Lot number 3278 - Auction 160
GROSSE KUGELSPIELERIN

WALTER SCHOTT 1861 Ilsenburg - 1938 Berlin LARGE BALL PLAYER Berlin, designed 1897 Bronze, dark patina, on a round plinth. H. 75.5, W. 53, D. 26 cm; weight approx. 35 kg. Signed 'Walter Schott fec.' on the plinth; foundry stamp on the side: 'Akt. Ges. vorm. H. Gladenbeck, Sohn, Berlin Friedrichshagen'. A large bronze cast of the famous "Ball Player" (*Kugelspielerin*), Walter Schott's best-known creation and an icon of German Art Nouveau (*Jugendstil*). The figure was created in 1897 and first exhibited at the Great Berlin Art Exhibition. The young woman's playfully dynamic pose-balancing a golden ball-combines classical harmony with the lightness of Art Nouveau, making the work an international success. A life-size version of the "Ball Player" has stood in the flower garden on Königsallee in Düsseldorf since 1902. Minor knocks and abrasions; loss of patina; traces of oxidation. Literature: Cf. Schott: *Walter Schott - Ein Künstler-Leben u. Gesellschaftl. Erinnerung aus Kaiserl. Zeit*, Dresden, 1930 (regarding the creation of the "Ball Player" figure); Schlemmer: *Walter Schott (1861-1938). Leben*. Provenance: Private collection, North Rhine-Westphalia.