Karl Hagenauer was an important and popular figure in the decorative arts in Vienna in the decades bracketing the Second World War. While primarily a maker of sculptural decorative pieces, Hagenauer — in the same spirit as his peer Carl Auböck— created a wide array of household objects, from barware to office accessories, all designed with wit and a sleek modernist aesthetic.
Hagenauer’s father was a trained metalsmith who founded a bronzewares manufactory that produced decorative metalwork and housewares in both traditional and the then-novel Art Nouveau styles and cast small sculptures based on Old Masters paintings. After studying art and design at Vienna’s School of Applied Arts, where his teachers included architect Josef Hoffmann, a founder of the Wiener Werkstätte, he joined his father’s workshop in 1919 and began crafting items that reflected Hoffman’s modernist aesthetic. In the 1920s and ’30s, he developed an often-imitated style that combines the lithe, lissome lines of Art Nouveau (known in central Europe as Jugendstil) with the simple, unadorned forms of Art Deco. He worked primarily in brass — both polished and nickel-plated — as well as wood.
In addition to domestic items such as smoking accoutrements, teapots, trays, bowls, candleholders and tableware, Hagenauer produced a wide array of small-scale sculptures. (His younger brother, Franz— who took over the family business when their father died — was also a noted sculptor, with a style that could be described as Art-Deco-meets-Brancusi.) Karl’s sculptures fall into two main groups: humorous and whimsical animal and character figures that will remind many of the work of artist Tom Otterness and sleek, stylized animal and human forms, many with an African theme — an “exotic” connotation that was a 20th-century remnant of colonialism. As you will see from the items on offer, Karl Hagenauer was an artist-designer of great talent and many moods: affable, stylish and practical.
Karl Hagenauer, Art Deco bronze horse sculpture, 1930s
By Werkstätte Hagenauer Wien
Located in Autonomous City Buenos Aires, CABA
Karl Hagenauer, Art Deco bronze horse sculpture, 1930s Elegant Art Deco sculpture of a prancing horse, cast in bronze with a warm patina. The piece features a stylized and minimalist...
Bronze
$6,143
H 22.05 in W 22.05 in D 7.09 in
Early 20th Century Cold-Painted Vienna Bronze entitled "Galloping Horse"
Located in London, GB
A large and striking early 20th-century Austrian cold painted enamel bronze depicting a galloping horse, its mane and tail swept dramatically by the wind. The sculpture showcases exc...
Bronze
$33,750Sale Price / set|25% Off
H 70 in W 15 in D 43 in
Maison Jansen Pair of Monumental, Electrified Horse Figures
By Maison Jansen
Located in Bridgewater, CT
A pair of rare and spectacular horse figured floor lamps in ebonized wood, design circa 1950 by Maison Jansen. Electrified, each upper hoof fitted with downlights, with red glass eye...
Chrome
Handcarved Wood Horse Figurines, Mid-20th Century, Set of Two
Located in San Francisco, US
This pair of handcarved wood horse figurines brings a quietly dramatic presence to any surface, from a curated bookshelf to a refined console vignette. Their sculpted silhouettes and...
Wood
$7,000
H 5.91 in W 8.27 in D 2.76 in
Polish Modernist Prancing Horses Bronze Expressionist Art Sculpture
By Dominik Albinski
Located in Surfside, FL
Signed bronze from small edition of 8. plus 4 artists proofs Dominik Albiński (born 1975, South Africa) He started carving at the age of twelve. When he was eighteen he went to Pari...
Bronze
Opulent horse bronze by Wolfgang Binding 2002
Located in Kelkheim (Taunus), HE
Stunning horse bronze by the German artist and sculptor Wolfgang Binding (*1937). The artist's works can be found in public spaces, in the Guggenheim Museum in New York, in private...
Bronze
$560
H 13.88 in W 13.75 in D 3.25 in
Gigantic Bronzed Etruscan Horse Sculpture Weinberg Style 1970s, Italy
By Pepe Mendoza, Frederic Weinberg
Located in Nuernberg, DE
This is a bronzed, plated metal sculpture, in the style of the antique statues and figures of the Etruscans. It is a gorgeous interior furnishing item, an incredibly stylized Horse a...
Metal
$4,125Sale Price|25% Off
H 6.7 in W 13.39 in D 3.15 in
Art Deco / Mid-Century Hagenauer Two Racing Horses Sculpture. Austria
By Werkstätte Hagenauer Wien
Located in Buenos Aires, Olivos
Art Deco / Mid-Century Hagenauer Two Racing Horses Sculpture. Austria. Stunning sculpture. This is a wood and brass double horses sculpture circa 1930’s by Hagenauer . It is signed ...
Bronze
$1,600
H 4.75 in W 8 in D 4 in
Thoroughbred, Art Deco Bronze Sculpture by Loet Vanderveen
By Loet Vanderveen
Located in Long Island City, NY
Loet Vanderveen, Dutch (1921 - 2015) - Thoroughbred, Medium: Bronze sculpture, signature and numbering inscribed on bottom, Edition: 235/500, Size: 4.75 x 8 x 4 in. (12.07 x 20.3...
Bronze
$7,318
H 12.21 in W 21.66 in D 5.52 in
"Fougue" Galloping Horse Sculpture by Max Le Verrier Signed "Le Verrier"
By Max Le Verrier
Located in Beirut, LB
"Fougue" french for "wild, and spirited" , by Max Le Verrier with foundry mark This captivating sculpture embodies the essence of "Fougue," capturing the spirited movement of a hors...
Marble, Metal
