catalog text
BRONZE GROUP OF "DONKEY AND FOAL" BY CARL LEWIS PAPPE (HUNGARIAN/AMERICAN, 1900-1998)
In verdigris over red-oxide patination, signed CARL PAPPE to rectangular base
Item # 011RGP19K
An outstanding modernist representation of this curious creature and its young foal, the impressionistic nature of the casting leaves the surface so rich with texture and while the adherence to anatomical accuracy is loosely maintained there is a certain caricature-quality to Pappe's representation of the donkey. By elongating the proportions of the head and shrinking the girth of the body, he captures the somewhat silly characteristics of the animal with a result that is overall fun and playful.
From a technical standpoint, it is an exquisite casting that captures the detail from the mold with extraordinary precision; the patina is complex with an allover verdigris surface relieved loosely throughout to reveal a red-oxide underlying color.
The underside of the base is ground and chiseled to leave an overall golden hue in the natural bronze. The viewer can almost feel the crunch of the desert floor in the rectangular base where swirls of mud have dried in curled pads across the surface.
Born in Hungary in 1900, Carle Pappe moved with his family to the United States in 1911 to settle in Ohio. He studied at the Cleveland Institute of Art before going on to the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts where he studied under Hugh Breckenridge and Daniel Garber.
In 1934 Carl visited Mexico City and lived there until 1938 when he eventually settled in nearby Taxco. There he opened a studio with his wife Bernice Goodspeed, an author and part-time silversmith. He expressed himself in many mediums, including oil and watercolor, bronze and other metals, etchings and woodcuts as well as simple drawings in ink and pencil. Bernice was an author and Carl assisted in the illustration of her books.
His work is represented in many public collections including the Dallas Art Museum, the U.S. Library of Congress and Philadelphia's Woodmere Art Museum.
Measurements: 8 3/8" H x 10 1/4" W (base) 12 7/8" W (extreme width) x 4 9/16" D
Condition Report:
Exceptional original condition.