Erich Schmidt-kestner (1877-1941), The Feeding, Around 1915 / - Natural Grace -

Erich Schmidt-Kestner (1877 Berlin - 1941 Nordhausen), The Feeding, around 1915. Gold and black patinated bronze with cast brown patinated plinth mounted on a lightly veined black-green marble base (5.5 cm high). Total height 22 cm. Dimensions of the bronze: 16.5 cm (height) x 22 cm (width) x 10 cm (depth), weight 7.2 kg. Signed on the plinth “E[rich]. Schmidt-Kestner.” and with the mark ‘RKB’ in the coat of arms of the Robert Kionsek Berlin foundry.

- The deer's palm and nose partially oxidized, occasionally somewhat rubbed and stained, the base slightly bumped at the rear corners. 




- Natural grace -


A graceful deer being fed by a kneeling young woman. She offers something to the deer with one arm and covers her nakedness with the other. This also seems like a gesture of humility before the graceful and shy animal, whose design incorporates Schmidt-Kestner's extensive animal studies. In particular, the head with its antlers and the hind legs give the depiction an intense liveliness.
The young woman has the same gracefulness as the deer and appears equally shy and innocent in her pose. The black forest animal makes her golden appearance all the more radiant, and yet it is she who devotes herself to the animal with caring affection, which in turn draws attention to the deer. The loving feedig connects the young woman and the deer, and the parallel arrangement of the two makes the bond appear as an inner harmony. Although they are separated by the gap between man and beast, they are kindred spirits, so that the nature of the deer also reveals the nature of the young beauty.



About the artist

Erich Schmidt-Kestner first studied sculpture at the Berlin Art Academy and then at the Düsseldorf Art Academy. While still a student, he was awarded a small gold medal at the Great Berlin Art Exhibition in 1904, and the following year he was honored with a gold medal for his work "Striding Girl" at the International Art Exhibition in Munich. After completing his studies, he was awarded the Rome Prize in 1905, which included a two-year residency in Rome. After returning from Italy, Schmidt-Kestner worked as a freelance artist in his home city Berlin from 1908 to 1926. His artistic work was interrupted by World War I, in which he served as a soldier in France and Russia and as an Italian interpreter in the Alpine Corps. In 1926, Schmidt-Kestner was appointed head of the sculpture class at the Königsberg Art School. There he was also honorary deputy director of the zoo and produced numerous animal studies. In 1935 Schmidt-Kestner accepted a position at the Kunstgewebeschule Kassel, which he later headed as director.
In addition to an extensive oeuvre of architectural sculptures, Schmidt-Kestner created numerous bronze monuments and salon sculptures, which were so popular that porcelain manufacturers such as KPM produced works based on his designs.