Lot 11 Dα

Tall, slender, with a boyish figure and dressed only in high heels – that is how the Italian-Austrian sculptor Ernesto de Fiori interpreted the image of the modern woman. In contrast to Aristide Maillol, for example, he composed a new type of woman: athletic, professional and self-confident. De Fiori’s large sculpture “Amerikanerin” was created in 1924 in connection with the sculptures “Schlendernde” and “Engländerin”. All three figures are related in terms of their type, pose, hairstyle and attire and reveal the influence of contemporary fashion photography and the American film industry. When asked about the principles according to which he composed his figures, de Fiori answered: “My principle is Greek, not my sensibility. […] My sensibility is modern and European […]” (cited in: Beatrice Vierneisel, Alfred Flechtheim und Ernesto de Fiori, in: Sprung in den Raum, Wädenswil 2017, p. 199).
“Amerikanerin” was created at a point in time in de Fiori’s career when his first artistic successes were beginning to emerge. The gallerist Alfred Flechtheim, who had met the sculptor through the couple Carl and Thea Sternheim in 1913, played a substantial role in this. For Hermann von Wedderkop, who worked for Flechtheim for many years, “Engländerin” and her two “sisters” were the “quintessence of his art, his artistic convictions – she is the type that this swell loves – hard, thin, sharp, firm, outlined with the most delicate of lines […]” (cited in: Ernesto de Fiori, exh. cat. 1992, p. 78). In all probability the cast here, which was poured during the artist’s lifetime, represents a unique work. Beyond the bronze, there is only a cast-stone version, whose current location is unknown.