Lot number 3449 - Auction 160
'GOETHE AUF DER ITALIENISCHEN REISE'

ALFRED ADLOFF 1874 Düsseldorf - after 1937 Araraquara (Brazil) 'GOETHE ON HIS ITALIAN JOURNEY' 1907 Bronze, dark brown patina with slight green highlights, on a naturalistic plinth. H. 43.5, W. 18, D. 17 cm; weight approx. 8.71 kg. Inscribed 'Alfr. Adloff' and dated '1907' on the front; foundry mark 'H. Noack, Friedenau' on the side of the plinth. A rare, fully modeled depiction of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe as a traveler, wearing a long, buttoned frock coat and a wide-brimmed slouch hat. He carries a coat over one arm, a rolled-up blanket under the other, and a travel rucksack on his back. A high-quality and unusual depiction of Goethe from Alfred Adloff's early period. Alfred Hubert Adloff (1874-after 1937) was born in Düsseldorf and received his initial training in sculpture under Gustav Rutz and at the Düsseldorf School of Arts and Crafts (*Kunstgewerbeschule*). In 1907, he participated in the German National Art Exhibition at the Düsseldorf Art Palace (*Kunstpalast*), where his work 'Bathing Girl' (*Badendes Mädchen*) received special mention. After stays in Berlin, Brussels, and Italy, he emigrated to Brazil around 1913. In Porto Alegre, he worked for the studio of João Vicente Friedrichs and created numerous architectural and monumental sculptures, including works for the present-day Museum of Art of Rio Grande do Sul and the monument to the Barão do Rio Branco. He later lived in Araraquara, where he died after 1937. The bronze presented here, dated 1907, thus originated during that same creative period in Düsseldorf when Adloff was also represented at the German National Art Exhibition. Min. bumped and rubbed, loss of painting. Literature: Cf. *Die Kunst für alle: Malerei, Plastik, Graphik, Architektur* - Vol. 23 (1907-1908), Alfred Adloff, German National Art Exhibition, Düsseldorf. Provenance: Private collection, North Rhine-Westphalia.