Berthold Nebel : The Wrestlers

I'm not really a fan of
Berthold Nebel (1884-1964)

He didn't do much more
than what his clients required.

But I am interested in
this youthful work,
done in 1915
while he was a fellow
at the American Academy in Rome




Influenced by Rodin and Bourdelle,
it regrettfully shows a promise
that was never fulfilled.

But since nobody has yet posted
its image to the internet,
well... here it is.






Here's another piece done
about the same time in Rome
by another fellow
in the American Academy,
Albin Polasek.

(and I also prefer it
to his later work
done in America)





And while we're looking
at male nudes
done by young Americans
in that period,
we've got the above piece
done 15 years earlier
by George Grey Barnard (1863-1938)


(though it's not a really fair comparison
since the photographer of the above
was so much kinder to his subject)





And here's best treatment
of the subject.











Antonio Pollaiolo (1429-1498)



Next to his,
most other sculptures
of wrestling men
just look lumpish.



Vicenzo Di Brossi




Especially this one.






Philippe Magnier

But this one
is elegant





What is it
about Roman/Hellenistic pieces
that is so distinctive?
(this one is dated to 1st Century BCE)



The contours are so exciting.

It crackles with energy.

This piece
could make any place
feel like a palace.








While this piece
actually was made
for a palace (in Vienna)

I get exhausted
just looking at it.
















Would this one look so good
if the fountain
and palace
were not in
the picture?





There are many versions
of this tableaux,
and this is the
best one I've found so far.


It looks like
"ultimate fighting"





more like
two dancers


looks like ballet,
but I like
its elegance




Another piece of evidence
for Paul Manship
being one of the
great sculptors
of the last century.







The swirling cape
makes it so cinematic.


Are these stunt men?



This is a better phtograph
of a version of the Di Brossi piece
which has been copied
many times
(the one I first saw
was about 8" high)





feels a bit too
formulaic








This one's in
a park in Amsterdam.

It's obviously 20th C.,
but no sculptor
has been credited
with it.









Here's Nathan Rapoport's
Jacob wrestling with the Angel.

Obviously, the angel
has a significant advantage.





I LOVE Waino Aaltonen.