Lot 4094: Josef Thorak (1889 - 1952)

a life size bronze bust of Rudolf Heß
Bronze with beautiful dark brown patina. Unsigned and without foundry mark. Height 36 cm. On a light marble base, total height 48.5 cm. Created between 1935 and 1940.
In all details identical to the signed Heß bust of Thorak by the Brandstetter foundry in Munich, sold by Hermann Historica in auction 58, lot 3089, for ca EUR 15.000. Presumably it is the first draft which was not meant for sale.
Josef Thorak was, apart from Arno Breker, the most important sculptor of the Third Reich. Before the war, Hitler had built for him a vast studio in Baldham near Munich according to design specifications by Albert Speer. It was at that time the largest art studio in Europe - spacious enough for Thorak to create one-piece sculptures with a height of up to 17 metres. Besides the monumental sculptures he also created numerous busts, such as those of Frederick the Great, Otto von Bismarck, Friedrich Nietzsche, Paul von Hindenburg, Adolf Hitler (1943), Benito Mussolini and Fritz Todt.
PLEASE NOTE: Solange Kataloginhaber, Auktionsteilnehmer und Bieter sich nicht gegenteilig äußern, versichern sie, dass sie den Katalog und die darin abgebildeten Gegenstände aus der Zeit des Dritten Reiches nur zu Zwecken der staatsbürgerlichen Aufklärung, der Abwehr verfassungswidriger Bestrebungen, der Kunst oder der Wissenschaft, der Forschung oder der Lehre, der Berichterstattung über Vorgänge des Zeitgeschehens oder der Geschichte oder ähnlichen Zwecken erwerben (§§ 86a, 86 Strafgesetzbuch). Die Hermann Historica oHG, ihre Versteigerer und Einlieferer bieten und geben diese Gegenstände nur unter diesen Voraussetzungen an bzw. ab.
As long as catalogue owner, auction participants and bidders do not state otherwise, they agree to the condition that the catalogue and the items displayed in the catalogue that refer to the Third Reich are used exclusively for the purpose of civic education, the purpose of defense against actions that defy the constitutional rights, the purpose of art or science, the purpose of academic research and education, coverage regarding contemporary/historic developments or for purposes similar to the ones stated above (§ 86a , 86 penal code). Hermann Historica oHG, its auctioneers and suppliers will only yield ownership of the corresponding items according to these conditions.

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