FRANZ XAVER BERGMAN (1861-1936) Austria

“Frog” pen wipe c. 1905-1910

Cold-painted bronze, boar’s hair bristles

For information see: Art Bronzes, Mich. Forrest (Schiffer, 1988).

L: 3 1/2″ x W: 3 1/2″ x H: 2″

Price: $1,675

A well-known animalier at the turn-of-the century, the sculptor Franz Bergman created a number of small bronzes in a variety of subject matter. Other figurative works were informed by the Jugendstil / Art Nouveau style and the European taste for the exotic as is found in his figures of rug merchants and camels. His animal sculptures, however, capture the Viennese tradition of naturalistic bronzes. The quality of the bronze casting shows tremendous detail, which was carefully brought out through the applied patination process known as cold painting.