Adolf Brütt (10 May 1855 in

Husum Husum (, frr, Hüsem) is the capital of the ''Kreis'' (district) Nordfriesland in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. The town was the birthplace of the novelist Theodor Storm, who coined the epithet "the grey town by the sea". It is also the home of ...

– 6 November 1939 in Bad Berka)Husum Tourismus: Brief Biography of Brütt
was a German sculptor. He was the founder of the Weimarer Bildhauerschule (Weimar Sculpture School) and its accompanying bronze

foundry A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal into a mold, and removing the mold material after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals pr ...

Biography

Brütt originally trained in

Kiel Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021). Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the J ...

as a

stonemason Stonemasonry or stonecraft is the creation of buildings, structures, and sculpture using stone as the primary material. It is one of the oldest activities and professions in human history. Many of the long-lasting, ancient shelters, temples, mo ...

and worked on several projects, including

Schloss Linderhof Linderhof Palace (german: Schloss Linderhof) is a Schloss in Germany, in southwest Bavaria near the village of Ettal. It is the smallest of the three palaces built by Ludwig II of Bavaria, King Ludwig II of Bavaria and the only one which he lived t ...

. A stipend from the Sparkasse Kiel (a saving and loan institution) enabled him to study at the Prussian Academy of Art, where he graduated in 1878. He became a master student of the sculptor Leopold Rau (1847–1880), and worked in the Munich studios of

Karl Begas Karl Begas (23 November 1845 in Berlin – 21 February 1916 in Köthen (Anhalt), Köthen) was a German sculptor. To distinguish him from his father, he is often referred to as "the younger". Life His father was the history painter Carl Jo ...

, brother of the Neo-Baroque sculptor Reinhold Begas. In 1883 he married and opened his own studio. He became a member of the

Munich Secession The Munich Secession was an association of visual artists who broke away from the mainstream Munich Artists' Association in 1892, to promote and defend their art in the face of what they considered official paternalism and its conservative polic ...

in 1893. His sculpture ''Sword Dancer'' won a gold medal at the

Exposition Universelle (1900) The Exposition Universelle of 1900, better known in English as the 1900 Paris Exposition, was a world's fair held in Paris, France, from 14 April to 12 November 1900, to celebrate the achievements of the past century and to accelerate developmen ...

and secured his international reputation. He later became a Professor at the Prussian Academy and taught at the Fehr Academy, a private school in Berlin devoted to the ideals of the Secession founded by Conrad Fehr in 1892. Together with his friend, the banker Felix Koenigs, he helped to promote the Secession through exhibits at the

National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director o ...

, which included works by

Auguste Rodin François Auguste René Rodin (12 November 184017 November 1917) was a French sculptor, generally considered the founder of modern sculpture. He was schooled traditionally and took a craftsman-like approach to his work. Rodin possessed a uniqu ...

and the French

impressionists Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating ...

. In 1905, he was appointed a Professor at the

Weimar Saxon-Grand Ducal Art School The Grand-Ducal Saxon Art School, Weimar (German:Großherzoglich-Sächsische Kunstschule Weimar) was founded on 1 October 1860, in Weimar, Germany, by a decree of Charles Alexander, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach. It existed until 1910, when i ...

, where he created the school for sculpture and bronze casting. Together with his students, he created the marble reliefs in the lobby of the new

Court Theater A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordanc ...

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in Central Germany between Erfurt in the west and Jena in the east, approximately southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together with the neighbouri ...

. In 1910, he returned to

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

and was succeeded at Weimar by Gottlieb Elster. His statue of the "Sword Dancer" was moved from Kiel to Berlin for the

1916 Summer Olympics The 1916 Summer Olympics (german: Olympische Sommerspiele 1916), officially known as the Games of the VI Olympiad, were scheduled to be held in Berlin, German Empire, but were eventually cancelled for the first time in its 20-year history due to ...

. In 1928, he became an

Honorary Citizen Honorary citizenship is a status bestowed by a city or other government on a foreign or native individual whom it considers to be especially admirable or otherwise worthy of the distinction. The honour usually is symbolic and does not confer an ...

of Bad Berka. In 1996, his sculpture school became part of a UNESCO

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

Selected works

* 1887: ''Der Fischer'' (The Fisherman), bronze, 176 cm,

Berlin-Mitte Mitte () (German for "middle" or "center") is a central locality () of Berlin in the eponymous district () of Mitte. Until 2001, it was itself an autonomous district. Mitte proper comprises the historic center of Alt-Berlin centered on the chu ...

, in front of the

Alte Nationalgalerie The Alte Nationalgalerie ( ''Old National Gallery'') is a listed building on the Museum Island in the Mitte (locality), historic centre of Berlin, Germany. The gallery was built from 1862 to 1876 by the order of King Frederick William IV of Prussi ...

. It was displayed at two world's fairs: Chicago (1893) and St.Louis (1904). * 1896: ''Schwerttänzerin'' (Sword Dancer), bronze, 206 cm, Kiel, Rathausrotunde * 1896: ''Reiterstandbild Kaiser Wilhelm I'' (equestrian statue), bronze, ca 300 cm, Kiel, Schlossgarten * 1898: ''Standbild Bismarck'', bronze, ca 300 cm, Hamburg-Altona, greensward on the Königstraße * 1900: Group of figures,

Siegesallee The Siegesallee (, ''Victory Avenue'') was a broad boulevard in Berlin, Germany. In 1895, Kaiser Wilhelm II ordered and financed the expansion of an existing avenue, to be adorned with a variety of marble statues. Work was completed in 1901. A ...

29 (Victory Avenue); statue of ''

Friedrich Wilhelm II of Prussia Frederick William II (german: Friedrich Wilhelm II.; 25 September 1744 – 16 November 1797) was King of Prussia from 1786 until his death in 1797. He was in personal union the Prince-elector of Brandenburg and (via the Orange-Nassau inherita ...

''; busts of Großkanzler '' Johann Heinrich von Carmer'' and ''

Immanuel Kant Immanuel Kant (, , ; 22 April 1724 – 12 February 1804) was a German philosopher and one of the central Enlightenment thinkers. Born in Königsberg, Kant's comprehensive and systematic works in epistemology, metaphysics, ethics, and ...

'', marble. Now at the Spandau Citadel * 1902: ''Asmussen-Woldsen-Brunnen'' (fountain), also called the ''Tine-Brunnen'', granite, ca 200 cm high, Husum, Marktplatz * 1903: Group of figures, Siegesallee 33; statue of ''

Friedrich III, German Emperor Frederick III (german: Friedrich Wilhelm Nikolaus Karl; 18 October 1831 – 15 June 1888), or Friedrich III, was German Emperor and King of Prussia for 99 days between March and June 1888, during the Year of the Three Emperors. Known informa ...

''; busts of '' Generalfeldmarschall Blumenthal'' and ''

Hermann von Helmholtz Hermann Ludwig Ferdinand von Helmholtz (31 August 1821 – 8 September 1894) was a German physicist and physician who made significant contributions in several scientific fields, particularly hydrodynamic stability. The Helmholtz Association, ...

'', marble. Now at the Spandau Citadel * 1907: ''Nacht'' (Night), ca 200 cm, a controversial, openly erotic marble statue. Kunstschule WeimarWestermann's Monatshefte, Vol. 105, part 1.
@ Google Books * 1909: '' Sitzbild Theodor Mommsen'' (seated statue), marble, ca 250 cm, Berlin-Mitte, Court of Honor of

Humboldt University Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiative of ...

* 1912: ''Schwertmann'' (Swordsman), bronze, ca 300 cm, Kiel, Rathausmarkt

References

External links

*
Pedestal of the Carl Alexander Monument on the Goetheplatz in Weimar

Adolf Brütt Sculpture Symposium, Bad Berka, 1 May 2005 - 18 September 2005
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brutt, Adolf 1855 births 1939 deaths People from Husum Prussian Academy of Arts alumni 20th-century German sculptors 20th-century German male artists German male sculptors 19th-century sculptors 19th-century German male artists Academic staff of Bauhaus University, Weimar

Biography

Selected works

References

Further reading

External links