Karl Hartung, (Hamburg, Germany 1908 - 1967 Berlin, Germany), Untitled, 1947, Wood, 16 in. x 8 in. x 3.5 in., Gift of Claudia Fontaine Chidester (Class of 1978) from the Estate of Virginia and Paul Fontaine 2021.26.1

An untitled figural wood sculpture by Karl Hartung was recently gifted to the Davis Museum. Born in Hamburg, Germany in 1908, Hartung trained in sculpture at the Staatliche Schulen für Angewandte Kunst (State School of Applied Arts). After graduating, he travelled abroad to Paris and Florence, where he was inspired by Etruscan sculpture and the works of Donatello, Rodin, and Maillol. Hartung returned to Hamburg in 1932, but soon moved to Berlin because of the difficulty of creating and selling abstract art under the Nazi regime. He served in the military during World War II, and then took a position as a professor of sculpture at the University of Fine Arts in Berlin. His first solo exhibition at the Galerie Rosen in Berlin in 1946 launched his career as an early and important abstract sculptor.  

Although he worked in the abstract, much of Hartung’s work took inspiration from the human figure, such as in Untitled. Hartung carved the wood in basic block shapes, suggesting the outline and limbs of a person without giving individualistic details. He depicts a figure lying on its side, legs outstretched, and hands clasped over its chest. The linear shapes are smoothed at the edges, and the lightly polished surface gives a sense of softness and depth. The only indication of identity is a small sphere above the arms, suggesting that the figure is female. The small scale of the work and the reclining pose add to a sense of intimacy, creating a personal link between the object and viewer.