Tennis player Werkstatte Hagenauer ca. 1950
Tennis player, Werkstatte Hagenauer Vienna, ca. 1950, brass cast and patinated, marked
marked with “wHw” in the circle, “HAGENAUER/WIEN”, “MADE IN/AUSTRIA”, “Handmade”
Description
Karl and Franz Hagenauer had a passion for sports, which finds expression in numerous motifs. Whether the popular skiers or polo players in the early years of Werkstatte Hagenauer, or horsemen, boxers, and golfers: various sporting activities – mostly conveying a certain lifestyle – are captured in lovingly designed sculptures.
This statuette shows a tennis player in an almost caricature-like snapshot. Balancing on solely one leg, he returns his opponent’s serve, seemingly with a one-handed backhand. The tennis player, fully commited to the game, is even stretching one leg beyond the wooden base. With an expert’s eye and a twinkle, the sporting pose is cast in a charming figurine.
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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