Original Art Nouveau bronze bust of renowned Russian writer Leo Tolstoy was executed in Vienna in 1901 by listed Slovenian-Austrian sculptor Robert Weigl ( 1851 Sagor/ Carniola in Slovenia - 1902 Vienna), who was famous on the turn of 20th century for sculptures of famous personalities for monumenta and small plastics in bronze and marble: Beethoven, Franz Schubert, Franz-Josef and Elisabeth. Weigl studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna with Carl Radnitzky, Johann Nepomuk Geiger and Carl Wurzinger. From 1892 to 1898 he was a member of the Viennese artist union Künstlerhaus. Literature: Constantin von Wurzbach, Biographical Lexicon of the Austrian Empire, Vienna 1886; Hans Vollmer, General Encyclopedia of Visual Artists from Antiquity to the Present, Leipzig, 1942. Felix Czeike: Historical Encyclopedia Vienna. Vienna 1997. Inscription: signed, dated : 1)901 Weigl, on the back of the sculpture and titled : Tolstoy , in the front. Technique: bronze, granite plinth. Measurements: high 8 5/8" (22 cm). Condition: in very good condition.