Lot 245: Agricola, Rudolf Alexander 1912 Moscow - 1990

Agricola, Rudolf Alexander
1912 Moscow - 1990 Kronberg (Taunus)

Narziss I.1970. Bronze, brown patina. 94 x 39 x 15 cm. Monogrammed on backside of plinth: A (encircled).

Literature:
R.A.Agricola, ed. by Knut Günther, Darmstadt 1971, no. 214, fig. p. 88.
Rudolf Alexander Agricola was a student of Gerhard Marcks and, attended the Städel in Frankfurt, with Richard Scheibe. The latter influenced him the most regarding his sculptural oeuvre. He and Scheibe shared a preference for the Greek Classical age. An extensive journey through Greece and their mindscape based on a humanistic education coined Agricola's language of form and the choice of his themes. The sculpture "Narziss I" depicts the youth contemplating his mirror image in the lake and being completely conscious of his awakening beauty. His lean, smooth body is in an antique-like posture with standing and free legs. A motif Agricola slightly varied: he had the figure put his right leg in front the left. Regarding the form this figure is rendered in the style of his early sculptures of youth.