"A. Breker Bronze 1960"
Arno BREKER" Rolf GERLING Child ",
Bronze with gilded patina on a marble base.
Total height 19 cm, Bronze 8 cm, base 4.5 cm.
1960s
Provenance: Important German collection, acquired directly from the artist
Very good condition
Rolf GERLING born in 1954
German businessman, billionaire, philanthropist, investor and heir to the Gerling-Konsern (pharmaceutical) family. Fortune estimated at 2.3 billion in 2024 by Forbes magazine. He is depicted here at the age of 6, Breker had been a family friend since 1930.
Arno BREKER 1900-1991
A German sculptor who studied at the Dusseldorf Academy of Fine Arts, he moved to Paris in 1926 and became a pupil of Aristide Maillol.
He worked alongside A. Calder, Jean Cocteau, Foujita, Brancusi and Picasso. Winning the Prix de Rôme in 1932 brought him international recognition. Appointed professor at the Berlin Art Academy, he was commissioned by the Reich to create numerous state monuments.
It seems that he never adhered to the racist ideology of National Socialism, but accepted the regime out of "opportunism and megalomania".
We owe him numerous interventions on behalf of persecuted artists, including Pablo Picasso, then a Communist.
After the war, he created busts of French artists including Jean Cocteau and Jean Marais, a bust of Egyptian President Anouar and a monument to Moroccan King Hassan II. He continued sculpting until his death in 1991.
His eulogy was delivered by writer Roger Peyrefitte.
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