2173
Wagner, Günter
Born 1955 Karlsruhe, lives and works in Bruchsal.
«Stehender III (Hommage à Rodins Balzac) (standing figure III - homage à Balzac by Rodin)».
2008. Blue-green patinated, massive bronze. Monogrammed on the base.
H. 23, W 10, D 10,5 cm.
Auguste Rodin's massive bronze monument to the writer Honoré de Balzac, which Günter Wagner uses here as a source of inspiration, was probably one of the most controversial works of art of the late 19th century. Rodin worked for six years on this sculpture, which was finally rejected by the commissioners because Balzac's massive body clad in a cloak and the coarse facial features met with public disapproval. The crude model had nothing to do with the mature French monument tradition but in the meantime, the sculpture has become an icon of modernity.
Wagner reliably transposes Balzac's massive figure into abstracted forms and recurs to the towering raw silhouette. Moreover, he breaks new ground with his «Hommage à Rodin's Balzac»: he takes the massive figure literally and produces his sculpture as a massive bronze casting, weighing 6,7 kg.
Provenance: studio of the artist.
Exhibition: Schwerkraft und Leichtigkeit, Angelika Summa - Günter Wagner, Hildesheim, Galerie im Stammelbach-Speicher, 11.05. - 08.06.2008; Paris, Salon Réalités Nouvelles, 2009.

Condition report