Johann Georg Schwanthaler

Galerie Kugel, Paris.

This dramatic pair of terracotta hunting scenes relate closely to similar groups traditionally considered to be the work of Johann Georg Schwanthaler (1740 - 1810). Belonging to a dynasty of Austrian sculptors, Johann Georg was influenced by the artistic success of his father Franz Mathias, grandfather Johann Franz, and his uncle Johann Peter the Elder. His work is primarily in wood and often depicting religious subjects; two such reliefs are held at the Chicago Art Institute (inv. nos. 1966.534 and 1966.535), while several of his figures adorn the parish church of Kematen on Krems. He was also known for his Nativity scenes, which provide a stylistic reference for the animal hunt groups.

The present lion group bears particular resemblance to a group sold at Christie’s New York in 2007 (19 October 2007, lot 94) and another in the collection of the Kremsmünster Benedictine Abbey (illustrated in op. cit, no. 245). However, the rightmost hound in the present lot is more dynamically posed, depicted flailing in mid-air while struck by the lion.

RELATED LITERATURE

Die Bildhauerfamilie Schwanthaler 1633-1848: Vom Barock zum Klassizismus, exh. cat., Augustinerchorherrenstift Reichersberg am Inn, 1974, p. 178