Georg Kolbe
1877-1947
Georg Kolbe began to study sculpture during a stay in Rome from 1898-1901. The artist born in 1877 in Waldheim in Saxony had traveled there as a trained painter and graphic artist, who had studied in Dresden, Munich, and Paris during the seven years before his initial success in these areas. Like many other artists of his generation, Kolbe was strongly influenced by the works of Rodin work in Paris. The sculptor Louis Tuallion offered him help and provided technical support during his first creative attempts in Rome. The artist quickly found his way into the sculptural work, but he didn't concentrate on it until 1904 when he came back to Berlin. Kolbe promptly gained recognition: he became a member of the Berlin Secession, and, together with Paul Cassirer, he was soon represented by the city's most important art dealer.
The "Dancer" (1910) had brought him the final breakthrough. He rose to the ranks of the most important German sculptors of his time. The "Dancer" is still one of his best-known works. Thanks to the dancer's "modern" hairstyle and the highly contemporary expressive dance style, a self-forgotten posture, the statue has become an idol that attracts the pilgrimage of the art-interested youth.
The nude figure, often associated with the motif of dance, continued to be the center of his creative work until the twenties. After the First World War, Kolbe's oeuvre indicates at his engagement with Expressionism, later turning to the classical-monumental. When Kolbe died in 1947, he left behind the heritage that can be found in the significant collections around the world.
Georg Kolbe began to study sculpture during a stay in Rome from 1898-1901. The artist born in 1877 in Waldheim in Saxony had traveled there as a trained painter and graphic artist, who had studied in Dresden, Munich, and Paris during the seven years before his initial success in these areas. Like many other artists of his generation, Kolbe was strongly influenced by the works of Rodin work in Paris. The sculptor Louis Tuallion offered him help and provided technical support during his first creative attempts in Rome. The artist quickly found his way into the sculptural work, but he didn't concentrate on it until 1904 when he came back to Berlin. Kolbe promptly gained recognition: he became a member of the Berlin Secession, and, together with Paul Cassirer, he was soon represented by the city's most important art dealer.
The "Dancer" (1910) had brought him the final breakthrough. He rose to the ranks of the most important German sculptors of his time. The "Dancer" is still one of his best-known works. Thanks to the dancer's "modern" hairstyle and the highly contemporary expressive dance style, a self-forgotten posture, the statue has become an idol that attracts the pilgrimage of the art-interested youth.
The nude figure, often associated with the motif of dance, continued to be the center of his creative work until the twenties. After the First World War, Kolbe's oeuvre indicates at his engagement with Expressionism, later turning to the classical-monumental. When Kolbe died in 1947, he left behind the heritage that can be found in the significant collections around the world.
