The photos of the lot are informative and indicative, and cannot provide a highly detailed view of the object from all angles. We recommend a careful physical inspection of the lot before bidding.
The photos of the lot are informative and indicative, and cannot provide a highly detailed view of the object from all angles. We recommend a careful physical inspection of the lot before bidding.
The sculptor, painter and poet Vanja Radauš, one of the greatest Croatian artists of all time, resisted the onslaught of abstract, non-substantive expressions throughout his fifty-year creative career and, remaining particularly true to his native traditions, he was both national and universal. He devoted a large part of his passionate creative artistic being to his native Slavonia and, in addition to collections of poems and public monuments, he dedicated to it a series of first-class sculptures "Šokica", "Žetelica" and "Slavonian Animalism" in the form of sculptural compositions with "Bulls" and "Horses" modeled in clay and cast in bronze or aluminum. Familiarizing himself with clay, the native staple of continental Croatian sculpture, Radauš mastered it at an early age. He began to study with Frangeš Mihanović at the age of just under 18, graduated in sculpture with Ivan Meštrović at the age of just under 22, and in 1930 in Paris he got thoroughly acquainted with the expressiveness of A. Rodin and the dynamics of A. Bourdelle's movements. Returning to Zagreb in 1931, after his evidently rapid and successful transition into the age of sculptural maturity, Radauš, together with colleague Antun Augustinčić, executed the monument to Petar Kočić in Banja Luka in 1932, and the monumental statue of King Tomislav in Belgrade in 1936. He simultaneously modeled two equestrian statues for monuments in Niš and Novi Sad and modeled and cast in bronze two brilliant sculptures (1934-1935) - "Male Torso" and "Female Torso" - which have been a special treasure of the permanent exhibition of the Modern Gallery (now the NMMU) for decades.
The sculpture “Horse”, molded and cast in bronze in 1938, also exhibits the aforementioned maturity, dynamism, and expressiveness of his sculptural expressive. Furthermore, it shows extraordinary knowledge not only of anatomy but also of the very nature of horses which are embodied in the sovereign realistic depiction of an agitated animal. Superior modeling, plasticity, paradigmatic features, and suggestive persuasiveness all apply to Radauš’s sculpture within the context of Croatian figurative sculpture of the 20th century. It is worth mentioning that this work was presented to the public for the first time (and so far the only time) at the XV Exhibition of Croatian Artists in Osijek in January 1939. Among the thirteen Radauš works exhibited at the time, the bronze sculpture: “Horse” , and the earlier mentioned "Male Torso" in the accompanying catalog of the Osijek exhibition, are at the beginning of the list and bear catalog numbers 66 and 67.
Both bronzes were still owned by the sculptor at that time. This, of course, changed after the war and according to the words of the current owner of the sculpture “Horse” - sculptor Vanja Radauš in the 1960s of the last century, he gifted the sculpture to her father and his friend with whom he often spent his free time with at his weekend house on Varaždin hill.
Vanja Radauš was an artist who consistently created and expressed direct life in and around him until his death. With his post-war sculptural cycles "Tifusari" (1956-1959), "Panopticum croaticum" (1959-1961), and "Man and Karst" (1961-63) he acquired the epithet of the most distinctive and independent sculptor of Croatian sculpture at all. He was a devoted son of his homeland and an engaged participant in its severe transitions and harsh realizations. Fifty years ago, he left this world of his own free will and went, in the words of Tonko Maroevic, into the heavenly Panopticum croaticum, where he forever belongs according to his magnificent opus. BRP
Dimensions
depth 46 cm, width 87 cm, height 55 cm
Description
bronze, signed back right down, carved, "RADAUŠ"
Research information
The work was exhibited at the XV. exhibition of Croatian artists in Osijek and registered in the exhibition catalog, cat. no. 66., under the title "Horse".
The work is accompanied by an expert opinion by Davorin Vujčić.
Dating
1938.
PROVENANCE
a gift from Vanja Radauš to his friend Antun Šimek; then inherited by the family until today.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
For clarifications regarding the bidding procedure, hammer price costs, guarantee, payment, and collection terms for the winning lot, we recommend carefully reading/re-reading the Bidding Regulations.
For additional information regarding the lot and the auction, please contact the Art Consultants Department.
Detalii
The sculptor, painter and poet Vanja Radauš, one of the greatest Croatian artists of all time, resisted the onslaught of abstract, non-substantive expressions throughout his fifty-year creative career and, remaining particularly true to his native traditions, he was both national and universal. He devoted a large part of his passionate creative artistic being to his native Slavonia and, in addition to collections of poems and public monuments, he dedicated to it a series of first-class sculptures "Šokica", "Žetelica" and "Slavonian Animalism" in the form of sculptural compositions with "Bulls" and "Horses" modeled in clay and cast in bronze or aluminum. Familiarizing himself with clay, the native staple of continental Croatian sculpture, Radauš mastered it at an early age. He began to study with Frangeš Mihanović at the age of just under 18, graduated in sculpture with Ivan Meštrović at the age of just under 22, and in 1930 in Paris he got thoroughly acquainted with the expressiveness of A. Rodin and the dynamics of A. Bourdelle's movements. Returning to Zagreb in 1931, after his evidently rapid and successful transition into the age of sculptural maturity, Radauš, together with colleague Antun Augustinčić, executed the monument to Petar Kočić in Banja Luka in 1932, and the monumental statue of King Tomislav in Belgrade in 1936. He simultaneously modeled two equestrian statues for monuments in Niš and Novi Sad and modeled and cast in bronze two brilliant sculptures (1934-1935) - "Male Torso" and "Female Torso" - which have been a special treasure of the permanent exhibition of the Modern Gallery (now the NMMU) for decades.
The sculpture “Horse”, molded and cast in bronze in 1938, also exhibits the aforementioned maturity, dynamism, and expressiveness of his sculptural expressive. Furthermore, it shows extraordinary knowledge not only of anatomy but also of the very nature of horses which are embodied in the sovereign realistic depiction of an agitated animal. Superior modeling, plasticity, paradigmatic features, and suggestive persuasiveness all apply to Radauš’s sculpture within the context of Croatian figurative sculpture of the 20th century. It is worth mentioning that this work was presented to the public for the first time (and so far the only time) at the XV Exhibition of Croatian Artists in Osijek in January 1939. Among the thirteen Radauš works exhibited at the time, the bronze sculpture: “Horse” , and the earlier mentioned "Male Torso" in the accompanying catalog of the Osijek exhibition, are at the beginning of the list and bear catalog numbers 66 and 67.
Both bronzes were still owned by the sculptor at that time. This, of course, changed after the war and according to the words of the current owner of the sculpture “Horse” - sculptor Vanja Radauš in the 1960s of the last century, he gifted the sculpture to her father and his friend with whom he often spent his free time with at his weekend house on Varaždin hill.
Vanja Radauš was an artist who consistently created and expressed direct life in and around him until his death. With his post-war sculptural cycles "Tifusari" (1956-1959), "Panopticum croaticum" (1959-1961), and "Man and Karst" (1961-63) he acquired the epithet of the most distinctive and independent sculptor of Croatian sculpture at all. He was a devoted son of his homeland and an engaged participant in its severe transitions and harsh realizations. Fifty years ago, he left this world of his own free will and went, in the words of Tonko Maroevic, into the heavenly Panopticum croaticum, where he forever belongs according to his magnificent opus. BRP
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
For clarifications regarding the bidding procedure, hammer price costs, guarantee, payment, and collection terms for the winning lot, we recommend carefully reading/re-reading the Bidding Regulations.
For additional information regarding the lot and the auction, please contact the Art Consultants Department.
Dimensions
depth 46 cm, width 87 cm, height 55 cm
Description
bronze, signed back right down, carved, "RADAUŠ"
Research information
The work was exhibited at the XV. exhibition of Croatian artists in Osijek and registered in the exhibition catalog, cat. no. 66., under the title "Horse".
The work is accompanied by an expert opinion by Davorin Vujčić.
Dating
1938.
PROVENANCE
a gift from Vanja Radauš to his friend Antun Šimek; then inherited by the family until today.
