Alexander (Sascha) Schneider (St. Petersburg 1870 - 1927 Swinemuende)
Study for the Grave Statue of artist Oskar Zwintscher (1870-1916)
(Young Man with Lowered Torch)
circa 1916
crayon drawing on cardboard, with format markings in graphite
75,5 x 25,2 cm
lower right monogrammed "SS"
below lower right inscribed in pencil by architect Martin Pietzsch: "S. Schneider Studie zum Grabmal von Prof. Zwintscher Friedhof Loschwitz" ["S. Schneider Study for the tomb of Prof. Zwintscher Loschwitz Cemetery"]
verso below left inscribed in pencil by architect Martin Pietsch: "Prof Sascha Schneider Studie zur Grabfigurwerk v. Osk. Zwintscher ... Friedhof Loschwitz" ["Professor Sascha Schneider Study for the grave figure of Oskar Zwintscher in Loschwitz (Dresden) Cemetery"]
The Daulton Collection
Condition: significant traces of the workshop and handling with clear horizontal creases on the upper and lower edges and small thumbtack holes on the edge; also foxing; verso with partial yellowing and foxing.
Provenance: Estate of the noted Dresden architect Martin Pietsch (Blasewitz 1866-1961 Dresden), Künstlerhaus Dresden-Loschwitz
Discussion:
For the executed marble grave figure for Oskar Zwintscher (Youth with Lowered Torch), 1921, see the catalogue raisonné: VMS Starck P 038.
According to art historian Andreas Dehmer (Research Associate/Curator, Albertinum, Dresden), "[t]he commission to Schneider came from Adele Zwintscher [Oskar Zwintscher's wife and muse], according to whose will the figure was to remain a unique specimen; the artist also made a statement about this to Karl May's widow...." (E-mail to Jack Daulton, April 27, 2023)
Sascha Schneider studied together with Oskar Zwintscher at the Dresden Art Academy; later they both worked at the same time in Meissen. And in 1899, Zwintscher painted a portrait of Sascha Schneider (see WVZ Günther 47, "Portrait of the painter Sascha Schneider"). They were close friends until Zwintscher's death on February 12, 1916.
Martin Pietsch commented on his acquisition of Sascha Schneider artworks for the Loschwitz museum: "For the Loschwitz local museum, I got the best graphic sheets and watercolors from Schneider's sister at the time, as well as a self-portrait in oil (about half a year before his death). Also, two excellent sculptures found a worthy display in the museum, a painted head of a youth and the plaster model of a life-size figure of a youth, which he had done with minor changes in sandstone for the grave of his friend and fellow student, the painter Oskar Zwintscher...." ["Für das Ortmuseum Loschwitz habe ich seinerzeit von der Schwester Schneiders die besten grafischen Blätter und Aquarelle sowie ein Selbstporträt in Öl (etwa ein halbes jahr vor seinem Tod entstanden) erhalten. Auch zwei ausgezeichnete Plastiken, einen bemalten Jünglingskopf und das Gipsmodell einer lebensgroßen jünglingsgestalt, welche er mit geringen Änderungen in Sandstein für das Grab seines Freundes und Studiengenossen, des Malers Oskar Zwintscher ausgeführt hatte, fanden im Ortsmuseum würdige Aufstellung ...."]. See: Anne Claußnitzer, "Das Künstlerhaus in Dresden-Loschwitz. Erinnerungen und Skizzen," in Anne Claußnitzer, ed., Der Dresdner Architekt Martin Pietzsch (Dresden, 2016), pg. 162.
References:
Andreas Dehmer, Aux morts. Grabskulptur in Dresden 1880-1930, Regensburg 2020, p. 126 f.
