Lebensechte Modelle Preisgekrönter Schafe 1924

This is Ludwig Manzel's sculpture of prize-winning sheep, and you can see he really dug into the material, probably plaster or a similar medium. Look at the texture, how he’s built up all those little curls and folds to give the sheep’s coat that amazing, weighty feel. You can almost feel the density, the mass of the animal. The legs are so delicate, such a contrast to that solid body. It's a funny contrast. And the color, it's all these muted tones, a very naturalistic palette, almost monochrome. It reminds me of some Roman sculptures, a celebration of form and materiality. I like how he’s used the plaster to create a sense of volume, of presence. The inscription is lovely, too, adding a touch of formality, a bit of text. It's a lot like Degas’ sculptures, where the emphasis is on capturing movement and form in a very immediate way. The art is in the making, in the process.