Kneeling woman Gustav Gurschner ca. 1902

In 1901, Gustav Gurschner had joined the newly founded artists’ association “Hagenbund” and presented his monumental sculpture “Love and Envy” with great success at its inaugurating exhibition in Vienna. Even more successful was his participation in the second Hagenbund-exhibition, on which occasion this small sculpture was shown.
The statuette shows a kneeling woman holding her robe with outstretched arms. On the bent figure body and gown seemlessly flow into one another, arms and dress almost fusing together. The pose allows the artist to unfold the dress in a very sophisticated manner, making the draping appear very natural. The almost textile quality of this bronze sculpture attracted admiring attention at its first presentation in Vienna. As an example of outstanding Austrian arts and crafts, it was subsequently shown at international arts and crafts exhibitions, for instance in London in 1902 and in Turin in 1903.
Illustrations of this small figurative sculpture can also be found in various contemporary art magazines, for example in the magazine “Kunst und Kunsthandwerk” or “The Studio”.