Wilhelm Lehmbruck

(probably) Hermann Wurz, Stuttgart
Max Lütze, Berlin & Hamburg
Erna Lütze, Hamburg & Stuttgart (by descent from the above in 1968)
Private Collection, Germany (acquired from the above in 1976. Sold: Sotheby's, London, 5th February 2008, lot 7)
Purchased at the above sale by the present owner

Venice, Esposizione municipale d'arte, 1922, no. 93
Stuttgart, Staatsgalerie Stuttgart (on loan 1972-1976)
Berlin, Martin-Gropius-Bau, Stationen der Moderne, 1988, illustrated in the catalogue

Dietrich Schubert, Wilhelm Lehmbruck, Catalogue Raisonné der Skulpturen, 1898-1919, Worms, 2001, no. 50 A 8, illustrated p. 189

There are a few old minor chips to the lower left and right arms. There are some small scuffs and pinhead-sized spots of surface damage in the base of the hair. There is some light old chipping running for approximately 5cm. along the rear edge of the base. This work is in very good original condition.
"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.
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Executed in Paris in 1910, Frauenbüste (Büste Frau L.) marks a pivotal point in Lehmbruck's œuvre. The present work brilliantly defines the attenuation and elongation that was to become Lehmbruck's defining sculptural characteristic. The sensitive use of the medium creates a deep unity of the contents and the moulding. The nude figure with her graceful bust and elegantly elongated neck supporting her slightly tilted head to one side conveys a sense of innocence and pensiveness whilst simultaneously emanating a sexual tension and sensuality. 

Frauenbüste (Büste Frau L.) was exhibited in 1922 in Venice and was later acquired by Max Lütze, a collector of German Expressionist art who concentrated on the development of sculpture and painting of the 20th century. There are only nine recorded life-time and early stone casts of Frauenbüste (Büste Frau L.). Five of them are now housed in important museum collections: the Wilhelm-Lehmbruck-Museum, Duisburg; the Museum Ludwig, Cologne; the Museum Lodz, Lodz; the Neue Nationalgalerie, Berlin and the Hessisches Landesmuseum, Darmstadt. One remains in the artist's family and in addition to the present cast there is one other in a private collection.

In the present work Lehmbruck moves towards an internalisation of expression and his depiction of elongated limbs becomes a symbol of the spiritual. The concentration on the head and bust of the figure further enhances the smooth contours whereby the model's long slender neck evokes diaphanous grace. As the title Frauenbüste (Büste Frau L.) suggests, the present cast features the artist's wife Anita (fig. 2), whom he married in 1908. In fact all his female figures between 1909 and 1917 bear the features of his wife, but none as pronounced as in the present work.

The year 1910 marks Lehmbruck's unification of form, internalising his object of representation. The artist searches for the grand form whereby his rendition of forms and shapes does not lose itself in the naturalism of detail. Exact representation plays a secondary part in this process. The artist's finest work was concentrated into one decade - the years between 1910 and the artist's untimely death in 1919 - and Frauenbüste (Büste Frau L.) stands as the distinguished point of departure. Wilhelm Lehmbruck became one of the most prominent German Expressionist sculptors. His works were extensively exhibited, including at the Cologne Sonderbund and the Berliner Sezession (1912), and his monumental works Grosse Kniende and Grosse Schreitende, were exhibited in 1913 in New York, making him the only German sculptor represented at the Armory Show.

After studying at the Dusseldorf Academy of Art, Lehmbruck moved to Paris in 1910, where he lived at 105, rue de Vaugirard. There he frequented the Café du Dôme, where he met sculptors such as Brancusi, Archipenko and Modigliani (fig. 1) and was also introduced to the process of stone-casting, a technique already practised by Brancusi at the time. With its diversity of stimulation and its atmosphere pulsating with ever new artistic ideals, Paris was the ideal arena for Lehmbruck to develop his unique style.

FIG. 1, Amedeo Modigliani, Tête, 1911-12, limestone, The Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis

FIG. 2, Anita and Wilhelm Lehmbruck in the artist's studio, 1908