Karl May WWI Art Medal

cacheman

Karl May
After the Battle (1915)
Nach der Schlacht
Cast Bronze, Uniface Medal, 68mm, 76.80g. RRR

Exhausted, Death sits in contemplation upon a devastating, modern weapon of war.

A quintessential Karl May WWI piece exhibiting 'death' as the main feature of the war.

German
so die Legende, sitz der Tod auf einem Geschütz. Der Tod, und zwar der Tod durch die moderne Waffentechnik, das ist dabei die Idee und das Bild, das mit Kampf und Schlacht verbunden wird. Jede chauvinistische Heldentod-Verklärung liegt dem Medailleur hier fern. Karl May hat eine ganze Reihe solcher Medaillen geschaffen, die den Gedanken des Todes als
dem Hauptmerkmal des Krieges eindrucksvoll ins Bild setzen.

Das motiv des Todes auf der Kanone ist vielleicht von einer ikonographisch allerdings abweichenden Darstellung dieses Sujets auf einer bereits vor dem Krieg geschaffenen Medaille von Ludwig Gies inspiriert worden.

coinkat

Seems to capture that war is h___. Always look forward to your images Cacheman. Well photographed.

On a different note, just came back from seeing Dunkirk... First film I have seen in a theatre since Lincoln.

Stork

I don't know what to call the style...1915 is early for 'art deco', but that cannon looks deco. Really does give a sense of how exhausted 'Death' has become. Thanks for posting it!

silverpop

cacheman

Here's the other May piece I got in the same auction.

The Last Shot Cast Bronze/Uniface, 84mm X 156mm,196.28g RRRR

There is absolutely nothing written about this medallion. Not even any mention from German museums whom I believe I was bidding against as the prices for these two medals was 3X any of the other May WWI material.

The size of this cannon may be alluding to the use of "Big Bertha" which was designed by Krupp.

Stork

Those are fantastic! It would be great to find out what kind of information the other bidders had. Or, maybe it was a bidder who just liked them and threw crazy money for the 'I want them factor', not the 'what they are worth factor'.

cacheman

"Or, maybe it was a bidder who just liked them and threw crazy money for the 'I want them factor', not the 'what they are worth factor'."

I think that was me...

I feel when something isn't available but rarely, or offered for the first time in a century, that the auction price sets the current market value. At least for art, this may not be true for numismatics. I wouldn't know, I don't collect coins outside of Goetz patterns.

All of the material from the other Münchener Schule artists in the auction did well too. There is a strong demand for this material. Us 'Yanks' here in the U.S. have driven prices up and the German collectors are not happy about it. I think we can all say safely that 'paybacks are a b**ch', eh?

YQQ

Does anyone know if there is a reference "meant" by the artist to the very famous Teacher names** Karl May** in Germany?
He wrote Fiction about having come to the United States in the early 1800's and making friends with some Indian tribes. He became great and close friend and blood brother with a chief named Winnetou.
he had some incredible writing skills and an even better fantasie . His stories were so accurate compared to real North American life then that even today some junger folks in Germany still "eat" his books in one or two attempts of reading.
Personally, I read them all back in the 50'S.