Airedale - Terrier, Das Haustier Der Splieths 1924

Ludwig Manzel sculpted this Airedale Terrier, probably in the late 19th or early 20th century, and what strikes me is how he captures the essence of 'dog-ness' with such simple, almost primitive modelling. The entire sculpture seems to emerge from the material, with each form flowing into the next, no hard edges, just soft transitions that remind me of modelling clay. The surface is matte and textured, you can almost feel the artist's hands shaping the material. Look closely at the legs and paws, there's an elegant simplicity in the way he renders them, and the way the tail is lifted conveys a sense of alert watchfulness, or maybe just needing to go out. Manzel's work feels connected to the kind of animal sculptures Degas was doing around the same time. There's a similar sense of capturing the animal's spirit through simplified forms and tactile surfaces. Art is a conversation across time, isn't it?