About the Artwork
Georg Kolbe’s work carries the emotional intensity of the German Expressionists, but his sources are in the French sculpture of the early modern period of Rodin and Maillol. Like Maillol, he preferred the nude figure—generally in quiet, contemplative poses as seen here. His capacity to synthesize anatomy and to reduce salient forms to masses and planes lend a mannered grace to this elongated figure.
Assunta
1921
Georg Kolbe
1877-1947
German
Unknown
Bronze
Overall: 76 3/4 × 15 1/2 × 17 1/2 inches (194.9 × 39.4 × 44.5 cm) Including base: 77 1/2 × 30 5/8 × 30 5/8 inches (196.9 × 77.8 × 77.8 cm)
Sculpture
European Modern Art to 1970
City of Detroit Purchase
29.331
Copyright not assessed, please contact [email protected].
Markings
Signed, on base, behind left foot: G K
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Provenance
(Galerie Alfred Flechtheim, Berlin, Germany)
1929-present, purchase by the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)
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Provenance pageExhibition History
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The exhibition history of a number of objects in our collection only begins after their acquisition by the museum, and may reflect an incomplete record.
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Suggest FeedbackPublished References
Heller, R. Apollo 99, p. 51 (ill. fig. 2).
Bulletin of the DIA 11, no. 5, p. 63.
German Painting and Sculpture. Exh. cat., Museum of Modern Art. New York, 1931, no. 108.
Haftman, W., A. Hentzen, and W.S. Lieberman. German Art of the 20th Century. Exh. cat., Museum of Modern Art. New York, 1957, no. 104.
Modern Sculpture, Exh. cat., Detroit Institute of Arts. Detroit, 1950, pp. 24-25 (ill.).
Fifty Years of Modern Art: 1916-1966. Exh. cat., Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, 1966, no. 21 (ill.).
The Modern Art Society. Exh. cat., Contemporary Arts Center. Cincinnati, p. 47 (ill.).
Uhr, H. Masterpieces of German Expressionism at the Detroit Institute of Arts. Detroit, 1982, p. 132 (ill.).
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Credit Line for Reproduction
Georg Kolbe, Assunta, 1921, bronze. Detroit Institute of Arts, City of Detroit Purchase, 29.331.
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