A History of Art for Beginners and Students: Painting, Sculpture, ArchitectureWaters, Clara Erskine Clement
History
A History of Art for Beginners and Students: Painting, Sculpture, Architecture
Waters, Clara Erskine Clement
Art -- History
CHRISTIAN RAUCH (1777-1857). This eminent sculptor was born at Waldeck,
and followed the manner of Schadow, which he carried to its perfection.
His statue of Queen Louise (Fig. 121) is one of the finest works of
modern sculpture, and his statues of the Generals Scharnhorst and Buelow,
in Berlin, are very fine; the reliefs upon the pedestals are of classic
beauty. But his masterpiece is the grand Friedrichs monument. Rauch
executed many excellent busts; he made good portraits, and yet he
elevated the character of his subjects to the greatest nobleness of
which they were capable. As a rule Rauch avoided religious subjects, but
late in life he modelled the group of Moses supported in prayer by Aaron
and Hur.
Among his important works are the statue of Bluecher, at Breslau; that of
August Hermann Franke, at Halle; Duerer, at Nuremberg; monument to
Maximilian I., at Munich; and six marble Victories for the Walhalla. His
works are numerous, and in them we feel that this artist had not a great
imaginative power; he rarely conceived imaginary subjects, but he took
some fact or personality as his motive, and elevated it to the highest
point to which it could be brought, and under his masterly style of
execution produced splendid results.
ERNST RIETSCHEL (1804-1860) was a gifted pupil of Rauch. After spending
some time in Rome he settled in Dresden, and executed the statue of
Friederich August of Saxony, for the Zwingerhof, when but twenty-seven
years old. His chief excellence was in portrait statues, and those of
Lessing and Luther are remarkable for their powerful expression of the
intellectual and moral force of those men. His religious subjects were
full of deep feeling, and his lighter works have a charming grace about
them.
LUDWIG SCHWANTHALER (1802-1848) studied much in Rome, and was as devoted
to the antique as was Thorwaldsen. He executed many works in Munich, the
principal ones being the interior decoration of the Glyptothek; also
that of the Koenigsbau and two groups for the Walhalla. A prominent work
by this master is the bronze statue of Bavaria, which is fifty-four feet
high and stands in front of the Ruhmeshalle. He also made twelve
gilt-bronze statues of Bavarian sovereigns. Schwanthaler had remarkable
powers of invention and a fruitful imagination; in these points he ranks
with the first of modern sculptors; but his works rarely rise above what
we call decorative art, and in spite of his excellent gifts he lacked
the power to arouse any enthusiasm for his statues.
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