The Captured Bird – Josef Lorenzl/Goldscheider
Circa 1930
This piece depicts a woman with arms outstretched, with what appears to be wings.
Born in Sicily in 1878, Lorenzl moved to France when he was a young boy. His father was a sculptor of wood, and trained his son in that art. He began involved in how electricity was going to influence the production of glass.
The Goldscheider Manufactory was founded in 1885, in Vienna, by Friedrich Goldscheider. Goldsheider became one of the most influential ceramic manufacturers, with subsidiaries in Paris, Leipzig and Florence. Masterpieces included works of historical revivalism, art nouveau and art deco. Famous artists included – Josef Lorenzl, Stefan Dakon, Ida Meisinger and the two perhaps best known Austrian ceramic artists, Michael Powolny and Vally Wieselthier. More than 10,000 different models were created by Goldscheider over three generations.
Lorenzl began working for a foundry at the Vienna Arsenal where he learned bronze casting and how to produce enticing statues. Many of his works feature a single slender female, with long legs, conveying elegance and fluid movement. Lorenzl used Chryselephantine, a medium encompassing bronze, ivory, gold and silver together. Some of his sculptures include the signature of Crejo, who often painted the decoration onto Lorenzl’s pieces.