catalog text
ART NOUVEAU BRONZE MODEL OF "PRINTEMPS" BY CHARLES KORSCHANN (CZECH, 1872-1943)
Signed in base "CH. KoRScHANN", with foundry seal "PARIS / LOUCHET / Ciseleur"; cold-stamped "8"
Item # 103BLO11Q
An incredibly distinctive work typical of the Art Nouveau expression of naturalism, the sculpture is a celebration of youth and the female form. The figure grasps bountiful bundles of flowers that overflow from her arms as she is overwhelmed by the beautiful scent blowing through them. Her diaphanous dress clings to her and whips behind her as the wind moves through, but she is left unfazed with her face to the sun. The figure is cast integral in a single element with the vivid base of three flower bundles and interlaced branches and vines expressed in relief. It is finished in a natural bronze that is burnished to take on a warm gilt tone with parcel gilding highlights evident throughout. The base is signed in his typical script "Ch. Korschann" and is sealed by the Louchet foundry.
Born in Brno, Monrovia in 1872 as Charles Korschmann, later dropping the "m" to appear less Germanic, he studied at the fine arts academies of Vienna, Berlin and Paris before finally establishing himself in Paris in 1894. He spent his entire career working in Paris, exhibiting at the 1900 Exposition Universelle where he was awarded a Bronze Medal and from 1894 through 1905 at the Société des Artistes Français.
His work is very distinctive and immediately recognizable, a most important trait as an artist and a particular accomplishment in light of the output of his contemporaries. He was to sculpture what Alphonse Mucha was to graphics, both men originating from the same province in Czechoslovakia and having similar influences in Paris. It is rather fitting that he would execute a bust of Alphonse Mucha for the Museum of Brno in honor of his accomplishments.
Artist Listings & Bibliography:
- See Berman's Bronzes: Sculptors and Founders 1800-1930 Vol. IV, p. 766-67
Measurements: 13 1/8" H x 5" D x 6 1/4" W
Condition Report:
Variation and discoloration to burnished patination as well as minor handling wear; minor scattered spots of pitting; old patinated abrasion above her right (facing) elbow.