Kookaburra - Lachender Hans. 1908-1914.
Bronze, patinated in brown.
Base inscribed "Gsell" in lower right and with foundry mark "Fred. Dunn München". 14,5 x 12 x 6,5 cm (5,7 x 4,7 x 2,5 in).

Gsell at first studied painting in Dreden, Karlsruhe and Munich before he was accepted as student by Heinrich von Zügel. Following his advice, he turned to sculpting around 1907/08, a form of art that Gsell taught himself. Over the following years he executed numerous animal studies and small bronzes in the Munich zoo Hellabrunn. His focus was less on an anatomically exact depiction, but rather on a direct and spontaneous rendering of the animals. With an oeuvre of sculptures created in just six years, Gsell was then regarded a promising successor of the animal sculptor August Gaul. [CB].