A really superb and sensitive portrait bust of a young man. Measures 18" high x 10 1/2" wide x 9" deep. Solid bronze. Signed. Contact us to arrange special shipping, local delivery, or pickup at the warehouse. Bernhard Bleeker was born on 26 July 1881 in Westphalia, North (Germany). After training as a stonemason in Münster and Munich he worked on various Munich building sites. In 1903 Bleeker received his first public contract to build a monument in Miesbach. He built a fountain with a sculpture of Saint Michael slaying the dragon. "This work is still influenced by a typically neo-baroque style, represented by his teacher Rümann and other numerous artist-colleagues." Later he came under the influence of Adolf von Hildebrand, probably the most significant sculptor of that time. Bleeker is supposed to be one of the main representatives of the Munich School of Sculptors, a significant bust sculptor and a builder of neo-classical monuments. In 1912 he founded with others the "Neue Münchener Secession". In 1918 he started teaching at the Munich Academy and became a full professor ("Ordentlicher Professor") in 1922. In 1951 he became a member of the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna and an honorary member of the Munich Academy. In 1968 he died in Munich.