Lot 691 D

Mataré “takes only the essential from the model of nature, because he wants to render the essence of things visible. He finds the solution in the 'sign', which summarises all of the variations of the individual in the exemplary form of an archetype” (Eduard Trier, Ewald Mataré, Recklinghausen 1958, p. 12).

The prancing “Chinese” horse is one of the sculptor's best-known works. It unites essential characteristics of his art in an exemplary fashion: the abstraction of the figure into an idea of its underlying form, the aesthetic of a wonderfully articulated surface and the almost ornamental beauty of line and balance of form. The gracefulness and ease of movement are underscored by the elegant form's contours, which can almost be described as calligraphic; they are entirely controlled und securely centred around a single point, as though revolving around themselves. This concentration provides the bronze with its inimitably charismatic aura.

According to Sabine M. Schilling, the “Tänzelndes Pferd” (Prancing Horse) was created in 1943, during one of Mataré's stays at the Cistercian Abbey Eberbach, near Eltville in Rheingau. During the war years this abbey provided a refuge that Mataré repeatedly sought out during the summer months, beginning in 1940. The original of the cast version is a sculpture in cedar, which was intentionally damaged before the end of the war, but could later be restored by a pupil of the artist (cf. Schilling 241, with illustration, pp. 96/97).