Bernhard Hoetger, Child With A Hoop, Bronze Sculpture, Art Nouveau, Paris 1902

Bernhard Hoetger – "L'Enfant au Cerceau" (Child with Hoop), Paris 1902Patinated Bronze · Monogrammed · La Maison Moderne Edition · Catalogue Droste 14 / Werner 9

A patinated bronze sculpture of a child with a hoop, executed in Paris in 1902 by Bernhard Hoetger. Monogrammed on the base. Height 18.5 cm. Early edition cast, distributed by the gallery La Maison Moderne of Julius Meier-Graefe — one of the most significant addresses of Art Nouveau in Paris, also associated with Samuel Bing. The work is documented in the standard scholarly literature: Droste 14 / Werner 9 / La Maison Moderne 1901, p. 107 / Künstler-Kolonie Darmstadt, Ein Dokument deutscher Kunst, 1901.

Bernhard Hoetger (Hörde, Westphalia, 1874 – Beatenberg, Switzerland, 1949) travelled to Paris for the 1900 Exposition Universelle and decided on the spot to remain. Under the direct influence of Auguste Rodin, he created a series of small figurative sculptures — among them L'Enfant au Cerceau — which were distributed by the La Maison Moderne gallery and established his international reputation. In 1911, Grand Duke Ernst Ludwig of Hesse appointed him professor at the Künstlerkolonie Mathildenhöhe in Darmstadt, where he created the Platanenhain — a monumental sculptural ensemble now inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List (2021).

Hoetger ranks alongside Wilhelm Lehmbruck and Ernst Barlach as one of the most significant Expressionist sculptors of the first half of the 20th century in Germany. His early Parisian works, including this Enfant au Cerceau, are represented in the collections of the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden, the Focke-Museum Bremen, and the Museum Künstlerkolonie in Darmstadt.

• Height: 18.5 cm
• Technique: patinated bronze, early edition cast
• Signature: monogram BH on base
• Publisher: La Maison Moderne, Paris
• Catalogue: Droste 14 · Werner 9
• Literature: La Maison Moderne 1901, p. 107 · Künstler-Kolonie Darmstadt, Ein Dokument deutscher Kunst, 1901
• Condition: very good

Seen in museums — available to you.

Available for viewing by appointment at our Düsseldorf gallery.

Keywords integrated: Bernhard Hoetger, Art Nouveau bronze, L'Enfant au Cerceau, La Maison Moderne Paris, Künstlerkolonie Darmstadt, Mathildenhöhe UNESCO, German Expressionist sculpture, patinated bronze 1902, Droste Werner catalogue