery of the art of the Quattrocento. The liveliness of the artwork is therefore at the same time a revitalization of this art, so that we can speak of a Renaissance of the Renaissance, just as the Pre-Raphaelites in England at the same time transferred the Quattrocento to contemporary art. Dubois takes on the most difficult of all subjects, the depiction of singing through silent sculpture. He was preceded in this by Luca della Robbia and Donatello with their pulpits of singers created in the 1430s in the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo in Florence. Compared to these works, the physiognomy of Dubois singer is far less animated, yet he also depicts singing in a convincing manner. He uses the whole body. He takes the ancient contrapposto, which was essential to Renaissance sculpture, and transforms the standing leg-playing posture into a late medieval S-swing, giving the body an elegant beauty and at the same time setting it in melodic motion. In the equally elegant finger position, the music is expressed in a much more literal way with the beating of the lute. Finally, the musicality of the sculpture culminates in the face with the mouth open to sing. Through the act of singing, which is a great challenge to the artistic will to depict perfect beauty, the gracefulness of the classical face is not diminished, but enhanced. Starting from the face with the singing mouth and the gaze absorbed by the sounds, the inner vitality spreads, giving the bronze sculpture an intense aura, enhanced by the music. Dubois transfers the beauty of the Renaissance to the musical, sublimating the visible sculpture to the invisible of music. He took up the challenge of transcending the Renaissance with the Renaissance, thus responding to the Querelle des Anciens et des Modernes, which arose at the end of the 17th century around the French Academy and remained virulent into the 19th century, in which antiquity was regarded either as an unattainable ideal or as a standard to be surpassed. With his work, Dubois proved that the Renaissance, which had championed the art of the ancients, could lead to a new renaissance of art. About the artist Paul Dubois' great-uncle was the famous French Baroque sculptor Jean-Baptiste Pigalle, in whose footsteps the talented great-nephew followed. When he debuted at the Paris Salon in 1858, he signed his work "Dubois-Pigalle". At his father's request, however, he first studied law before devoting himself to sculpture under the tutelage of François Christophe Armand Toussaint in 1856 and entering the École des Beaux-Arts in 1858. From 1859 to 1863, he lived in Rome and traveled to Naples and Florence. Inspired by Florentine art of the quattrocento, Dubois initiated a school-forming neo-Florentine style that combined the elegantly simple forms of youthful grace with a precise wealth of detail.Two purchases by the French state (“envois de Rome”) were made during his stay in Rome, which brought him recognition in Paris. After his return there, he quickly became an internationally sought-after artist. Dubois was also active as a creator of monuments. His most famous work is the equestrian statue of Joan of Arc (1896) on the forecourt of Reims Cathedral. He was also a sought-after portraitist who produced around 50 busts and - Dubois was also a passionate painter - around 100 portraits in oil. From 1873 to 1878 he was curator of the Museum du Luxembourg, in 1876 he became a member of the Institut de France and from 1878 to 1905 he was director of the École des Beaux-Arts. In 1865, Dubois was awarded the Paris Salon Medal of Honor for his “Florentine Singer”. In 1867 he became Chevalier, in 1874 Officier, in 1886 Commandeur of the Légion d'honneur, which awarded Dubois the Grande Croix in 1896. Selected Bibliography Stole, Elmar: Paul Dubois. In: Saur. Allgemeines Künstlerlexikon, vol. 30, Munich - Leipzig 2001, pp. 677-678. GERMAN VERSION Paul Dubois (1829 Nogent-sur-Seine - 1905 Paris), Florentinischer Sänger, 1865. Hellbraun patinierte Bronze mit gegossener runder Plinthe auf quadratischem Marmorsockel montiert (3,5 cm Höhe). Gesamthöhe 53 cm. Maße der Bronze: 49,5 cm (Höhe) x 20 cm (Länge) x 10 cm (Breite), Gewicht 5,6 kg. Auf der Plinthe mit „P.[aul] DUBOIS“ bezeichnet, auf „1865“ datiert, mit dem Gießereistempel „F. BARBEDIENNE FONDEUR“ und dem Signet „REDUCTION MECANIQUE A. COLLAS“ versehen. - Patina sehr vereinzelt nachgedunkelt, Laute mit Verlust eines Stimmwirbels, ansonsten ausgezeichnet erhalten. - Die Renaissance...
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Florentine singer / - The Renaissance of the Renaissance -

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