GEORG KOLBE | Sitzende

Templeton Crocker, San Francisco (and sold by the estate: Parke-Bernet Galleries, Inc., New York, April 6, 1967, lot 58)
Acquired at the above sale

Rudolf G. Binding, Vom Leben der Plastik, Inhalt und Schönheit des Werkes von Georg Kolbe, Berlin, 1933, illustration of another cast p. 40
Ursel Berger, Georg Kolbe-Leben und Werk, Berlin, 1990, no. 91, illustration of another cast p. 293 
Ursel Berger, Georg Kolbe, Munich, 1997, no. 56, illustration of another cast p. 57

The sculpture is in very good condition. Golden brown patina. There are some accretions underneath the figure's proper right knee and a couple pindot spots of accretions in the figure's hair.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Arguably the most important German sculptor of the twentieth century, Georg Kolbe’s idealized nudes celebrate the human form for both its vigor and resilience. Born in the Saxony region of Germany, Kolbe trained as a painter in Dresden, Paris and Munich. It was only while studying in Rome under the tutelage of the Prussian artist Louis Tuaillon and surrounded by a bevy of Classical sculpture that he began his sculpture practice. In 1909, he visited both the studios of Auguste Rodin and Artistide Maillol, who became his greatest influences. While Kolbe studied the most primeval artistic question—that of the human form—it is the exceeding modernity of their execution which ultimately distinguishes him. Reminiscent of and derived from the movement of modern dancers, Kolbe’s elongated figures celebrate the constancy of the human form in a rapidly changing world. Executed with the utmost sensibility for form and content, the artist brilliantly renders Sitzende with grace and composure. The spirit with which Kolbe has depicted the model is highly evocative, elegantly capturing a brief moment of stasis. Interpreting the human form as a vessel holding the greatest secret, Kolbe constantly sought to uncover its most covert capabilities. Commenting on the development of his style away from mere natural representation, Kolbe noted: “My works no longer originate from nature...I have come closer to the plastic essence of things and can therefore lend more expression to the human form” (quoted in Ursel Berger, op. cit., Berlin, 1990, p. 66, translated from the German). Revered by the Third Reich for his glorification of the human form, Kolbe refused the invitation to sculpt Adolf Hitler.  

A favored artist of the entire Rockefeller family, four works by Kolbe were gifted to The Museum of Modern Art in 1940 by Nelson Rockefeller’s mother and one of the founders of the institution, Abby Aldrich Rockefeller.