Fidus (Luebeck 1868-1948 Woltersdorf bei Berlin), also known as Hugo Hoeppener

"Kugelläuferin" (Young Girl Standing on a Star Ball)

1894

pencil and brush in gray on paper

54 x 36,5 cm

lower left signed and dated "Fidus 1894"

Provenance:  Industrialist Dr. Eugen Lucius (1834-1903), Frankfurt a.M, who acquired the drawing directly from the artist between 1894 and 1903.

Publication History:

Jugend, 1. Jahrgang, Nr. 19, May 9, 1896, illustration at pg. 297.

Fidus (Hugo Höppener) Mappe I.  12 Kunstdrucke aus der "Jugend."  (München: Verlag der "Jugend," 1919), Plate 9.

Laurence Danguy, "The Graphic Revolution: Images of Jugendstil Woman," in Wim Hupperetz, et al., eds., Goddesses of Art Nouveau (Zwolle, Netherlands: WBOOKS, 2020), pgs. 51-65, illustration at pg. 58 (as reproduced in Jugend, 9 May 1896) (exhibition catalogue).

Discussion:

"[T]his Madonna takes the shape of a nude, androgynous virgin with hair like fire, walking on a ball. The illustration, based on the iconography of the Holy Virgin standing on a globe, firmly anchors Jugend in the cult of youth and nature."  Danguy at pg. 55.

"A surprising combination of traditional Madonna imagery and a nude, androgynous acrobat typical of art nouveau’s idealisation of youth."  Danguy at pg. 58.