Alfred Lörcher

ALFRED LÖRCHER (Stuttgart, Germany, 1875 – Stuttgart, Germany, 1962)
"Study of Horses and Figures," ca. 1950–1960.
Mixed media on paper.
Signed on the reverse.
Provenance: Werner Sumowski Collection (1931–2015). An art historian and professor emeritus at the University of Stuttgart, Werner Sumowski was one of the leading experts on Rembrandt and his circle of disciples. His research on 17th-century Dutch painting and drawing set a benchmark in the study of Rembrandt’s school.

Measurements: 29.5 x 21 cm.

This drawing reveals a distinct interest in rhythmic repetitions, formal synthesis, movement, and the serial arrangement of figures—aspects associated with Alfred Lörcher’s late work, particularly his reliefs and groups of small figures. The artist unfolds on the paper a repetitive composition consisting of numerous studies of horses and human figures. The work combines agile pencil or charcoal strokes with touches of reddish color, which reinforce the visual rhythm of the scene and accentuate the animals’ silhouettes.

Alfred Lörcher was a German sculptor and medalist. After training at the Kunstgewerbeschule in Karlsruhe and the Munich Academy, he developed a body of work marked by his study of ancient, Etruscan, and early Renaissance sculpture. Beginning in 1919, he taught in Stuttgart, first at the Württembergische Staatliche Kunstgewerbeschule and later at the Staatliche Akademie der Bildenden Künste. His work evolved from serene female figures with refined volumes toward more dynamic late compositions, featuring groups of figures and reliefs with an almost choreographic rhythm. He participated in Documenta in 1955 and 1959, and his work is represented in institutions such as the Museum Ludwig in Cologne, the Staatsgalerie Stuttgart, the Kunsthalle Mannheim, and the Kunsthalle Recklinghausen.