Fritz Koenig
Kreuzfigur
1991
Iron, mounted. 25.4 x 24 x 4.5 cm. Monogrammed 'FK' (hammered). One of 16 exemplars.
The discovery of the structure of the body and the experience gained in the on-going process enable Koenig to approach further topics dealing with the shape of religion and especially with the shape of the cross, as is the case here. It is as if the sculptor wanted to verify the traditional view of the legend, the cross of two wooden beams is larger than life, angular, square, and heavy. This iron crucifixion figure, which also exists in two versions as a wooden sculpture with a height of 2 meters, shows the possibilities of working the beam, bevelling the edges, making notches, and splitting it lengthwise. In the shape of the cross, the human being is always implied with outstretched arms and, as here, a lowered head. The actual tragedy of the crucified person, which is depicted recurrently, experiences a renewal in the aspect of purity and in the principle of embracing two spheres.
Catalogue Raisonné
Clarenbach 957