Ernst Gustav Herter (14 May 1846,

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 ...

– 19 December 1917, Berlin) was a German sculptor. He specialized in creating statues of mythological figures.

Life and work

Herter studied at the Academy of Arts in Berlin and later also as apprentice of , Gustav Blaeser and Albert Wolff. In 1869 he created his own studio. In 1875, he made a study trip to

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. Professor Herter was a member of the

Prussian Academy of Arts The Prussian Academy of Arts (German: ''Preußische Akademie der Künste'') was a state arts academy first established in Berlin, Brandenburg, in 1694/1696 by prince-elector Frederick III, in personal union Duke Frederick I of Prussia, and late ...

. On 8 July 1899, Herter was present in New York when his

Heinrich Heine Christian Johann Heinrich Heine (; born Harry Heine; 13 December 1797 – 17 February 1856) was a German poet, writer and literary critic. He is best known outside Germany for his early lyric poetry, which was set to music in the form of '' Lied ...

memorial sculpture, known as the

Lorelei Fountain The Lorelei Fountain, also known as the Heinrich Heine Memorial, is a monument located on East 161st Street in the Concourse section of the Bronx, New York City, near the Bronx County Courthouse. It was designed by German sculptor Ernst Herter ...

, was unveiled in

The Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. The Lorelei Fountain was originally intended for Heine's city of birth,

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in th ...

, to mark the centenary of his birth. This project was squelched due to the antisemitic and nationalistic sentiment that pervaded the German Reich at that time. Among his most famous works is ''Sterbender Achill'' (''Dying Achilles''), created in Berlin in 1884. The statue was acquired by the

Empress of Austria This is a list of the Austrian empresses, archduchesses, duchesses and margravines, wives of the rulers of Austria. The monarchy in Austria was abolished at the end of the First World War in 1918. The different titles lasted just a little unde ...

and became the centerpiece at her palace Achilleion in

Corfu Corfu (, ) or Kerkyra ( el, Κέρκυρα, Kérkyra, , ; ; la, Corcyra.) is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the margin of the northwestern frontier of Greece. The isl ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

. His second original sculpture of ''Dying Achilles'' is in Poland in

Elbląg Elbląg (; german: Elbing, Old Prussian: ''Elbings'') is a city in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, Poland, located in the eastern edge of the Żuławy region with 117,390 inhabitants, as of December 2021. It is the capital of Elbląg County. ...

at Łączności street opposite the City Hall. It was a gift from the German Ministry of Culture and Arts.

Selected sculptures

File:Closeup of Achilles thniskon in Corfu Achilleion.JPG, ''Dying

Achilles In Greek mythology, Achilles ( ) or Achilleus ( grc-gre, Ἀχιλλεύς) was a hero of the Trojan War, the greatest of all the Greek warriors, and the central character of Homer's ''Iliad''. He was the son of the Nereid Thetis and Peleus, k ...

'', Achilleion Palace,
Corfu, Greece Image:Heine Bronx 1.jpg, The ''

'',

Berlin-spandau nike-denkmal3.jpg, ''War Memorial'', 1875,

Berlin-Spandau Spandau () is a locality (''Ortsteil'') of Berlin in the homonymous borough (''Bezirk'') of Spandau. The historic city is situated, for the most part, on the western banks of the Havel river. As of 2020 the estimated population of Spandau was 39, ...

Ernst Herter, Der seltene Fang, Viktoriapark Berlin.jpg, ''The Rare Catch'', 1896
Viktoriapark Berlin Skulptur Eckernförder Platz (Weddi) Orpheus&Ernst Herter&1902.jpg, ''

Orpheus Orpheus (; Ancient Greek: Ὀρφεύς, classical pronunciation: ; french: Orphée) is a Thracian bard, legendary musician and prophet in ancient Greek religion. He was also a renowned poet and, according to the legend, travelled with Jaso ...

'', 1902

Berlin-Wedding Wedding (german: der Wedding; ) is a locality in the borough of Mitte, Berlin, Germany and was a separate borough in the north-western inner city until it was fused with Tiergarten and Mitte in Berlin's 2001 administrative reform. At the same ti ...

Torun Teatr im Wilama Horzycy Terpsychora.jpg, ''The Muse

Terpsichore In Greek mythology, Terpsichore (; grc-gre, Τερψιχόρη, "delight in dancing") is one of the nine Muses and goddess of dance and chorus. She lends her name to the word "terpsichorean" which means "of or relating to dance". Appearance ...

'', 1909,

Thorn Thorn(s) or The Thorn(s) may refer to: Botany * Thorns, spines, and prickles, sharp structures on plants * ''Crataegus monogyna'', or common hawthorn, a plant species Comics and literature * Rose and Thorn, the two personalities of two DC Com ...

References

External links

1846 births 1917 deaths 20th-century German sculptors 20th-century German male artists German male sculptors 19th-century sculptors {{Germany-sculptor-stub