A. Breker Bronze “beethoven”

" Ludwig Van BEETHOVEN "
by Arno BREKER. Bronze with medal patina resting on a cubic marble base.
Total height 19 cm, excluding base 13.5 cm, width 9 cm.
Signed "A. BREKER" on the base of the neck.
Foundry stamp "BARTH Germany"
Period 1986
Provenance: Important German collection, acquired directly from the artist
Very good condition
Arno BREKER 1900-1991
German sculptor, student of the Academy of Fine Arts in Dusseldorf, he moved to Paris in 1926 and became a student of Aristide Maillol. He rubbed shoulders with A. Calder, Jean Cocteau, Foujita, Brancusi, Picasso. Winning the Prix de Rôme in 1932 brought him international recognition. Appointed professor at the Berlin Fine Arts Institute, the Reich commissioned many monuments from him. However, it seems that he never adhered to the racist National Socialist ideology but accepted this regime out of "opportunism and megalomania". He is credited with numerous interventions in favor of persecuted artists, including Jean Marais and Pablo Picasso, then a communist. After the war, he made busts of French artists including Jean Cocteau and Jean Marais, the bust of the Egyptian president Anouar and a monument for the king of Morocco, Hassan II. He continued to sculpt until his death in 1991. His funeral eulogy was delivered by the writer Roger Peyrefitte.