Lot number 3235 - Auction 150
MONUMENTALER REITERSTATUETTE 'KARL DER GROSSE'

GEORG GRASEGGER 1873 Partenkirchen - 1927 Cologne MONUMENTAL EQUESTRIAN STATUETTE 'CHARLEMAGNE' Cologne, 1906 Bronze, dark patina, on rectangular plinth. H. 130, W. 137, D. 42 cm. Signed on the side 'Georg Grasegger', 'Cöln fec. 1906' and foundry mark 'Bronceguss v. B. Förster Düsseldorf'. Imposing and large equestrian statue of Charlemagne in Byzantine-style armor with crown, scepter, and orb, sitting upright on a horse. The emperor is depicted as a majestic symbol of Western Christian power. The block-like structure of the figure and the strict symmetry are characteristic of the neo-Romanesque style of the period around 1900. Partial loss of patina, repaired and restored, traces of oxidation. Literature: See Dietrich: Georg Grasegger - Ein bayerischer Bildhauer in Köln. Leben und Werk, Cologne 2020. Provenance: Private collection, Hesse.