OTTO PETRI (Berlin 1860 - 1942), for Friederich... Lot 40

OTTO PETRI (Berlin 1860 - 1942), for Friederich Goldscheider. "Young lady". Bust, Art Nouveau, Austria, 1904 . Patinated terracotta. Terracotta bust designed by Otto Petri for Goldscheider, of a young woman of fine beauty, with elegant features that denote a certain classical idealisation, although her restrained and emotive expressiveness is typical of the fin-de-siècle period. She has long hair, which she covers with a cape. It has a bronze patina, except for the face, which is of a whitish hue. On wooden corduroy lined with ochre-coloured cloth. Signed Petri, dated 904, with stamps and numbering on the reverse. Provenance: Spanish private collection, formed between 1970 and 2010. Good condition Normal wear and tear due to use and the passage of time. Measurements: 39 x 33 x 15 cm (bust); 2 x 36 x 18 cm (base). In 1885, the sculptor Friedrich Goldscheider left his native Pilsen and settled in Vienna, where he founded his own manufacture of terracotta pieces. He soon became one of the most influential artists in the fields of ceramics and bronze, with shops in Austria, Paris, Leipzig, Berlin and Florence. For more than half a century the Goldscheider firm, considered the finest modernist terracotta factory, created masterpieces of historicism, Art Nouveau and Art Deco. The founder was able to attract both acclaimed artists and young innovators to his factory, so that great ceramists of the time, such as W. Bosse, B. Geiger, J. Lorenzl, I. Meisinger and M. Powolny, among others, worked there. After Goldscheider's death, the factory was taken over by his widow Regina, who continued to produce her husband's models, together with new ones created by the artists who worked for the firm, such as D. Chiparus during the Art Deco period. Until its closure with the rise of National Socialism, the factory produced more than four thousand different models, both by Goldscheider himself and by other authors. From the very beginning, the factory won numerous awards, first prizes and gold medals at countless world fairs, exhibitions and trade fairs. Today its pieces are in great demand by collectors all over the world. They can now be admired in museums around the world, such as the Fine Arts Museum in San Francisco, the Metropolitan Museum in New York and the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. In 2007, Goldscheider's works were shown at the Vienna Museum and the following year at the LBI in New York.