Karl Hartung

Karl Hartung 1908 - 1967 Kore. 1953. Bronze with a dark brown iridescent patina. From a total edition of 6 + 1 artist’s or estate copies. Ca. 204 x 44 x 30 cm (80.3 x 17.3 x 11.8 in). Authorized cast from the artist’s estate, cast in the 1980s. [CH]. • Spatial: One of the artist’s rare, large-scale works. • Impressive exhibition history: Over the past 30 years, this cast has been regularly exhibited in major museums and institutions. • Other copies of this bronze have been presented in other significant international exhibitions, including the 1956 Venice Biennale. • A work inspired by the female figure, featuring a minimalist formal language and timeless beauty. • “Kore” is derived from the ancient Greek word “kóre” (“young woman”), which in archaic Greek sculpture refers to an upright, clothed female figure. • The curved, slender forms and the sculptural presence can be appreciated from every angle. • Another copy of this bronze is on display on the campus of Freie Universität, Berlin. We are grateful to the Karl Hartung Estate for its kind expert advice. PROVENANCE: From the artist’s estate. EXHIBITION: Karl Hartung—Werke und Dokumente, Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nuremberg, March 5–June 1, 1998; Georg Kolbe Museum, Berlin, June 21–August 23, 1998; Schleswig-Holstein State Museums, Gottorf Castle, Schleswig, October 11–November 22, 1998; Skulpturenmuseum Glaskasten Marl, December 6, 1998–January 24, 1999; Gerhard-Marcks-Haus, Bremen, January 31–April 11, 1999, cat. no. W 42 (this copy, with full-page illustration, p. 57). Portrait Berlin. Künstlerische Positionen der Berliner Nachkriegsmoderne 1945–1955, Kunsthaus Dahlem, Berlin, June 12, 2015–June 18, 2017 (this copy). Reine Formsache. Hommage an Karl Hartung, Herbert Gerisch Foundation and Sculpture Park, Neumünster, July 16–December 17, 2023 (this copy). Karl Hartung. Questions About Nature, Ludes Foundation and Sculpture Park, Potsdam, July 6–Sept. 2025 (this copy, with full-page illustration, p. 65). A different copy in each case: Karl Hartung, Kestner-Gesellschaft, Hanover, May 28–June 28, 1953; later Karl Ernst Osthaus Museum, Hagen; Museum Folkwang, Essen; Bremer Kunsthalle; Kölnischer Kunstverein, among others, cat. no. 55. Berliner Neue Gruppe, University of the Arts, Berlin; Staatliche Kunsthalle, Baden-Baden, 1954, cat. no. 129 (with illustration). X. Triennale di Milano, Sezione Germanica / German Section, Palazzo dell’Arte al Parco, Milan, Aug. 28–Nov. 15, 1954. XVIII Venice Biennale, Venice, June 19–October 21, 1956, cat. no. 117 (with illustration). Figur. Zehn Bildhauer, Neues Museum, Wiesbaden, March 25–June 17, 1956, cat. no. 26 (with illustration). Große Kunstausstellung, Haus der Kunst, Munich, June 22–October 7, 1956, cat. no. 211a. Duitse Kunst van het heden, Museum Boijmans van Beuningen, Rotterdam, Sept. 24–Nov. 1, 1964, cat. no. 77. Schwebend - Heiter, Galerie Pels-Leusden, Kampen (Sylt), 1997. LITERATURE: Markus Krause, Karl Hartung 1908–1967. Metamorphosen von Mensch und Natur (monograph and catalogue raisonné), Munich 1998, p. 236, CR No. 499 (with illustration and a full-page black-and-white illustration, p. 131). - - Hanns Theodor Flemming, Der Bildhauer Karl Hartung, in: Die Kunst und das schöne Heim, vol. 53, 1955, no. 6, p. 209 (with illustration). Heinz Demisch, Karl Hartung, in: Neue Schau. A Monthly Magazine, 1961, issue 5, p. 163 (with illustration). Martin Damus und Henning Rogge, Fuchs im Busch und Bronzeflamme: Zeitgenössische Plastik in Berlin-West. Ein Kunstbuch und eine neue Art von Stadtführer, Munich 1979, p. 160 (with illustration). Called up: December 5, 2026 - ca. 15.01 h +/- 20 min.

Estimate:$78,040.13

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