Marta Dücker-Zahn
"Portrait of the actor Alexander Moissi"
1928
plaster of paris, partly colored, on a three-part wooden base
43,5 x 26,5 x 23 cm
signed "M. Dücker-Zahn," dated and inscribed "Moissi" on the reverse of the base
Discussion:
Alexander Moissi (1879-1935) was an Austrian actor of Albanian origin. Between 1910 and 1930, he was considered the most famous actor in German-speaking countries, in silent films and theater, and was a member of director Max Reinhardt's ensemble in Berlin.
"Marta Dücker-Zahn was not only active as a sculptor from the 1920s, but also opened a fashion salon as a result of inflation and financial difficulties. In the fashion world, she then also became known in the field of applied arts, and she designed mannequins for Berlin art workshops, as did her Berlin colleague Rudolf Belling." B (crediting Wolfgang Knapp, M. A., for the information provided)
Marta Zahn was married to the noted Düsseldorf art collector Werner Dücker (1887–1945), who died as a prisoner of war.
"The collector Werner Dücker, a Catholic from the Rhineland, was, as far as the scanty sources indicate, a dazzling personality: wealthy and sophisticated, progressive and liberal. Dücker and his wife, the sculptress Marta Zahn, were close friends of Richard Schultz (1889-1977), through whom they got into contact with the lively gay scene in Berlin (cf. Karl-Heinz Steinle, der literarische Salon bei Richard Schultz, Berlin 2002). The group of friends met at literary salons, were avid nudists and followers of Adolf Koch, a luminary of nudism, and were regulars at the legendary "Westend-Klause" with the innkeeper Walter Franke's. In 1923, Werner Dücker lost all of his fortune due to the hyperinflation. Marta then opened a fashion store to make more money than she could through sculpting, and Dücker's highly significant art collection had to be sold." [Dr. Agnes Thum]
