Drei prächtige Jugendstil-Leuchter "Heilige Drei... Lot n° 456

Three magnificent Art Nouveau candelabra "Magi" 1- and 4-flame; on stepped, octagonal pedestal rising, slender shaft with the bust of the long-bearded wise men from the Orient. Kaspar, Melchior and Balthasar with removable, curved, four-flame brass candelabrum. Polychrome painting with gold decoration. Designed by Erich Kleinhempel, 1903, model no. T 197, candelabrum with added sword mark. H. 44 cm - 55 cm. The figures, rendered in a flowing, linear formal language, are a remarkable example of the Meissen Art Nouveau style and are the result of the emerging artistic will around 1900. Friedrich Erich Kleinhempel (1874-1947) worked as a freelance artist for the Porzellan-Manufaktur Meissen. He studied at the Dresden School of Arts and Crafts between 1890 and 1893, was involved in the founding of a private arts and crafts school in Dresden-Striesen in 1900 and in the founding of the Dresden Artists' Association in 1909. From 1912 he took over the direction of the School of Arts and Crafts and the Museum of Arts and Crafts in Bremen. In addition to figurines, the versatile Kleinhempel also designed fabrics, furniture, glassware and book covers, among other things. In 2000, the Porzellan-Manufaktur Meissen reissued the three Art Nouveau chandeliers as part of the "ZeitZeichen" edition. Cf. Just, Meissen Art Nouveau Porcelain, ill. p. 60; Bayer, ZeitZeichen, Meissen Manuscripts XIV, p. 66; Philadelphia Museum of Art, Inv. 1964-216-1a,b, 1964-216-2a,b, 1964-216-3a,b. Three candlesticks with removable mount modelled as the "The three Magi" by F. E. Kleinhempel in 1903. Candlestick mount supplemented. Crossed swords mark. Meissen. Around 1903.