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Arno Brekerartist • sculptorElberfeld (Duitsland) 1900-1991 Düsseldorf (Duitsland)

biography of Arno Breker

As a descendant of a stonemason family, Arno Breker was destined to become a sculptor. He attended the academy in Düsseldorf and left for Paris in 1927, where he became part of the circle of avant-garde artists around Cocteau and Picasso. Yet modernism did not appeal to him, Breker continued to work in a figurative style. He received commissions from home and abroad through Albert Flechtheim, among others, and within a few years he was a much sought-after sculptor. By winning the Prix de Rome with a corresponding amount of money in 1932, he was able to study classical art in Rome for two years. He then returned permanently to Germany. There the Nazi regime turned its attention to him. Breker was placed on the 'Sonderliste der Unersetzlichen Künstler' and received many government commissions. As a result, he would go down in history as one of the most famous, but also controversial German artists of the 20th century.


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