Franz Bergmann “Diving Frog at the Water Lily” polychrome bronze sculpture from Vienna, ca 1900

Vienna Bronze “Diving Frog at Water Lily” sculpture by Franz Bergmann in Vienna, ca 1900.



Patinated bronze sculpture representing a frog diving on a water lily, made in the studio of Franz Bergmann at the end of the 19th or beginning of the 20th century.

Signed under the coin (see photo) with the monogram of Franz Bergmann.



The Vienna bronzes produced by Bergmann are distinguished by their finesse of execution, their polychrome patinas and their animal subjects staged with fantasy and humor.



Biography:

Franz Bergmann (1861-1936) was the owner of a Viennese foundry that produced numerous miniature sculptures of patinated and bronze oriental, erotic, and animal figures, the latter often being fanciful, humorous humanized art objects.

His father came to Vienna and founded a small bronze factory in 1860. Franz Xaver Bergmann inherited the business and opened a new foundry in 1900. Many bronzes from the 1900s were still based on designs from his father's studio. His studios employed, on a temporary basis, many anonymous sculptors, including Bruno Zach, who commissioned Bergmann to edit and cast some of his works, including some erotic ones signed “Prof. Tuch,” a pseudonym used by Zach.

At the turn of the 19th century, there were around fifty similar workshops in Vienna producing 'Viennese bronzes'. 'Cold-painted bronze' refers to pieces cast and then decorated in several layers with so-called dust paint, usually made by women working at home.

The sensual poses of young women in the Art Nouveau or Oriental style were discreetly disguised by clothing or drapes that were revealed when a button was pushed or a lever moved....Numerous animals such as musical signs, hares, bears, foxes, frogs... made these factories famous.