Otto Lessing

OTTO LESSING (Germany, 1846-1912)
"Archer".
Patinated bronze.
Signed on the bottom.
Green marble base.
Measurements: 35 x 20,5 x 13 cm (figure); 18 x 21 x 15,2 cm (stand); 53 cm (total height).

Otto Lessing's historicist style, as seen in this sculpture of an archer, reflects a combination of classical and Renaissance elements that was common during the second half of the 19th century in Europe. Lessing, a renowned German sculptor, was deeply influenced by historicism, a movement that consisted of revisiting and reinterpreting past artistic styles, especially those that evoked grandeur, heroism and classical beauty, such as the Renaissance and Greco-Roman Antiquity. In the "Archer" one can observe influences from Greek and Roman sculptures, both in the idealization of the human figure and in the attention to anatomical details and the naturalistic pose.

Otto Lessing was a leading German historicist sculptor whose work largely determined the appearance of Berlin in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Otto Lessing's sculpture and architectural decoration adorn many historic government buildings in Germany, including the Prussian House of Lords, the Reichstag (Imperial German Parliament), the Neuer Marstall (Imperial Stables), and the Reichsgericht (Leipzig Supreme Court). Among his works for interiors are the bronze doors of the Hall of Honor of the Zeughaus (Berlin Armory) and the glass mosaics inside the Martin-Gropius-Bau. Lessing's religious works include the three main doors and interior reliefs of the Berliner Dom, the portals and interiors of the Deutscher Dom, the Emperor's entrance to the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtniskirche and the interior of St. Michael's Church in Hamburg. Borsig Palace is an example of his work for private residences. The Berlin State Library and the Berlin Konzerthaus are also decorated by Lessing. Among his most important outdoor monuments are the Lessing monument (1890) in the Tiergarten, the Hercules fountain on the Lützowplatz (1910) and the statues on the Siegesallee.