Schädelhand

KOENIGmuseum

Description

The cautiously stylized "Skull Hand" belongs to the group of works on vanitas subjects that has accompanied Fritz Koenig (1924-2017) as a theme throughout all his creative periods. Medieval religious art as well as religious folk art, which is deeply rooted in Bavaria, often serve as the initial spark for Koenig's artistic approaches. This is the case here too. The vertically rising forearm shows a skull balancing on four fingers of the right hand. Formally, the sculpture is reminiscent of medieval arm reliquaries, which were used to store an arm or hand relic of saints. Koenig's work, however, is not a relic but an impressive memento mori, which takes into account his artistic fascination for the depiction of the human hand as well as his enthusiasm for the symbolism of the spherical skull shape in its various manifestations and meanings. He himself explains his affinity to the head, face, skull metaphors presented in the spherical form with the words: "I'm probably looking for it, the skull, everywhere." (Original quote F.K. from: Fritz Koenig's Kugel. Der Bildhauer und der 11. September, film by Percy Adlon, Bayerischer Rundfunk 2002, recorded 11.09.2016, ARD- Alpha, minutes 03.45- 03.54.)

Author

Stephanie Gilles M.A.

Rights Statement Description

CC BY-NC-SA 4.0