Koller View 2/22

15 Edouard Manet Manet’s mysterious portrait ‘La Femme aux chiens’ reveals a strong connection between the artist and Spanish art. Through frequent visits to the Louvre as a child and teenager, he was familiar with master- pieces by Diego Velasquez and Francisco de Goya. He must also have seen the Iberian art collection of ‘Cit- izen King’ Louis-Philippe, exhibited as the ‘Galerie Es- pagnole’ in the Louvre from 1838 to 1848. Napoleon III’s marriage to the Spaniard Eugénie de Montijo gave further impetus to the enduring Spanish fashion. Fi- nally, at the beginning of the 1860s, the performances of a dance troupe from the Teatro Real de Madrid in Paris caused a sensation. All this had an impact on Manet: references to Spain began to appear in his art as early as the 1850s, and the large-format por- trait offered here dates from 1862. The identity of ‘La Femme aux chiens’ is not known. Based on the sitter’s appearance, it can be assumed that she is a Spanish woman who had travelled to Paris in the entourage of the dance troupe. Manet concentrates on the depic- tion of her striking features: strong eyebrows, reddish cheeks and lips and an intense gaze make her appear independent and self-assured. La femme aux chiens. Circa 1862. Oil on canvas. 96 × 74 cm. Estimate: CHF 400 000/600 000 Impressionist & Modern Art, 1 July 2022 Käthe Kollwitz After her early works in drawing and various printmaking techniques, the G erman artist Käthe Kollwitz turned to sculpture around 1910. Her stays in Paris in 1901 and 1904 probably provided the initial impetus for this shift – at that time she met Auguste Rodin in his studio and took a sculpture course at the renowned Académie Julian. This monumental bronze sculpture ‘Mother with Two Children’ is her most important sculpture, and also has autobiographical significance. Kollwitz was the mother of two sons, but the birth of twin grandchildren, Jördi and Jutta, in 1923 was probably the decisive motivation for this group. She be- gan work on the sculpture in 1932. The form was created in clay, followed by a plaster mould. In 1950, the Schmäke foundry in Düsseldorf produced two bronzes, and another ten were cast by Noack in Berlin in the 1970s. Most are now in public institutions. There also exists a version in shelly limestone, whi ch has been placed in a public space in Berlin-Pankow in recognition of Kollwitz’s so- cial commitment. Mother with two children. 1932–36. Bronze with brown-green patina. Cast circa 1990. 77 × 79 × 84 cm. Estimate: CHF 130 000/170 000 Impressionist & Modern Art, 1 July 2022