GOETZ: Opus 432 Gustav Stresemann

cacheman

K-432 GUSTAV STRESEMANN, 1929, Cast AE,117.3mm, Choice UNC, edge incuse punch, RR (in this size).

Commemorating the German Foreign Minister on the occasion of his death October 3, 1929. Obverse: Stresemann bust left. Reverse shows marking stones of his career with “Locarno 1925, Thiory, Geneva (League of Nations) 1926, Haag (Young Plan) 1929.” In 1926 Stresemann shared the Nobel Peace Prize with Briand. Further Reading



I always hate to reduce the images in order for them to fit on most of your monitors…I feel a lot of the “art” of the pieces is lost. Case in point…shown below, the image presented at 800x400 pixels almost allows you to walk into the scene. This is an excellent example of a museum quality Goetz piece. This opus was also struck in 36 & 60 mm pieces. Additionally, 22mm struck pieces in gold were made. I have one but have yet to image the gold.

cosmicdebris

Real nice detail on this one.

goldrush00013

That's really cool cacheman!

oldshep

I'm out of words to express the admiration for these new Goetz posts - I guess I'll just sit back and enjoy
Shep

cacheman

I like the "waver" he added to the reverse rim edge. I haven't seen this in any other pieces so far. Although it may not appear even around the perimeter, it is and it makes it mysterious in a way.

Askari

I hadn't noticed the "waver" before, but it does add a sort of "wateriness" to the graveyard scene, as though one was looking through tear-filled eyes.

Weiss

Hey Cacheman,

I enjoy seeing your posts, and can appreciate the history captured in those pieces. But his designs seem a little cartoonish, in my uneducated opinion, compared to some of the other sculptors I'm more familiar with (like St. Gaudens).

Does that sound like a fair criticism, or am I mis-interpreting his style? He seems to have designed during the surreal-to-post-modern era, if I'm figuring his subjects correctly. Do you reckon that is the place he was coming from?

oldshep

Weiss - the following is a comment I made from a previous Goetz post that might explain a little about his style:

Boy, a lot going on there! Once again I'm struck by the "two Goetz's" One is a great artist with the ability to excute exacting portraits in metal relief, the other is the "political cartoonist" using cartoonish figures and scenes to express a point of view.

Shep

Weiss

Ahh. Glad I'm not the only one who sees it!

Makes sense. I wasn't thinking political cartoonist. Certainly understandable in that light!

cacheman

Weiss, were you asking about his satirical pieces, or his general work overall? Do a search here on "GOETZ" and take a look at the 60 or so pieces I have posted about and let me know.

Weiss

Didn't realize there was a distinction between the two. Perhaps that was the problem. Lumped together mentally, but viewed individually and taken at face value (pardon the pun), they seemed to be hit or miss--some very stoic and serious, others cartoon-y.