Franz Xavier Bergman

Franz Xavier Bergman(n) (July 27, 1861 – January 1, 1936) was the owner of a Viennese foundry who produced numerous patinated and cold-painted bronzes, Oriental, erotic, and animal figures, the latter often humanized or whimsical, humorous objets d'art.

Early life and career

Bergmann was noted for his detailed and colorful work. He signed with either a letter 'B' in an urn-shaped cartouche or 'Nam Greb' – 'Bergman' in reverse. with some of the more erotic ones being signed as "Prof. Tuch", a pseudonym used by Zach. At the turn of the 19th century there were about fifty workshops producing Vienna bronzes.

'Cold-painted bronze' refers to pieces cast in Vienna and then decorated in several layers with so-called dust paint; the know-how for the mix of this kind of paint has been lost. The color was not fired, hence 'cold painted'. The painting was carried out mainly by women working at home, a typical cottage industry.

Sensuous poses of young women in the Art Nouveau style were disguised by a covering that revealed all when a button was pushed or a lever moved. Often carefully sculpted animals, such as bears, could be opened to reveal an erotic figure inside.

Foundry closure The Bergmann foundry was closed in 1930 due to the Great Depression. It was reopened some years later by Robert Bergmann, son of Franz Xavier, and operated until his death in 1954, when the remaining stock and molds were sold to Karl Fuhrmann & Co. Some of the characters were reported missing from the exhibitions on October 6, 1980, and were never returned. The rest of them are safely preserved at the playwright's desk in Ibsenmuseet in Oslo.