Pair of Antique Austrian Bronze Figures, ‘Returning From the Fields’ by Hans Müller

Dating to the early 1900s, this pair of bronze sculptures, with rich brown patination, are from the Austrian artist, Hans Müller. Both figures measure around 15 inches tall (the man is ¼ an inch taller) and stand on irregular-shaped bases, which have been signed by Muller. The gentleman farmer, whose sleeves and pants legs are rolled, wears slip-on shoes. His hat is well-pinched, sitting high on his head, as he glares into the distance with his scythe slung across his right shoulder. The woman farmer is barefoot and clad in a long, gathered dress. A wrap is tied around her head as she looks down with a rake tucked under her right arm and a sickle beneath a bag of wheat tucked under her left arm. Their attire and facial expressions indicate their plight: these are not entitled individuals, but rather hard-working common citizens.

Hans Müller was born in Vienna, Austria in 1873. Müller studied at the Vienna Academe of Art, mentored by the famed Austrian sculptor, Edmund (ennobled as von) Hellmer. Also an accomplished painter, Müller is mostly known for his sculptural depictions of less affluent Austrians with the tools of their labors, such as farmers, fishermen, and builders. Several of Müller’s works are on permanent display in the Simu Museum in Bucharest, Hungary.