Provenance
Gift from the artist to Johannes R. Becher | 1985 inventoried by the Academy of the Arts (East) (Johannes R. Becher House) | 1998 acquired from the Johannes R. Becher Archive by the art collection
On the workroom desk of the writer Johannes R. Becher, a small, sleeping fox terrier by Renée Sintenis is used as a paper weight. The sculpture of the animal, together with the Böckchen (young billy goat) (Inv.-No. PL 116) came into the possession of the artist as gifts. His own dog served as a model for the sleeping fox terrier, with whom he also posed for some photos.
After returning from exile in Moscow in June 1945, the poet and cultural politician moved into a house at Majakowskiring in the Soviet occupied zone of Berlin. He had his summer residence at the idyllic Bad Saarow at Lake Scharmützelsee. Becher remained president of the Cultural Association for the Democratic Renewal of Germany until he died in 1958. In 1950, he was a founding member of the German Academy of the Arts, Berlin (East), and served as its president from 1953 to 1956. From 1954, Becher also took office as Minister for Culture in East Germany. He is known to many for writing the lyrics of the East German national anthem. A memorial site was installed at Johannes R. Becher's house in Berlin-Niederschönhausen in 1964 and looked after by the Academy of the Arts of the GDR.
German sculptor and graphic artist Renée Sintenis was part of the Presidential Council of the Cultural Association constituted on 8 August 1945 for a while and therefore knew Becher. She was appointed as a member of the newly founded Academy of the Arts, Berlin (West) in 1955 and remained a member until she passed away in 1965. Sintenis had already been a member of the Prussian Academy of Arts but was excluded in 1934. She was one of the most successful German sculptors of the 20th century. Her small sculptures initially depicted female nudes and later mainly animals, including the famous Berlin Bear, which has been awarded as the prize sculpture at the Berlin International Film Festival for over 70 years.