Ewald Mataré
Grasende Kuh II
1930
Bronze. Height 16.4 cm. Signed 'MATARÉ' on the side of the plinth. Lifetime cast. One of 11 known casts in private possession. - With a fine shiny reddish-brown patina. Isolated small, inconspicuous traces of liquid. The rectangular opening under the stomach is due to casting and indicates a lifetime casting.
After having already occupied himself with the depiction of cattle in the 1920s, Ewald Mataré’s stay in Finland in the summer of 1930 found him searching for the pure form that underlies everything – and, accordingly, the quintessence of animals’ bodies.
In the heat of the Finnish summer, the sculptor was living in the country without his family in extremely modest circumstances and occupying himself with sculptures of animals, primarily cattle – for him, this period was very fruitful but also required him to do without a great deal.
His journal entries from June and July 1930 testify to his struggle with his subject matter: “With my cow – it’s a difficult thing, I don’t believe I’ll be able to properly pull it all together. It’s a mixture of nature and idea. […] I’m working zealously on the new cow; the beginning is always better than continuing ahead. The elemental curve that goes from the back to the front, across the horns; I’d like to make it as decisive as possible. […] Now I’ve got a new problem with the little cow. […] The two back legs have broken off. […] but I believe it will come out much better in bronze. I made the horns very small and that’s much better” (Sonja Mataré/ Sabine Maja Schilling (ed.), Ewald Mataré, Tagebücher 1915 bis 1965, Cologne 1997, p. 175, p. 177, p. 179).
Catalogue Raisonné
Schilling 64a
Certificate
We would like to thank Guido de Werd, Cologne, for the friendly information and expert advice.
Provenance
Third generation private property, Berlin
Literature
Cf. Ewald Mataré im Museum Kurhaus Kleve, Kleve 2003, cat. no. 29
Exhibitions
Cf. et al. Kaiserslautern/Heilbronn 1981 (Pfalzgalerie/Städt. Museen), Ewald Mataré, cat. no. 24; Kleve/Düsseldorf 1985 (Städt. Museum Haus Koekkoek/Stadtmuseum), Ewald Mataré. Der 'Tote Krieger' in Kleve, cat. no. 6, p. 74, ill. no. 61; Meerbusch 1987, p. 14 with ill.; Düsseldorf 1988 (Galerie Norbert Blaeser), Mataré und sein Kreis. Beuys, Haese, Heerich, Meistermann, cat. no. 4 with ill.; Meerbusch 1990 (Städtische Galerie), Ewald Mataré. Mensch - Tier - Landschaft, cat. no. 11, p. 40, ill. 12; Kleve 1997, cat. no. 27; Düsseldorf 2005, cat. no. 16; Kleve 2005 (Kurhaus Kleve), Ewald Mataré in het Museum Kurhaus Kleef, cat. no. 29 with ill.; Salzburg 2007 (Dommuseum), Ewald Mataré in Salzburg, cat. no. 7, p. 7, ill. 3; Kleve 2010 (Kurhaus Kleve), Eine rheinische Privatsammlung, cat. no. 8, f.p. col. ill. p. 39