The Jug of Tears (Model), c. 1888

Arthur Strasser (1854–1927) is among the most famous sculptors of fin-de-siècle Vienna. He studied at the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts under Carl Kundmann (1838–1919), Vincenz Pilz (1816–1896) and Viktor Tilgner (1844–1896). Owing to a scholarship, he received further training in Paris (1881–1883) and Italy. The highly successful sculptor was a founding member of the Vienna Secession, and from 1899 taught at the sculpture department of the Vienna School of Arts and Crafts. Strasser is known today especially for his monumental 1900 sculpture depicting Mark Antony with a lion-drawn carriage. Strasser derived inspiration for the small-scale sculpture The Jug of Tears from a tale by the German author Ludwig Bechstein. In it, the ghost of a girl appears to her mother, carrying a brimming “jug of tears” in which the mourning mother’s tears are collected. The child reassures the mother that she is happy and asks her not to shed any more tears – otherwise she will not find peace in her grave and salvation in heaven.

Text Leopold Museum