A Seated Female Nude

Richard Scheibe (Chemnitz 1879 - Berlin 1964)

Around 1930. Bronze, dark patinated. H. 21,5 cm, stone base: H. 2 cm (small repair). Monogrammed R. Sch., foundry mark HNOACK BERLIN. Patina slightly worn. The seated female nude with crossed arms and legs is a previously unknown sketch by the artist, which is thought to have been created in the late 1920s. A stylistically comparable work with a different arm and leg position was exhibited at the Sächsischer Kunstverein Dresden. - Literature: Ursel Berger (Editor). Nymphe und Narziss. Der Bildhauer Richard Scheibe (1879-1964). Berlin 2004, page 166, number 39 - German sculptor and painter. After studying painting in Dresden and Munich (1897-99), Scheibe travelled to Italy for two years, where he met Georg Kolbe. He formed a lifelong friendship with Kolbe. In 1907, he turned to sculpture and moved to Berlin, where he became a member of the Secession in 1914. A central sculptural theme is initially the animal world, only later does he turn to the human figure and the subject of the portrait bust. In 1925 he takes over the management of the Städel Art Institute in Frankfurt/Main and later moves to the Berlin-Wilmersdorf Academy of Fine Arts as Fritz Klimsch's successor. In 1952 he received the Art Prize of the City of Berlin, and a year later the Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany. The artist had an extraordinary and intensive relationship with the Reemtsma family, for whom he created works in the fields of architectural sculpture, interior design, tombstones and the portrait. - Since 1984, the artist's estate has been in the Georg-Kolbe-Museum in Berlin, where his life's work was comprehensively honoured in a major retrospective in 2004 Mus.: Berlin, Georg-Kolbe-Museum; Wien, Belvedere; Dresden, Staatl. Kunstsammlungen; Lit.: Berger, Ursel [Ed.]. Exh. Cat. Nymphe und Narziss. Der Bildhauer Richard Scheibe (1879-1964). Georg-Kolbe-Museum, Berlin, 2004