Lot description
Signed 'F. KLIMSCH' on left sole of foot, foundry mark "H.NOACK BERLIN FRIEDENAU" on buttocks. With expert report from Hermann Braun dated 23 November 1998. From 1892 and 1901, when Fritz Klimsch created his first female sculptures featuring the Art Nouveau dancers Valentine Petit and Carolina Otero, female likenesses and nude sculptures became the thematic focal points of his oeuvre. These figures, which were popular among Klimsch’s patrons, also include “Erwachende”, which was completed in 1922/1923: it is an important piece within his oeuvre and represents an exceptional sculpture by the artist insofar as only three documented casts of it exist. With one leg crossed back and the other partially stretched out, the sculptor has created a seated nude figure whose slender-waisted torso is turned far to the right. While her right arm supports her head, she has stretched her bent left arm upwards. In order to suggest the fatigue of the “Erwachende”, Klimsch has interpreted her eyes as closed. As is characteristic of Klimsch’s work, she is engaged in a highly elegant motion. The model was Gabriella Schwalbach (1900-1969): born in Bucharest, Klimsch had met her in Freiburg in 1919, and she provided his most important source of inspiration for around seven years. The portrait bust of the young woman completed in 1921 (Braun 112) also attests to the good relationship between the sculptor and the young woman. According to Hermann Braun this piece, a high-quality cast poured during the artist’s lifetime, was probably formerly owned by Gabriella Schwalbach.