Amazon, 1897–1905

The German painter, graphic artist and sculptor Franz von Stuck (1863–1928) created this bronze sculpture of an Amazon between 1897 and 1905. Stuck attended the School of Arts and Crafts and the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich and founded the Munich Secession together with the painter Wilhelm Trübner (1851–1917) in 1892. The equestrian statue is characteristic of Stuck’s oeuvre, which is determined by symbolist content and antique motifs: An amazon is in the act of throwing a spear at a hostile target. In order to aim accurately, she is forcefully pushing the head of her battle horse aside. The only attributes of the otherwise naked female warrior are her helmet and her spear. This archetype of the “femme fatale”, a woman who is dangerous to men, has inspired patriarchal male fantasies and fears ever since the Antiquity. With this figure, Stuck followed the symbolist tradition of the fin de siècle and examined it in the light of changing gender roles. The cast was executed by the renowned Munich bronze caster Cosmas Leyrer.

MR, 2022