It is 51cm (20") tall and was carved using lime wood in 1926, by a man named Josef Dobner. He died in 1972.
'Der Gaukler' means something like 'the entertainer' or 'the joker' when translated from German into English. I wonder if it is a self-portrait?
April 2020
Sonia Williams has contacted me and very kindly sent a photograph that she took in Hallstatt, Austria about 1962. It shows Josef Dobner (on the right) standing with his brother Thomas who was an architect.
Photo © Sonia Williams. Reproduced here with permission |
Sonia recalled meeting Professor Dobner and his family many times at their home in Villach, in Austria. He also introduced her to the painter Willi Götzl. After studying in Austria as a pupil of Götzl, she is now based in Norfolk in England. Thank you to Sonia for sharing her memories and for permission to use this photograph.
Whilst sorting my great aunts paintings I have found work by Franz Dobner. I was always told our families were connected.
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