Dancer Franz Hagenauer ca. 1965

From the 1960s onwards, Franz Hagenauer added another facet to his artistic expression by increasingly designing rather flat, almost two-dimensional figures. Those sculptures were made of brass sheet, cut and bent into the desired shape. This female dancer is a wonderful example for this artistic phase and technique.
Franz Hagenauer depicts the nude seductively seated on a stool, crossing her legs elegantly, with her upper body slightly bent forward and arms in a perfect port-de-bras. Perhaps he drew inspiration from dancers of a varietè theatre. With a keen observation and in his very characteristic reduced style, he pays homage to female beauty. Franz Hagenauer adorns the sensual shapes only sparingly with delightful details. For instance, hinting at her permed hairstyle only with artfully shaped metal wire or suggesting her garters with a finely chiseled drawing. This closes the imaginary circle to burlesque theatre. Like many objects from Werkstätte Hagenauer, also this charming sculpture found its way to the USA, where it became part of a prestigious American Hagenauer-collection.