Sale: 591 / Day Sale, June 07. 2025 in Munich 
Lot 124001032
Lot 124001032
Back side
124001032
Georg Kolbe
Sitzende, 1923.
Bronze with red-brown patina
Estimate:
€ 30,000 - 40,000
$ 32,400 - 43,200
Information on buyer's premium, taxation and resale right compensation will be available four weeks before the auction.
Sitzende. 1923.
Bronze with red-brown patina.
With the monogram on the reverse of the base. From an edition of together 16 copies. 22.8 cm (8.9 in).
Cast by H. Noack, Berlin-Friedenau.
Published as edition by Galerie Ferdinand Möller, Berlin, 1923. [MH].
• Cast during the artist's lifetime.
• Early Friedenau cast in a harmonious design.
• A calm, contemplative expression combined with a expressionistic form.
• Pendant to “Kauernde” (Crouching Woman).
• Another copy is in the Georg Kolbe Museum, Berlin.
Accompanied by a written confirmation of authenticity issued by Dr. Ursel Berger, Berlin, from August 14. 2015.
PROVENANCE: Maximilian Müller-Jabusch Collection, Berlin (in family ownership until 2015: Karbstein).
Private collection, North Rhine Westphalia (acquired from the above).
EXHIBITION: Frühjahrsausstellung der Akademie der Künste zu Berlin, May-June 1924, cat. no. 323 (probably a different copy).
LITERATURE: Online catalogue raisonné number W 23.009.
Ursel Berger, Georg Kolbe. Leben und Werk, Berlin 1990, no. 55.
- -
Eberhard Roters, Galerie Ferdinand Möller. Die Geschichte einer Galerie für Moderne Kunst in Deutschland 1917-1956, Berlin 1984, pp. 74f., fig. 18, p. 49.
Peter Karbstein Kunst und Auktionshaus, Düsseldorf, October 24, 2015, lot 243.
Bronze with red-brown patina.
With the monogram on the reverse of the base. From an edition of together 16 copies. 22.8 cm (8.9 in).
Cast by H. Noack, Berlin-Friedenau.
Published as edition by Galerie Ferdinand Möller, Berlin, 1923. [MH].
• Cast during the artist's lifetime.
• Early Friedenau cast in a harmonious design.
• A calm, contemplative expression combined with a expressionistic form.
• Pendant to “Kauernde” (Crouching Woman).
• Another copy is in the Georg Kolbe Museum, Berlin.
Accompanied by a written confirmation of authenticity issued by Dr. Ursel Berger, Berlin, from August 14. 2015.
PROVENANCE: Maximilian Müller-Jabusch Collection, Berlin (in family ownership until 2015: Karbstein).
Private collection, North Rhine Westphalia (acquired from the above).
EXHIBITION: Frühjahrsausstellung der Akademie der Künste zu Berlin, May-June 1924, cat. no. 323 (probably a different copy).
LITERATURE: Online catalogue raisonné number W 23.009.
Ursel Berger, Georg Kolbe. Leben und Werk, Berlin 1990, no. 55.
- -
Eberhard Roters, Galerie Ferdinand Möller. Die Geschichte einer Galerie für Moderne Kunst in Deutschland 1917-1956, Berlin 1984, pp. 74f., fig. 18, p. 49.
Peter Karbstein Kunst und Auktionshaus, Düsseldorf, October 24, 2015, lot 243.
The “Sitzende” (Seated) was created in 1923 as a pendant to the “Kauernde” (Crouching) from 1917. Both were published by the art dealer Ferdinand Möller. Our bronze is one of the small versions that Georg Kolbe made that year. It is distinguished by its calm, thoughtful expression and formal expressionist style. The tough times Georg Kolbe had been through in previous years also changed his style, making it more striking and angular. Compared to the pre-war years, he no longer sought delicacy in movement and surface but moved on to new formal expressions. This development also becomes evident in “Sitzende,” whereby this small figure breaks with the “hardening” of previous years. Her posture and the gesture of her face resting on her hand express great inner calm. The “Sitzende” thus already points to the later work of the great sculptor. Kolbe considered creating a larger version of the “Sitzende” as a fountain figure. Ultimately, this plan never came to fruition.
Ursel Berger, former director of the Georg Kolbe Museum in Berlin, notes in her expert opinion on the bronze: “There is not the slightest doubt that the renowned Berlin foundry [Hermann Noack] made it. The opaque, lacquer-like patina, which at times could be very dark, as is the case here, is typical of the period. In terms of its execution, this bronze corresponds to the Noack standard.” This beautiful dark patina further emphasizes the tranquil appearance of the small figure ‘Sitzende. [EH]
Ursel Berger, former director of the Georg Kolbe Museum in Berlin, notes in her expert opinion on the bronze: “There is not the slightest doubt that the renowned Berlin foundry [Hermann Noack] made it. The opaque, lacquer-like patina, which at times could be very dark, as is the case here, is typical of the period. In terms of its execution, this bronze corresponds to the Noack standard.” This beautiful dark patina further emphasizes the tranquil appearance of the small figure ‘Sitzende. [EH]
124001032
Georg Kolbe
Sitzende, 1923.
Bronze with red-brown patina
Estimate:
€ 30,000 - 40,000
$ 32,400 - 43,200
Information on buyer's premium, taxation and resale right compensation will be available four weeks before the auction.
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