BRUNO ZACH 1930 Austria Art-Deco The Hugger Erotic Sculpture In Bronze & Marble
An erotic "The Hugger" sculpture by Bruno Zach (1891-1945).
This is an erotic desk sculpture created by the Austrian sculptor Bruno Zach circa 1930. The name of the sculpture is "The Hugger" and depicts a woman hugging a larger-than-life piece of male anatomy. The erotic statue was realized during the art deco period in cast bronze with polished and patinated finish and is mounted in an oval beveled base carved from natural black marble. Bruno Zach was a renowned Austrian sculptor who often portrayed the seedy side of Berlin nightlife in many of his sculptures, note the detail of the woman's dress.
Bruno Zach
He was a Ukrainian-born Austrian sculptor best known for his bronze and Art Deco sculpture. Zach studied under Hans Bitterlich and Josef Mullner at the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts. After he left the academy, he swiftly moved to Berlin, a city that played a key role in shaping his practice and where he is known to have made some of his most famous works. Zach mainly worked between the years 1918 and 1935, rapidly becoming a pioneering and controversial figure of the Art Deco age. His works reveled in the spirit of the time, often featuring erotic subject matter which made Zach’s work so unique - his devotion to the exotic. Zach reportedly spent much of his life in Berlin and Vienna carousing with prostitutes and at night clubs, where he found both lovers and models for his provocative sculptures. His elegant works capture these dual worlds of his life, the erotic night and the light beauty of innocence, a quality that can be seen beautifully in The Riding Whip, a cold-painted bronze sculpture of young girl pointing a whip tightly in front of her. He mainly worked in in bronze and ivory, drawing on the symbolism of these materials, such as the light beauty of ivory, the weight of bronze or the lust of gold. His bronzes works were generally fired in mid-brown colors but were often cold painted or polychromed, resulting in the vibrant colors we can see today in his works. Zach became a prolific creator of sculptures featuring tall, athletic, women, while also pursuing more traditional genre subject matter like dancers, mythological creatures, or horseback riders. His styles ranged from art deco, art nouveau, sporting, to orientalism, drawing from a diverse range of themes and subject which resulted in the many worlds we can now see captured across his works. One of his best-known sculptures is the ‘The Riding Crop’, similar to the above ‘Riding Whip’, is an excellent example of his charged erotic subject matter at its height. Original period castings of this sculpture have sold for as much as $151,849, one such sale having taken place at the Bonhams on 23 November 2011. According to Bonhams' director of decorative arts, Mark Oliver, "the demand for his work just grows and grows". Zach died at the age of 53 on February 20, 1945 in Vienna, Austria.
Country: Vienna, Austria.
Period: Art-Deco, 1920-1930.
Materials: Cast patinated bronze, carved beveled black marble and green felt.
Weight: 10 pounds, (4.54 Kg.).
Measurements: All included is, H. 191 mm by L. 169 mm by D. 122 mm (7.52 x 6.64 x 4.81 Inches).
Signatures: Stamped with the sculptor name and signed as follows: "B. ZACH".
Condition: The overall condition of this erotic sculpture by Bruno Zack is excellent. Beside the little normal wear there is no damage and all parts are secured in their settings. This sculpture was carefully inspected to guarantee the condition & authenticity.
INVENTORY REF: D031026AEEN/.8872
