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Lot Essay
The son of Emil Cauer the Older, patriarch of the large and important family of German sculptors, Robert Cauer the Elder was born in Dresden in 1831. After studying at the Academy of Arts in Dusseldorf from 1851 to 1855 under William von Schadow, Cauer joined his father and elder brother, Karl, and worked in the family atelier in Kreuznach. There, he continued the series of works begun by his father based on the fairy-tale characters of the Grimm brothers, executing works such as Sleeping Beauty, Snow White and Puss in Boots. On the death of Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, in 1861 and 1863 respectively, feeling a great sense of loss at losing not only two of his closest friends, but also the source for much of the inspiration for his work at the time, Cauer, as a tribute, executed a double-portrait of the brothers. The literary theme continued to be prevalent in Cauer's work throughout the late 1850s and 1860s, as he produced works based on characters of Goethe, such as Hermann and Dorothea, Paul and Virginie and Lorelei.
In 1870, Cauer, together with his brother Karl, set up an atelier in Rome, and this period spent in the Eternal City proved to be the most productive and successful of his career. In such an environment it is not surprising that Cauer then turned to the vibrant characters of Greek and Roman mythology for his subject-matter. Executed in 1885, the present charming group, entitled Amor als Lehrer, depicts a young Cupid tenderly instructing Psyche or a nymph in the art of the bow and arrow, and is a classic example from this period. Cauer does not appear to have made any copies of the group and, therefore, the marble here is probably that illustrated with an early black and white photograph in Masa, and recorded as being in a private colllection, whereabouts unknown (see Masa, p. 138).
Other works by Cauer recently offered in these rooms include Der Lauschender Faun (The Listening Faun [1887]), sold 31 October 1996, lot 430, and Quelle (The Source [1891]), sold 2 October 1997, lot 409.
In 1870, Cauer, together with his brother Karl, set up an atelier in Rome, and this period spent in the Eternal City proved to be the most productive and successful of his career. In such an environment it is not surprising that Cauer then turned to the vibrant characters of Greek and Roman mythology for his subject-matter. Executed in 1885, the present charming group, entitled Amor als Lehrer, depicts a young Cupid tenderly instructing Psyche or a nymph in the art of the bow and arrow, and is a classic example from this period. Cauer does not appear to have made any copies of the group and, therefore, the marble here is probably that illustrated with an early black and white photograph in Masa, and recorded as being in a private colllection, whereabouts unknown (see Masa, p. 138).
Other works by Cauer recently offered in these rooms include Der Lauschender Faun (The Listening Faun [1887]), sold 31 October 1996, lot 430, and Quelle (The Source [1891]), sold 2 October 1997, lot 409.