Art Nouveau fountain, possibly by the Golsdcheider factory; Vienna, ca. 1895. Polychrome terracotta.

Art Nouveau fountain, possibly by the Golsdcheider factory; Vienna, ca. 1895.
Polychrome terracotta.
It has an illegible signature "Ignaz Pelmiolt" and numbering "886/1".
Slight damage and old restoration. Normal wear and tear due to use and the passage of time.
Measurements: 143 x 61 x 45 cm.
Art Nouveau fountain, with a sculptural structure that simulates a natural fountain in which we find the figures of two magical beings, a nymph and a dwarf with a red beard, similar to the Irish leprechauns. The female figure stands out for her sensuality and beauty, a reflection of the Art Nouveau concept of the feminine. Women are considered in Art Nouveau, influenced by Symbolist literature, as beings of transformation and metamorphosis, and are therefore often depicted with extreme fantasy, being associated with the supernatural and the unknown. The feminine is intimately associated with the hidden part of nature, with the mysterious and therefore attractive and seductive. The fragile woman, with narrow shoulders and a stylised figure, like a nymph or sylph, lures men inexorably towards perdition. She is therefore conceived as a contradictory figure, exotic and weak in appearance but demonic in essence.