8330 - Reuter, Erich Fritz

Reuter, Erich Fritz "Peter Fechter" Bronze with a golden-brown patina, mounted on an iron plinth. 1985. 35 x 28 x 20.5 cm. Monogrammed “EFR” on the left side of the cross; titled on the right side and inscribed with Fechter’s date of death; on the reverse, bearing the foundry mark “Guss Barth Rinteln.” Karpen 234. Peter Fechter, a laborer, was the first citizen of the GDR to be murdered by East Berlin People’s Police officers while attempting to escape across the Berlin Wall on August 17, 1962. Unable to receive any help from the West, the seriously injured man hung helplessly in the barrier. With this bronze, Reuter created a design for the memorial to the “Wall Dead” that was planned at the time. He is one of the most significant sculptors of the German postwar period. His style was influenced primarily by his role models Lehmbruck, Barlach, and Kolbe. Two casts of the bronze were produced. A magnificent cast of this beautiful, abstract work with an expressively nuanced patina. Provenance: Private collection, Berlin - Please request condition reports for individual lots, as the condition is usually not mentioned in the catalog. - Please ask for condition reports for individual lots, as the condition is usually not mentioned in the catalog.