Globally celebrated Austrian metal worker Franz Xaver Bergman(n) is known for his bronze statuettes and figurines, which are rich with personality and alive with color.
Bergmann's father, Franz Bergmann, Sr., apprenticed under Josef Ott and became a professional caster and chaser, who moved from Gablonz, Bohemia, to Vienna in 1860, where he opened a small foundry. There, he put what he’d learned about naturally patinating bronzes and created popular figurines and sculptures. At the turn of the century, Bergmann inherited the company from his father and opened a second foundry.
At the Bergmann Foundry, Franz Xaver Bergmann created numerous bronze figures, employing a technique now known as “cold painting” that has been lost to time. Bergmann’s early works were based on his father’s molds. He hired local workers to cast his own designs.
Bergmann’s works encompass an immense variety of subject matter. His foundry created bronzes of humanized animals, mythological creatures and animals in natural poses. Many of his statuettes are representative of his fondness for faraway lands and peoples, with a great number of his works depicting Native American, Asian, Persian and Arabian cultures. He's also known to have created some risqué Art Nouveau figurines — to some collectors, the Bergmann Foundry is known for its sculptures of women in various sensuous poses wearing ingeniously executed removable articles of bronze clothing.
Franz Xaver Bergmann’s recognized maker’s mark was a capital “B” inside a scrolled horseshoe, but Bergmann would place the pseudonym "Nam Greb" — the reverse of his last name — on his racier pieces, to keep his more conservative and conventional customers from connecting his name to those works.
Bergmann had to close his company’s doors in 1930 owing to the financial strains that came with the Great Depression. He died in 1936 before the company could open again. His son, Robert Bergmann, reopened the foundry many years later and continued to own and operate it until his death in 1954. Karl Fuhrmann & Co. purchased what remained of the company after Robert died. Bergmann’s cast-bronze figures endure to this day and are highly prized by collectors and enthusiasts of figurative art.
Find antique Franz Xaver Bergmann decorative objects, lighting and other works on 1stDibs.
$10,400Sale Price / set|20% Off
Arabian Themed Garniture Made by Franz Xavier Bergman
By Franz Xaver Bergman (Bergmann)
Located in Ciudad Autónoma Buenos Aires, C
Arabic themed garniture made by Franz Xavier Bergman (1861-1936). The pieces are made of polychrome bronze. The central one is an inkwell that is ...
Bronze
Viennese Cold-Painted Bronze and Marble Inkstand by Franz Xaver Bergman
By Franz Xaver Bergman (Bergmann)
Located in London, GB
Viennese cold-painted bronze and marble inkstand by Franz Xaver Bergman Austrian, c. 1910 Height 22cm, width 40cm, depth 17cm Crafted by the renowned Franz Xaver Bergman (1861-1936)...
Marble, Bronze
$640Sale Price|20% Off
H 3.25 in W 1.75 in D 2.5 in
Antique Franz Bergman Austrian Vienna Bronze Cold Paint Night Watchman Figure
By Franz Bergmann
Located in San Diego, CA
Very tough to find Vienna bronze of a night watchman and is by Franz Bergman. The bronze figure dates from the late 1800s-early 1900s. Has cold paint ac...
Bronze
Cold Painted Orientalist Vienna Bronze by Franz Bergman
By Franz Bergmann
Located in Denton, TX
Cold painted orientalist Vienna bronze of a middle eastern man with a women by Franz Bergman. On the back of her robe is the B inside of a ...
Marble, Bronze
Large Orientalist Bronze Group by Bergman
By Franz Xaver Bergman (Bergmann)
Located in London, GB
Large Orientalist bronze group by Bergman Austrian, c. 1910 Measures: Height 28cm, width 18cm, depth 27cm This exceptional bronze group is by Be...
Bronze
$2,500
H 5.75 in Dm 2.25 in
Franz Xavier Bergman, Oriental Dancer, Jugenstil Vienna Bronze Sculpture, 1900s
By Franz Bergmann
Located in New York, NY
This provocative, desk-size bronze statuette of a semi-nude oriental dancer in a sensuous, rather candid pose rendered in the best Art Nouveau traditions of the world-famous Viennese foundry of Franz Xavier Bergman...
Bronze
$38,000
H 17 in W 29 in D 7.75 in
Imperial Anichkov Palace Russian Bronze Garniture Desk Set. Alexei Alexandrovich
Located in Victoria, BC
An exceptional and rare three-piece Imperial Russian desk garniture, formerly housed in the Anichkov Palace, and bearing the personal cypher of Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich of Rus...
Marble, Bronze
$2,118
H 2.56 in W 3.94 in D 1.97 in
Early 20th Century Cold-Painted Bronze entitled "Canary" by Franz Bergman
By Franz Bergmann
Located in London, GB
A delightful early 20th Century Austrian bronze of a standing canary bird with vibrant yellow colours capturing the character of the bird and exhibiting good hand finished detail, si...
Bronze
$3,485
H 3.15 in W 6.7 in D 3.15 in
Early 20th Century Cold-Painted Bronze "Standing Blackbird" by Franz Bergman
By Franz Bergmann
Located in London, GB
A very fine Austrian Bronze animalier bronze study of a standing blackbird with excellent naturalistic cold painted colours and fine intricate detail, signed with the Bergman ‘B’ in...
Bronze
Cat figure made of Viennese bronze by Franz Bergman
By Franz Bergmann
Located in Autonomous City Buenos Aires, CABA
Cat figure made of Viennese bronze by Franz Bergman This figure is by artist Franz Bergman that represents a cat armed with a rifle with a red bag of ammunition. It is a cold painte...
Bronze
A Viennese cold painted bronze dog figurine desk paper clip
Located in Delft, NL
A Viennese cold painted bronze dog figurine desk paper clip A Viennese cold painted bronze dog figurine, designed as a paper clip mounted on ...
Bronze
$960Sale Price|20% Off
H 2 in W 4.5 in D 3.25 in
Antique Franz Bergman Cold Painted Bronze Figural Group Unsigned C1910
Located in Big Flats, NY
Antique Franz Bergman Cold Painted Bronze Figural Grouping Unsigned C1910 (2" x 4 1/2" x 3 1/8"). A figural grouping attributed to Franz Bergman, circa 1910. This piece features a...
Bronze
Austrian Bronze Sculpture by Franz Bergman
By Franz Bergmann
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Cold painted Austrian bronze sculpture by Franz Bergman depicting a carpet trader. The piece shows great attention to detail and craftsm...
Bronze
$4,442
H 5.91 in W 7.88 in D 2.37 in
Early 20th Century Cold-Painted Bronze Entitled "Kangaroo" by Franz Bergman
By Franz Bergmann
Located in London, GB
An excellent early 20th century Austrian bronze study of a standing Kangaroo with very fine hand chased surface detail and good naturalistic colour, signed with the Bergman 'B' in an Amphora vase ADDITIONAL INFORMATION Height: 15 cm Width: 20 cm Depth: 6 cm Condition: Excellent Original Condition circa: 1900 Materials: Cold Painted Bronze Book Ref Antique Vienna Bronzes by Joseph Zobel SKU: 8910 ABOUT Bergman Kangaroo Franz Bergman Sculptures Bergman is celebrated for his great attention to detail and wonderful vibrant colours, Franz Xavier Bergman (1861-1936) is, arguably, the most famous of the Viennese cold-painted bronze artists, delighting in producing Oriental...
Bronze