Alexander Friedrich von Bock, also known as Aleksandr Romanovich Bok (Алексaндр Ромaнович Бок) in Russian; (7 June 1829, Reastvere, Estonia (then part of Russian Empire) - 17 August 1895,

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

) was a

Baltic German Baltic Germans (german: Deutsch-Balten or , later ) were ethnic German inhabitants of the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea, in what today are Estonia and Latvia. Since their coerced resettlement in 1939, Baltic Germans have markedly declined ...

sculptor and art professor.

Biography

From 1850 to 1857, he studied at the

Imperial Academy of Arts The Russian Academy of Arts, informally known as the Saint Petersburg Academy of Arts, was an art academy in Saint Petersburg, founded in 1757 by the founder of the Imperial Moscow University Ivan Shuvalov under the name ''Academy of the Thre ...

, where his primary instructor was Peter Clodt. During his time there, he received several awards. Upon graduating, he was presented with a large gold medal for his

bas-relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...

depicting the crucifixion of Jesus. He was also named an "Artist First-Class".Sergei Kondakov
''Юбилейный справочник Императорской Академии художеств. 1764—1914''
(Handbook of the Imperial Academy), Vol.2, Golike & Vilborg, 1915, pp.245-246 The following year, he was given a stipend to study abroad. From then until 1864, he spent time in Germany, France and Italy.Y. Karlova, "Забытый автор памятника Екатерине II в Моршанске" (The forgotten author of the monument to Catherine II in Morshansk), In: '' Наука и жизнь'', 2020, № 12, pg.72 Upon returning, he was named "Professor of Sculpture", for the figures of

Psyche Psyche (''Psyché'' in French) is the Greek term for "soul" (ψυχή). Psyche may also refer to: Psychology * Psyche (psychology), the totality of the human mind, conscious and unconscious * ''Psyche'', an 1846 book about the unconscious by Car ...

and

Cupid In classical mythology, Cupid (Latin Cupīdō , meaning "passionate desire") is the god of desire, lust, erotic love, attraction and affection. He is often portrayed as the son of the love goddess Venus (mythology), Venus and the god of war Mar ...

that he created while in Rome. Both works were purchased by Tsar Alexander II, and placed in the Hermitage. The following year, he was elected a member of the faculty in the sculpture department at the academy. He taught at the academy, and was a member of its governing council, until his death. In 1880, he offered several of his works to the academy's museum, including the cast for a colossal bust of Tsarina

Catherine II , en, Catherine Alexeievna Romanova, link=yes , house = , father = Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst , mother = Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp , birth_date = , birth_name = Princess Sophie of Anha ...

. He was promoted to "Professor First-Degree" in 1883. His notable students included , Vladimir Beklemishev, , Maria Lvovna Dillon, and Leonid Sherwood. One of his best known works was a bronze figure of

Minerva Minerva (; ett, Menrva) is the Roman goddess of wisdom, justice, law, victory, and the sponsor of arts, trade, and strategy. Minerva is not a patron of violence such as Mars, but of strategic war. From the second century BC onward, the Roma ...

, surrounded by young genii, representing the various arts. Designed for the academy's dome, it was installed there in 1885. It was destroyed in a fire only fifteen years later. The original models were preserved, and it was restored in 2003.

References

External links

@ Art Investment (in Russian) {{DEFAULTSORT:Bock, Alexander von 1829 births 1895 deaths Russian sculptors 19th-century Estonian male artists Baltic German people from the Russian Empire Imperial Academy of Arts alumni

Biography

References

Further reading

External links