Metalwork and Serial Sculpture in Germany, 1870–1930

Abstract

This essay considers the role of lost-wax casting, electrotyping, and the model metalwork provided more generally for the production and distribution of serial sculpture in Germany at the turn of the twentieth century. Responses by major critics of the decorative arts, from Gottfried Semper to Max Sauerlandt, inform analyses of various examples, including reductions of sculptures by Max Klinger issued by the Galdenbeck Bronzegießerei and electrotypes of the Bamberg Rider marketed by the Württembergische Metallwarenfabrik (WMF).