Emil Friedrich Franz Maximilian Graf von Schlitz genannt von Görtz (15 February 1851, in Berlin - 9 October 1914, in

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...

)GeneAll: Emil Graf von Schlitz
/ref> was a German sculptor, Hessian nobleman, cultural policymaker and confidant of Kaiser

Wilhelm II Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 18594 June 1941) was the last German Emperor (german: Kaiser) and King of Prussia, reigning from 15 June 1888 until his abdication on 9 November 1918. Despite strengthening the German Empir ...

Life

He was the son of the Grand Ducal diplomat Count Karl von Schlitz genannt von Görtz and his wife, Princess Anna of

Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg was one of several imperial counties and later principalities ruled by the House of Sayn-Wittgenstein. Most of the former county is located in the present district of Siegen-Wittgenstein (in the modern state of North ...

(1827–1902). His studies began at the

Academy of Fine Arts, Munich The Academy of Fine Arts, Munich (german: Akademie der Bildenden Künste München, also known as Munich Academy) is one of the oldest and most significant art academies in Germany. It is located in the Maxvorstadt district of Munich, in Bavaria, ...

, under the sculptor Joseph Echteler. He assumed the title of "

Graf (feminine: ) is a historical title of the German nobility, usually translated as "count". Considered to be intermediate among noble ranks, the title is often treated as equivalent to the British title of "earl" (whose female version is "coun ...

" (Count) upon his father's death. From 1885 to 1901, he was Director of 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 ...

. In 1894, he founded a pension and annuity association for German artists. He was a hereditary member of the Upper Chamber of the and served as President (a position that had been held by his father) from 1900 to 1914. Prince (later Kaiser) Wilhelm and he had been brought up together, and were both tutored by the famous conservative pedagogue,

Georg Ernst Hinzpeter Georg Ernst Hinzpeter (9 October 1827, Gelsenkirchen - 28 December 1907, Bielefeld) was a German pedagogue. Biography His father was a gymnasium teacher. After completing his primary education, he studied in Halle and Berlin, majoring in philo ...

, so they became lifelong friends. He was part of what was known as the "Liebenberger Kreis" (circle, or round table), Wilhelm's inner group of advisors and confidants. The Kaiser was a frequent visitor to the Görtz estates. From 1891 to 1910, he went there every summer to go

grouse Grouse are a group of birds from the order Galliformes, in the family Phasianidae. Grouse are presently assigned to the tribe Tetraonini (formerly the subfamily Tetraoninae and the family Tetraonidae), a classification supported by mitochondr ...

hunting.

Work

His best-known sculptures were those in Group 11 of the

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 ...

(Victory Avenue), consisting of

Louis II, Elector of Brandenburg Louis the Roman () (7 May 1328 – 17 May 1365) was the eldest son of Holy Roman Emperor, Louis IV the Bavarian, by his second wife, Margaret II, Countess of Hainault, Margaret II, Countess of Hainaut, and a member of the House of Wittelsbach. Lo ...

as the centerpiece with Hasso der Rote von Wedel and Friedrich von Lochen, the

Landeshauptmann Landeshauptmann (if male) or Landeshauptfrau (if female) (, "state captain", plural ''Landeshauptleute'') is the chairman of a state government and the supreme official of an Austrian state and the Italian autonomous provinces of South Tyrol an ...

Altmark :''See German tanker Altmark for the ship named after Altmark and Stary Targ for the Polish village named Altmark in German.'' The (English: Old MarchHansard, ''The Parliamentary Debates from the Year 1803 to the Present Time ...'', Volume 32. 1 F ...

in 1346, as the side figures. These statues (along with most of the others in the Siegesallee) were heavily damaged in World War II and are currently displayed in the

Spandau Citadel The Spandau Citadel (german: Zitadelle Spandau) is a fortress in Berlin, Germany, one of the best-preserved Renaissance military structures of Europe. Built from 1559–94 atop a medieval fort on an island near the meeting of the Havel and ...

. His statue of

Gaspard II de Coligny Gaspard de Coligny (16 February 1519 – 24 August 1572), Seigneur de Châtillon, was a French nobleman, Admiral of France, and Huguenot leader during the French Wars of Religion. He served under kings Francis I and Henry II during the It ...

, in front of the

Berliner Schloss The Berlin Palace (german: Berliner Schloss), formally the Royal Palace (german: Königliches Schloss), on the Museum Island in the Mitte area of Berlin, was the main residence of the House of Hohenzollern from 1443 to 1918. Expanded by order of ...

, disappeared entirely.

Personal life

On 15 February 1876 in

Konstanz Konstanz (, , locally: ; also written as Constance in English) is a university city with approximately 83,000 inhabitants located at the western end of Lake Constance in the south of Germany. The city houses the University of Konstanz and was th ...

, he married Sophia Cavalcanti d'Albuquerque de Villeneuve (1858-1902), daughter of Julio Constancio de Villeneuve, Comes Romanus (1839-1910) and his wife, Anna Maria Cavalcanti de Albuquerque (1837-1890). They had: * Countess Anna von Schlitz genannt von Görtz (1877-1938); married Valentin Emanuel MacSwiney (1871-1945) * Hereditary Count Carl von Schlitz genannt von Görtz (1877-1911); married Princess Amelie of

Thurn und Taxis The Princely House of Thurn and Taxis (german: link=no, Fürstenhaus Thurn und Taxis ) is a family of German nobility that is part of the ''Briefadel''. It was a key player in the postal services in Europe during the 16th century, until the end ...

(1876-1930); had issue * Countess Elisabeth von Schlitz genannt von Görtz (1879-1940) * Count Wilhelm von Schlitz genannt von Görtz (1882-1935); married Baroness Catharina Riedesel zu Eisenbach (1883-1969); had issue * Countess Marie Anna von Schlitz genannt von Görtz (1883-1946); married Count Heinrich von Luxburg (1874-1960); had issue * Countess Margareta von Schlitz genannt von Görtz (1885-1959); married Magnus von Levetzow (1871-1939); had issue

Honours

He received the following orders and decorations:''Handbuch über den Königlich Preußischen Hof und Staat fur das jahr 1908''
p. 45
/ref>

References

Other sources/Further reading

* Entry in the ''

Deutsche Biographische Enzyklopädie The ''Deutsche Biographische Enzyklopädie'' (''DBE'') is a biographical dictionary published by Walther Killy and Rudolf Vierhaus (from the third to fourth volume), the first edition of which was published from 1995 to 2003 in 13 volumes by K. G ...

'' *

Isabel Hull Isabel Virginia Hull (born 1949) is John Stambaugh Professor Emerita of History and the former chair of the history department at Cornell University. She specializes in German history from 1700 to 1945, with a focus on sociopolitics, political th ...

, ''The Entourage of Kaiser Wilhelm II'', Cambridge (1982) * John Röhl, ''The Kaiser and his Court : Wilhelm II and the Government of Germany'', translated by Terence F. Cole. Cambridge (1994) * Jochen Lengemann: ''MdL Hessen 1808–1996'', Biographical Index, N.G.Elwert (1996), , page 333.

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schlitz, Emil Graf von 1851 births 1914 deaths Artists from Berlin 20th-century German sculptors 20th-century German male artists 19th-century German sculptors German male sculptors Academic staff of Bauhaus University, Weimar Recipients of the Military Merit Order (Bavaria) Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Russia) Commanders Grand Cross of the Order of the Polar Star