Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 9

Franz Iffland
Javelin thrower / - Roman present -

after 1910

$2,367.66
$2,959.5820% Off
£1,745.50
£2,181.8720% Off
€2,000
€2,50020% Off
CA$3,248.39
CA$4,060.4820% Off
A$3,647.69
A$4,559.6220% Off
CHF 1,921.71
CHF 2,402.1420% Off
MX$45,150.33
MX$56,437.9120% Off
NOK 23,792.20
NOK 29,740.2520% Off
SEK 22,651.19
SEK 28,313.9920% Off
DKK 15,217.89
DKK 19,022.3620% Off
Shipping
Retrieving quote...
The 1stDibs Promise:
Authenticity Guarantee,
Money-Back Guarantee,
24-Hour Cancellation

About the Item

Franz Iffland (1862 Tempelhof - 1935 Berlin), Javelin thrower, after 1910. Olive-black patinated bronze with cast plinth mounted on a white-veined black marble base (7 cm high). Total height 61 cm. Dimensions of the bronze without spear: 46 cm (height) x 26 cm (width) x 25 cm (depth), length of the removable spear: 58 cm, weight 4.8 kg. Signed “Iffland” on the plinth. - The calf of the left leg with a small restored area, patina with scratch mark at the point where the spear is attached to the head, very occasionally somewhat rubbed. - Roman present - As part of the physical culture that emerged in the 19th century and the popular sport that developed from it, the athlete became the new hero. In 1894, the Olympic Games were re-established, with athletics as the supreme discipline, in keeping with the ancient tradition. The javelin thrower is also associated with this. Iffland did not portray an athlete of his time, but rather the epitome of the athlete. The javelin thrower has raised his fist in triumph as he comes to a stop and looks up as if he has reached his goal. His concise facial expression is still marked by the will to win, and the immense javelin bears witness to his almost superhuman performance. His entire body displays a muscular agility that would allow him to master any other discipline. The short haircut, combed forward, reminiscent of Caesar, and the Roman nose with its pronounced hump do not refer to Athens but to ancient Rome, so that the gesture and the gaze also have the character of the Caesar salute, which had become established as the Olympic salute in Iffland's time. Through the jersey and shoes, Iffland's athlete also refers to the present, with which the artist makes clear that the ideals of Roman antiquity should be carried into the present through sport. About the artist Even though Franz Iffland's work and biography have remained unexplored by art historians to this day, the Berlin sculptor was one of the most popular creators of domestic bronze sculptures of his time, who helped shape both Art Nouveau and Art Deco. He was regularly represented at the exhibitions of the Berlin Art Academy from 1862 and presented his works at the International Art Exhibition in 1891 and the Great Berlin Art Exhibition in 1893. GERMAN VERSION Franz Iffland (1862 Tempelhof - 1935 Berlin), Speerwerfer, nach 1910. Olivschwarz patinierte Bronze mit gegossener Plinthe auf weiß geädertem schwarzem Marmorsockel (7 cm Höhe) montiert. Gesamthöhe 61 cm. Maße der Bronze ohne Speer: 46 cm (Höhe) x 26 cm (Breite) x 25 cm (Tiefe), Länge des abnehmbaren Speers: 58 cm, Gewicht 4,8 kg. Auf der Plinthe mit „Iffland“ signiert. - An der Wade des linken Beins mit kleiner restaurierter Stelle, Patina mit Kratzspur an der Ansatzstelle des Speeres am Kopf, sehr vereinzelt etwas berieben. - Römische Gegenwart - Im Rahmen der im 19. Jahrhundert aufkommenden Körperkultur und dem sich daraus entwickelndem Breitensport wurde der Athlet zum neuen Heros. 1894 wurden die Olympischen Spiele wiederbegründet, bei denen – in antiker Tradition – die Leichtathletik als Königsdisziplin galt. In diesem Zusammenhang steht auch der Speerwerfer. Iffland hat hier keinen Sportler seiner Zeit porträtiert, sondern den Inbegriff des Athleten geschaffen. In einer zum Stehen kommenden Vorwärtsbewegung hat der Speerwerfer siegreich seine Faust erhoben und den Blick in die Höhe gerichtet, als ob er das anvisierte Ziel erreicht hätte. Seine prägnant ausgeformte Mimik ist noch ganz vom Siegeswillen geformt und der immense Speer zeugt von der schier übermenschlichen Leistung. Sein ganzer Körper weist eine muskulöse Agilität auf, die ihn auch alle anderen Disziplinen meistern lassen würde. Der an Cäsar gemahnende nach vorne gekämmte Kurzhaarschnitt und die römische Nase mit dem ausgeprägten Höcker verweisen nicht nach Athen, sondern in das antike Rom, so dass die Handhaltung und der Blick zugleich den Charakter des Caesarengrußes hat, der sich zur Zeit Ifflands als Olympischer Gruß etabliert hatte. Durch das Trikot und die Schuhe bezieht sich auch Ifflands Athlet auf seine gegenwärtige Zeit, womit der Künstler verdeutlicht, dass die Ideale der römischen Antike durch den Sport in die Gegenwart getragen werden sollten. zum Künstler Auch wenn das Werk und die Biographie Franz Ifflands bis heute kunsthistorisch unerschlossen geblieben ist, war der Berliner Bildhauer einer der populärsten Schöpfer häuslicher Bronzeplastiken seiner Zeit, der sowohl den Jugendstil als auch das Art déco mitprägte. Er war ab 1862 regelmäßig auf den Ausstellungen der Berliner Kunstakademie vertreten und präsentierte 1891 seine Werke auf der Internationalen und 1893 auf der Großen Berliner Kunstausstellung.
  • Creator:
    Franz Iffland (1862 - 1935, German)
  • Creation Year:
    after 1910
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 24.02 in (61 cm)Width: 10.24 in (26 cm)Depth: 9.85 in (25 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
  • Gallery Location:
    Berlin, DE
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU2438215199192

More From This Seller

View All
Boy playing the shawm / - The transience of sounds -
Located in Berlin, DE
Hans Harders (1875 Mörel - 1955 Berlin), Boy playing the shawm, around 1930. Dark patinated bronze with round plinth on a black marble base (2 cm high), t...
Category

1930s Art Deco Nude Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Naked warrior with short sword / - The New Hercules -
Located in Berlin, DE
Hermann Volz (1847 Karlsruhe - 1914 ibid.), Naked warrior with short sword, c. 1935. Partially (?) patinated bronze with cast plinth mounted on a black marble base (6.8 cm high). 32....
Category

1930s Art Deco Nude Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Gladiator ready for battle / - Ready for anything -
By Bruno Zach
Located in Berlin, DE
Bruno Zach (1891 Zhitomir - 1945 Vienna), Gladiator ready for battle, c. 1930. Blackish patinated bronze with silver-plated helmet, shield rim and shield pommel mounted on a fluted m...
Category

1930s Art Deco Nude Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Girl with a Kid / - Caresses of innocence -
By Ary Bitter
Located in Berlin, DE
Ary Bitter (1883 Marseille - 1973 Paris), Girl with Kid, around 1930. Green patinated bronze with cast plinth loosely mounted on a white-veined dark green marble base. Dimensions of the plinth: 5 cm (height) x 80 cm (length) x 24 (width), dimensions of the bronze 28 cm (height) x 72 cm (length) x 18 cm (width). Weight of the bronze 18.2 kg, total weight 39.2 kg. Signed “Ary Bitter.” on the plinth and stamped “L N Paris J L” by the foundry Les Neveux de Jacques Lehmann...
Category

1930s Art Deco Nude Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Juggler / - Artistic naturalness -
Located in Berlin, DE
Claire Jeanne Robertine Colinet (1880 Brussels - 1950 Asnières-sur-Seine), Juggler, around 1920. Brownish patinated bronze with gilded balls on a round, multi-profiled stone base (10...
Category

1920s Art Deco Nude Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Forest idyll / - Soulmate -
By Rudolf Kaesbach
Located in Berlin, DE
Rudolf Kaesbach (1873 Gladbach - 1955 Berlin), Forest idyll, around 1915. Bronze, gold and golden brown patina, with cast plinth, mounted on a marble base (5 cm high), total height 36 cm, dimensions of the bronze: 31 cm (height) x 17 cm (length) x 12 cm (width). Weight 4,6 kg, signed on the plinth "R.[udolf] KAESBACH". - a few rubbed areas, overall in excellent condition for its age - Soulmate - The bronze sculpture depicts a young woman in an intimate exchange with a deer that accompanies her. The animal pauses to turn toward her, while the nude beauty slows her pace to look into the deer's eyes and tenderly caress it with her hand. The woman and the deer are in inner harmony. Even though her lips remain motionless, she speaks the language of the animal with which she is deeply connected. The golden patina, which contrasts with the more naturalistic coloring of the deer, gives the young woman the appearance of a saint, even if she cannot be identified as such. At the same time, she evokes memories of Diana, the goddess of the hunt, or a nymph. But she lacks the ferocity. In her innocent naivety, she is more like a vestal virgin, who is not at home in the solitude of the forest. And yet, the young beauty, moving unclothed in the heart of nature, looks like a priestess with her hair tied up and a carefully carried bowl on her way to a sacred grove. In order to open up the above-mentioned associations, Kaesbach deliberately designed the female figure in such a way that she cannot be identified as a specific person. He has created an allegory of natural femininity, characteristic of Art Nouveau, in which the deer is far more than a companion animal. It displays the same gracefulness as the young woman, and the inner resemblance between the two makes the deer appear as her other self. In animal terms, it embodies her inner being, which also gives the deer an allegorical character. About the artist Rudolf Kaesbach studied sculpture at the Hanau Academy and worked in a bronze foundry in Paris in 1900. In order to work as an independent artist, he opened a workshop in Düsseldorf, where he cast bronzes from models he designed. In 1902 he made his debut at the German National Art Exhibition in Düsseldorf. The following year Kaesbach went to the academy in Brussels. There he was inspired by contemporary Belgian sculpture, especially the work of Constantin Meunier. He moved to Berlin, where he opened a studio in the villa district of Grunewald and devoted himself to life-size marble sculptures and the design of bronzes. From 1911, he regularly presented his works at the major art exhibitions in Berlin, as well as in Düsseldorf and Malmö. Between 1936 and 1939, he also created models for the Rosenthal porcelain factory. From 1939 to 1944, Kaesbach was represented at the major German art exhibitions in Munich. GERMAN VERSION Rudolf Kaesbach (1873 Gladbach - 1955 Berlin), Waldidyll, um 1915. Gold und goldbraun patinierte Bronze mit gegossener Plinthe, auf einem Marmorsockel montiert (5 cm Höhe), Gesamthöhe 36 cm, Maße der Bronze: 31 cm (Höhe) x 17 cm (Länge) x 12 cm (Breite). Gewicht 4,6 kg, auf der Plinthe mit „R.[udolf] KAESBACH“ signiert. - vereinzele beriebene Stellen, insgesamt in einem altersgemäß ausgezeichneten Zustand - Seelenverwandtschaft - Die Bronzeplastik veranschaulicht eine junge Frau im innigen Austausch mit einem sie begleitenden Reh. Das Tier hält inne, um sich zu ihr hochzuwenden, während die nackte Schönheit ihren Schritt verlangsamt, um dem Reh ebenfalls in die Augen zu schauen und es zärtlich mit der Hand zu liebkosen. Die Frau und das Reh sind in einem inneren Gleichklang. Auch wenn ihre Lippen unbewegt bleiben, spricht sie die Sprache des Tieres, mit dem sie auf eine tief empfundene Weise verbunden ist. Die im Kontrast zur naturalistischeren Einfärbung des Rehs aufstrahlende goldfarbene Patina lässt die junge Frau wie eine Heilige erscheinen, auch wenn sich nicht als Heilige identifizierbar ist. Zugleich ruft sie Erinnerungen an die Jagdgöttin Diana oder eine Nymphe hervor. Dafür fehlt ihr allerdings die Wildheit. In ihrer unschuldigen Naivität gemahnt sie vielmehr an eine Vestalin, die freilich nicht in der Waldeinsamkeit zu Hause ist. Und doch wirkt die sich unbekleidet im Herzen der Natur bewegende junge Schönheit wie eine Priesterin, die sich mit hochgebundenem Haar und der vorsichtig getragenen Schale und dem Wege zu einem Heiligen Hain befindet. Um die gennannten Assoziationen zu eröffnen, hat Kaesbach die Frauenfigur bewusst so gestaltet, dass sie nicht als konkrete Person identifizierbar ist. Damit hat er eine für den Jugendstil charakteristische Allegorie natürlicher Weiblichkeit geschaffen, bei der das Reh weit mehr als ein Begleittier ist. Es weist dieselbe grazile Anmut wie die junge Frau auf und der innere Gleichklag der beiden lässt das Reh als ihr anderen Ich erscheinen. Es verkörpert – ins Animalische übertragen - ihr inneres Wesen, wodurch auch dem Reh ein allegorischer Charakter zukommt. zum Künstler Rudolf Kaesbach studierte an der Akademie Hanau Bildhauerei und war im Jahr 1900 in einer Pariser Bronzegießerei tätig. Um sich als eigenständiger Künstler betätigen zu können, eröffnete er in Düsseldorf eine Werkstatt, in der er Bronzen nach selbstentworfenen Modellen goss. 1902 debütierte er auf der Deutschen Nationalen Kunstaustellung in Düsseldorf. Im Folgejahr ging Kaesbach an die Akademie nach Brüssel. Dort wurde er von der zeitgenössischen belgischen Bildhauerei, insbesondere vom Werk Constantin Meuniers, inspiriert. Zurückgekehrt zog er nach Berlin, wo er im Villenviertel Grunewald ein Atelier eröffnete und sich neben dem Entwurf für Bronzen der lebensgroßen Marmorbildhauerei widmete. Ab 1911 präsentierte er seine Werke regelmäßig auf den Großen Berliner Kunstausstellungen, aber auch in Düsseldorf und Malmö. Zwischen 1936 und 1939 fertigte er zudem Modelle für die Porzellan-Manufaktur Rosenthal an. Von 1939 bis 1944 war...
Category

1910s Jugendstil Nude Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

You May Also Like

Italian animal bronze: Young Deer or Antelope by Sirio Tofanari
Located in Gent, VOV
Young Antelope Or Young Deer A nice bronze cast of a young antelope or a young male deer licking its back, by Sirio Tofanari (1886-1969). An old cast wi...
Category

1930s Art Deco Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Bacchante
By Charles Despiau
Located in PARIS, FR
Bacchante by Charles DESPIAU (1874-1946) Sculpture in bronze with nuanced dark brown patina Signed at the back "C. Despiau" Cast by Alexis RUDIER France Vers 1930 Height 23 cm Width 18 cm Depth 13 cm The plaster model of "Bacchante" was exhibited in 1909 at the Salon of the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts. Charles Despiau produced several variants of this work, including the one presented here. Among other known versions, there is one cast with the right leg cut off, four casts with the torso alone and eight casts with the raised leg (1929). Bibliography : "Charles Albert Despiau", Collections du musée...
Category

1930s Art Deco Nude Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Young girl sitting at her toilet
By Joseph Bernard
Located in PARIS, FR
"Young girl sitting at her toilet" also known as "Young girl with braids" by Joseph BERNARD (1866-1931) Sculpture in bronze with a nuanced brownish dark green patina Signed on the ...
Category

1920s Art Deco Nude Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Job
By Donald De Lue
Located in Boston, MA
Edition of 12. Signed and inscribed on front right of base: "De LUE sc '86 © 1987 4/12 Tx". Cast at the Tallix Foundry in Beacon, NY. "Job, as much as any work of De Lue, shows t...
Category

20th Century Art Deco Nude Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Art Deco Diana
By Hans Harry Liebmann
Located in Miami, FL
This is a rare statement piece that commands that eye. It is of museum quality will be the centerpiece of any space. Masterfully crafted details of the human form are finely rendered...
Category

1910s Art Deco Nude Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Hoop Dancer
By Demetre Chiparus
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Demetre Haralamb Chiparus (also known as Dumitru Chiparus) (16 September 1886 in Dorohoi, Romania - 22 January 1947 in Paris, France) was a Romanian Art Deco* era sculptor who lived and worked in Paris. He was born in Romania, the son of Haralamb and Saveta. In 1909 he went to Italy, where he attended the classes of Italian sculptor Raffaello Romanelli. In 1912 he traveled to Paris to attend the Ecole des Beaux Arts* to pursue his art at the classes of Antonin Mercie and Jean Boucher. Demetre Chiparus died in 1947 and was buried in Bagneux cemetery, just south of Paris. The first sculptures of Chiparus were created in the realistic style and were exhibited at the Salon of 1914. He employed the combination of bronze and ivory, called chryselephantine*, to great effect. Most of his renowned works were made between 1914 and 1933. The first series of sculptures manufactured by Chiparus were the series of the children. The mature style of Chiparus took shape beginning in the 1920s. His sculptures are remarkable for their bright and outstanding decorative effect. Dancers of the Russian Ballet, French theatre, and early motion pictures were among his more notable subjects and were typified by a long, slender, stylized appearance. His work was influenced by an interest in Egypt, after Pharaoh Tutankhamen's tomb was excavated. He worked primarily with the Edmond Etling and Cie Foundry in Paris administrated by Julien Dreyfus. Les Neveux de J. Lehmann was the second foundry which constantly worked with Chiparus and produced the sculptures of his models. Chiparus rarely exhibited at the Salon. In 1923 he showed his Javelin Thrower, and in 1928 exhibited his Ta-Keo dancer. During the period of Nazi persecution and the World War II, the foundries discontinued production of work by Chiparus. The economic situation of that time was not favorable to the development of decorative arts and circumstances for many sculptors worsened. Since the early 1940s almost no works of Chiparus were sold, but he continued sculpting for his own pleasure, depicting animals in the Art Deco style. At the 1942 Paris Salon, the plaster sculptures Polar Bear and American Bison were exhibited, and in 1943 he showed a marble Polar Bear and plaster Pelican. Sculptures of Dimitri Chiparus represent the classical manifestation of Art Deco style in decorative bronze ivory sculpture. Traditionally, four factors of influence over the creative activity of the artist can be distinguished: Serge Diaghilev's Ballets Russes, ancient Egyptian art, and French theatre. Early motion pictures were among his more notable subjects and were typified by figures with a long, slender, stylized appearance. Some of his sculptures were directly inspired by Russian dancers. Quite often, Chiparus used the photos of Russian and French dancers, stars and models from fashion magazines of his time. After the tomb of Tutankhamun was discovered in 1922, the art of ancient Egypt...
Category

1920s Art Deco Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Marble, Bronze

Hoop Dancer
$4,400 Sale Price
20% Off