Rudolf Christopher Puggard Tegner

Collection of the Fourth Lord Parmoor;
sold Christie's, London, 29th February 1996, lot 376

Overall the condition of the bronze is excellent. There are some very slightly visible original casting joints and pins, including one at the raised figure's proper right leg and one at the standing figure's proper right wrist.
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Rudolf Tegner reputedly decided to become a sculptor after a visit to the Acropolis. His interest in classicism is evident in this powerful composition, in which a warrior offers up the dead body of his vanquished enemy as a symbol of victory. The Grecian helmet and the nudity of the figures evoques the world of the Homeric epics, specifically the episode in the Iliad in which Menelaus carries the body of his comrade Patroclus from the battlefield. This story is most famously represented in the antique Pasquino Group, in which an exhausted Menelaus struggles to support the heavy corpse of his friend. Tegner's composition contrasts with this antique precedent, however, by presenting the victorious combatant as a figure of strength and athleticism, holding his enemy's corpse in the air without strain, his downturned head the only sign of physical and emotional exertion. Victory, which is thought to have been modelled between 1912-15, was later incorporated by Tegner into his 1915 design for a monumental Arch of Life, intended to have been erected as an entrance to the Fælledparken, Copenhagen, but never realised. Tegner, who trained in Paris, was heavily influenced by the work of Carpeaux and Rodin and was particularly interested in Symbolist ideas, a strain which can be seen running through the present, emotive work. A bronze version of Victory of the same size can be found in the Rudolf Tegners Museum in Dronningmølle, together with a larger plaster and a bronze, both dating to 1921.

RELATED LITERATURE
V. Rasmussen and S. T. Truelsen, Danish Sculpture 1880-1990. Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen, 1994, pp. 160-161, no. 108