Gerhard Henning (Danish, 1880-1967)

Dark patinated bronze sculpture, "Seated Girl with Outstretched Legs" ("Siddende pige med strakte ben"), 1938-1942
Signed: G. Henning No. I

This sculpture is the first casting (No. I) of a work produced in only six editions by the Royal Court Bronze Founder, Lauritz Rasmussen. Unlike castings III, V, and VI, this particular piece is mounted on a black lacquered plinth.

Provenance & Artistic Significance

This sculpture holds a remarkable provenance, as this very edition was owned by Danish businessman and renowned art collector Christian Kampmann (1881-1965). Kampmann's collection was among the most significant private Danish art collections of his time and included works by Edgar Degas, Vilhelm Lundstrøm, Olaf Rude, Jais Nielsen, and Johannes Bjerg.

The sculpture was documented and reproduced in the 1944 publication Kunst i Privateje (Art in Private Collections), which cataloged prominent private Danish art holdings.

In his memoir Notes from 1940 and Travel Diaries (published in 1962), Kampmann reflects on the artists who captivated him most, highlighting Vilhelm Lundstrøm and Gerhard Henning. Regarding Henning, he wrote:

"The sweet girls, unobserved in their toe-playing, catching fleas, picking their toes, or simply resting, evolving into more erotic scenes in clay—small groups of couples in tender moments. He moved away from that."

This quote illustrates Henning’s artistic evolution: while his early works in the 1920s featured dynamic group compositions, his later period—particularly from the 1930s onward—focused on calm, solitary female figures, often captured in serene and intimate moments. The seated female form became one of his most recurring and recognizable motifs.

Art Historical Context

The significance of this work is further emphasized by art critic Kai Borchsenius, who wrote in Kunst i Privateje (1944):

"Gerhard Henning’s 'Seated Girl with Outstretched Toes' is a very large statuette and highly characteristic of his later production. Is it Henning’s warmth and humanity that give his art such a captivating inner life, or is it his artistic mastery that grips and enchants the viewer in such an effortless way? Here, one does not think of struggles with the material or other technical challenges. Henning’s deep admiration for form and the essence of girlhood imbues his art so intensely that anyone can understand him."

This sculpture is a rare opportunity to acquire a historically significant work from one of Denmark’s most renowned sculptors, celebrated for his poetic and sensual depictions of the female form.