Bruno Zach (6 May 1891 – 20 February 1935) was an Austrian

art deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...

sculptor of Ukrainian birth who worked in the early-to-mid 20th century. His output included a wide repertoire of genre subjects, however he is best known for his

erotic Eroticism () is a quality that causes sexual feelings, as well as a philosophical contemplation concerning the aesthetics of sexual desire, sensuality, and romantic love. That quality may be found in any form of artwork, including painting, sculp ...

sculptures of young women.

Early life

Bruno Zach was born in

Zhytomyr Zhytomyr ( ; see #Names, below for other names) is a city in the north of the western half of Ukraine. It is the Capital city, administrative center of Zhytomyr Oblast (Oblast, province), as well as the administrative center of the surrounding ...

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

, on 6 May 1891. He emigrated to

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

as a young man and studied at the

Vienna Academy The Academy of Fine Arts Vienna () is a public art school in Vienna, Austria. Founded in 1688 as a private academy, it is now a public university. The academy is also known for twice rejecting admission to a young Adolf Hitler in 1907 and 1908. ...

under sculptors

Hans Bitterlich Hans Bitterlich (28 April 1860, Vienna - 5 August 1949, Vienna) was an Austrian sculptor. Life and work His father was the sculptor and history painter, Eduard Bitterlich. He studied with Edmund von Hellmer and Kaspar von Zumbusch, and was a ...

(1860–1949) and

Josef Müllner Josef Müllner (1 August 1879 in Baden near Vienna – 25. December 1968 in Vienna) was an Austrian sculptor, best known for his monumental sculptures such as the monument to Karl Lueger at Dr.-Karl-Lueger-Platz in Vienna. His work was part of the ...

(1879–1968). His styles included Art Deco,

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...

, sporting, and

orientalism In art history, literature, and cultural studies, Orientalism is the imitation or depiction of aspects of the Eastern world (or "Orient") by writers, designers, and artists from the Western world. Orientalist painting, particularly of the Middle ...

. His oeuvre would generally be considered

decorative Beauty is commonly described as a feature of objects that makes them pleasure, pleasurable to perceive. Such objects include landscapes, sunsets, humans and works of art. Beauty, art and taste are the main subjects of aesthetics, one of the fie ...

if not for his success in producing erotic sculpture.

Career

Zach became a prolific creator of sculptures featuring tall, athletic, dominating women in

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals (such as phosphorus) or metalloid ...

and

ivory Ivory is a hard, white material from the tusks (traditionally from elephants) and Tooth, teeth of animals, that consists mainly of dentine, one of the physical structures of teeth and tusks. The chemical structure of the teeth and tusks of mamm ...

, the combination of the two in art casting sometimes being referred to as “

chryselephantine Chryselephantine sculpture () is a sculpture made with gold and ivory. Chryselephantine cult statues enjoyed high status in Ancient Greece. Ancient examples Chryselephantine statues were built around a wooden frame with thin carved slabs of ...

”. He most often signed as "B. Zach" or "Bruno Zach", however a number of his pieces were signed with his pseudonyms, being "Prof. Tuch", "Professor Tuch" or "K. Salat".Simpson Galleries
: Auction 22.02.2015, Lot 272 His

erotica Erotica is art, literature or photography that deals substantively with subject matter that is erotic, sexually stimulating or sexually arousing. Some critics regard pornography as a type of erotica, but many consider it to be different. Erot ...

sculptures usually featured sexy, dreamy, scantily clad mistresses in stockings,

garters A garter is an article of clothing comprising a narrow band of fabric fastened about the leg to keep up stockings. In the eighteenth to twentieth centuries, they were tied just below the knee, where the leg is most slender, to keep the stocking f ...

, and

high heels High-heeled shoes, also known as high heels (colloquially shortened to heels), are a type of shoe with an upward-angled sole. The heel in such shoes is raised above the ball of the foot. High heels cause the legs to appear longer, make the we ...

. One of his better known sculptures is the

sado-masochistic Sadism () and masochism (), known collectively as sadomasochism ( ) or S&M, is the derivation of pleasure from acts of respectively inflicting or receiving pain or humiliation. The term is named after the Marquis de Sade, a French author known ...

'' The Riding Crop''. Original period castings of this sculpture have sold for as much as $151,849, one such sale having taken place at the

Bonhams Bonhams is a privately owned international auction house and one of the world's oldest and largest auctioneers of fine art and antiques. It was formed by the merger in November 2001 of Bonhams & Brooks and Phillips Son & Neale. This brought t ...

auction house in

Knightsbridge Knightsbridge is a residential and retail district in central London, south of Hyde Park, London, Hyde Park. It is identified in the London Plan as one of two international retail centres in London, alongside the West End of London, West End. ...

on 23 November 2011. According to Bonhams' director of decorative arts, Mark Oliver, "the demand for his work just grows and grows". One of Zach's more controversial sculptures, created circa 1930, was his extremely erotic piece entitled ''The Hugger''. The sculpture depicts a woman hugging a larger-than-life

penis A penis (; : penises or penes) is a sex organ through which male and hermaphrodite animals expel semen during copulation (zoology), copulation, and through which male placental mammals and marsupials also Urination, urinate. The term ''pen ...

. Zach frequently portrayed the seedy side of nightlife in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

with many of his sculptures which often featured

prostitutes Prostitution is a type of sex work that involves engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-p ...

. His bronze sculptures were generally fired and coated with chemical patinas in mid-brown colors but were sometimes cold painted or

polychrome Polychrome is the "practice of decorating architectural elements, sculpture, etc., in a variety of colors." The term is used to refer to certain styles of architecture, pottery, or sculpture in multiple colors. When looking at artworks and ...

d. His used ivory, sparingly, and it was generally well carved. Zach's work was edited by several firms, including Argentor-Werke (Vienna), Broma Companie, S. Altmann and Company, and Franz Bergmann.

Death

Zach died in

Vienna, Austria Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, on 20 February 1935.

References

Literature

* Davenport's Art Reference & Price Guide, 2007/2008 Edition – . * Romeo and Juliet in Zhytomyr words, 2016

* Житомирська сторінка кохання скульптора Бруно Зака

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zach, Bruno Austrian sculptors Austrian male sculptors Art Deco sculptors 1891 births 1935 deaths Artists from Zhytomyr People from Volhynian Governorate Emigrants from the Russian Empire to Austria-Hungary 20th-century Austrian sculptors Fetish artists Ukrainian male sculptors