Lot 261 D

Georg Kolbe's “Kauernde” is distinguished by its symmetrical basic structure. The bent arms and legs produce a square basic form, whose vertical axis is formed by the torso. Its slight leaning forward and the head's resting on the back of the neck establish a contrast between their gentle suppleness and the clear geometry of the figure. However, they do so without disrupting that tranquil underlying tone which is conveyed, in particular, by the facial expression with the closed eyes. The “Kauernde” forms a pendant to Kolbe's “Sitzende”, a similarly sized bronze of 1923 (Berger 55), although that work is characterised by a somewhat more abstract formal idiom.
The small sculpture created during the First World War was published by Ferdinand Möller beginning in 1919, initially in an edition of 15 casts poured by Noack. In 1940 Kolbe decided to create a second edition, because of the figure's great popularity. Since only 3 casts could be carried out during the war, 13 additional casts were presumably poured posthumously with the artist's permission (see Ursel Berger, Georg Kolbe: Leben und Werk, Berlin 1990, pp. 238 f.).