John Rädecker, the woman stylized in stone
John Rädecker (1885 – 1956) is probably best known for the National Monument on Dam Square in Amsterdam, which he worked on with his brother Anton. But this most famous and largest work does not do justice to his wonderful oeuvre in every way.
Rädecker received various training courses, including at the Academy of Fine Arts and Technical Sciences in Rotterdam and at the Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten in Amsterdam.
Despite his breakthrough in 1910, his work was not seen as truly innovative until after the First World War. In the 1920s and 1930s, he was seen as the most important Dutch sculptor.
In terms of style, his work is considered to be part of the Amsterdam School and the Bergen School, where he lived from 1914 onwards. His sculptures, but also his two-dimensional work, are characterised by powerful lines, dynamism and expression. A sculpture by Rädecker looks at you, it confronts, it proverbially grabs you ‘by the throat’. It was not without reason that he was seen as the sculptor of the Fatherland after the Second World War. His lustrum birthdays were mentioned in the newspapers. For the post-war generations of sculptors, Rädecker stood on an enormous pedestal, almost carved in natural stone.
We offer two sandstone sculptures in this auction; ‘Winged Female Head’ from ca. 1935 (lot number 2671) and ‘Standing Female Nude’ from ca. 1950 (lot number 2672).
