Reclining nude with mirror Werkstatte Hagenauer ca.1970
Reclining Nude with mirror, Werkstatte Hagenauer Vienna, ca.1970, brass cast and nickel-plated, marked
marked with “Handmade”, “HAGENAUER/WIEN”, “WHW” im Kreis and “MADE IN/AUSTRIA” bib.: comp. Werkstatte Hagenauer’s sample book, mod.no. 1144, Hagenauer Archive at MAK Vienna
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Description
Mythological figures allowed artists to depict female beauty undisguised. A well-known example in European Fine Art is Titian’s “Venus of Urbino”.
Karl and Franz Hagenauer as well, paid homage to female beauty in their famous nudes, and thus, a Reclining Nude can be found as early as 1930, resting on a canapé and contemplating herself in a hand mirror, as if oblivious. The scene plays with the coquetry of the seemingly unobserved woman and in its playfulness breathes the frivolous spirit of Art déco.
The same motif was taken up again by Werkstätte Hagenauer in later years in a slightly modified form. Here, the Reclining Nude rests on a finely curved chaise-longue made of nickel-plated brass,
thus, the shiny, silvery base reinforcing the lady’s distant and cool aura.
The motif and manneristic features, such as her elongated limbs, are entirely Art déco, while the statuette probably was manufactured in the 1970s.
Execution
Werkstätte Hagenauer – stylistic evolution and importance
Today, the Werkstatte Hagenauer is rightfully among the most important Austrian Arts & Crafts manufacturers of the 20th century. The clear, strict formal language combined with dynamic poses and the usage of brass, nickel-plated, patinated or bare, along with copper, alpaca and exotic wood shows a high level of recognition.
However, it took the siblings Karl and Franz Hagenauer quite some time until they developed their own unique style. Karl and Franz both attended the Vienna School of Arts & Crafts and studied under Josef Hoffmann, Oskar Strnad, Anton Hanak and Dagobert Peche.
Until the closure of the Werkstatte Hagenauer on December 30, 1987, art objects of outstanding quality were still being produced. The siblings Karl and Franz Hagenauer strongly contributed in coining the term „design“ through their legacy and are surely among the most influential Austrian artists of the 20th century.
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