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ONLINECOLLECTION

The Burning Man, 1922

Leopold Museum,
Vienna
Bronze
29×9.7×6.7 cm

Artists

  • Anton Hanak

    (Brno 1875–1934 Vienna)

Unfortunately not on display at the moment
This small bronze statuette is a draft for a monumental sculpture, executed by the eminent sculptor Anton Hanak (1875–1934) in 1922/23. Having dropped to his knees, the male nude stretches his arms skywards. A pain inherent in the body seems to force the figure down, while unimagined powers appear to be pulling it upwards at the same time. These opposing energies are also expressed in the animated surface of the body. The artist came up with the first idea for the figure The Burning Man after World War I. Since 1915, the artist had been struggling with health problems, which in 1922 led to repeated bouts of illness and stays in health spas. Already in his early oeuvre, Hanak used the motif of “burning” as a metaphor of physical and psychological pain. The sculpture is both a visionary-symbolic reaction to his personal situation and to postwar society. For this figure, Hanak was awarded the Grand Prix at the 1925 Paris World Fair.

Object data

Artist/author
Title
The Burning Man
Date
1922
Art movement
Expressionism
Category
Sculpture
Material​/technique
Bronze
Dimensions
29×9.7×6.7 cm
Credit line
Leopold Museum, Vienna, Inv. 7264
Inventory access
Accession 2022
Keywords

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Provenance

Provenance research
Leopold Museum i

DI Erich Gusel, Langenzersdorf (o.D.);
Privatbesitz, Wien (o.D.);
Auktion: 28.11.2022, Kunsthandel Widder GmbH, Wien, Wiener Jugendstil, Zwischenkriegszeit, Klassische Moderne, Nr. 37; (1)
Leopold Museum-Privatstiftung, Wien (seit 2022)

  1. Kunsthandel Widder GmbH, Online-Katalog zur Auktion vom 28.11.2022, https://live.widderauktionen.com/lots/view/4-7QKYPM/anton-hanak (Abfrage: 29.09.2023);
    Rechnung Nr. 306/2022 vom 30.11.2022

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