Ernst Mayer (24 June 1796Year of birth was erroneously given as 1776 in older publications – 21 January 1844) was a German sculptor in the

classical style Classical architecture usually denotes architecture which is more or less consciously derived from the principles of Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, or sometimes even more specifically, from the works of the Roman architect V ...

. He was a pupil of

Antonio Isopi Antonio Isopi (5 February 1758 – 3 October 1833) was a Roman sculptor of Classicism mainly working at the court of the Dukes (later Kings) of Württemberg. Antonio Aloysius Petrus Isopi first lived and worked in his home city as a sculptor ...

and worked for

Leo von Klenze Leo von Klenze (Franz Karl Leopold von Klenze; 29 February 1784, Buchladen (Bockelah / Bocla) near Schladen – 26 January 1864, Munich) was a German neoclassicist architect, painter and writer. Court architect of Bavarian King Ludwig I, Leo ...

, mainly in Munich where in 1830 he became Professor of Sculpture at the Polytechnic, now the

Technical University An institute of technology (also referred to as: technological university, technical university, university of technology, technological educational institute, technical college, polytechnic university or just polytechnic) is an institution of te ...

Life

Mayer was the ninth child of Johann Ernst Mayer (1754–1812), a stocking manufacturer, who had become master of the household and garden supervisor at the

Ludwigsburg Ludwigsburg (; Swabian: ''Ludisburg'') is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, about north of Stuttgart city centre, near the river Neckar. It is the largest and primary city of the Ludwigsburg district with about 88,000 inhabitants. It is ...

castle of Duke (later King)

Friedrich I Frederick I may refer to: * Frederick of Utrecht or Frederick I (815/16–834/38), Bishop of Utrecht. * Frederick I, Duke of Upper Lorraine (942–978) * Frederick I, Duke of Swabia (1050–1105) * Frederick I, Count of Zolle ...

of Württemberg. After elementary school, in 1810, Ernst Mayer was apprenticed to Antonio Isopi, the Italian sculptor working for the king. From him he learned the crafts of sculpture, casting and ornament as well as the Italian language, which was beneficial to him on his later sojourn in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. When he had finished his apprenticeship he worked for Isopi both in Ludwigsburg and in Wasseralfingen, where Isopi's colossal sculptures of a lion and stag – still to be seen in front of the Stuttgart New Castle – were cast. In 1818 Leo von Klenze invited the 22-year-old Ernst Mayer, together with Isopi, to Munich and employed him in his workshop. Between 1818 and 1820 Mayer restored antique sculptures for the

Glyptothek The Glyptothek () is a museum in Munich, Germany, which was commissioned by the Bavarian King Ludwig I of Bavaria, Ludwig I to house his collection of Ancient Greek art, Greek and Roman art, Roman sculptures (hence γλυπτο- ''glypto-'' "sculp ...

. He also created

stucco Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and a ...

models for the ceiling of Klenze's riding hall and casting moulds for

Johann Martin von Wagner Johann Martin von Wagner (born as Johann Martin Wagner; 24 June 1777 – 8 August 1858) was a German painter, sculptor and art collector. Through the donation of his extensive art collection the Martin von Wagner Museum of the University of W ...

's ornaments of the portal and the façade of the new riding school. From 1821 to 1825 Mayer was in Rome and again worked for von Wagner, who acquired antique statues for crown prince and future king

Ludwig I of Bavaria en, Louis Charles Augustus , image = Joseph Karl Stieler - King Ludwig I in his Coronation Robes - WGA21796.jpg , caption = Portrait by Joseph Stieler, 1825 , succession=King of Bavaria , reign = , coronation ...

. At the same time he was employed by the Danish sculptor

Bertel Thorvaldsen Bertel Thorvaldsen (; 19 November 1770 – 24 March 1844) was a Danes, Danish and Icelanders, Icelandic Sculpture, sculptor medallist, medalist of international fame, who spent most of his life (1797–1838) in Italy. Thorvaldsen was born in ...

, for whom he created

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 ...

s for the Walhalla in

Regensburg Regensburg or is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the Danube, Naab and Regen rivers. It is capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the state in the south of Germany. With more than 150,000 inhabitants, Regensburg is the f ...

. Mayer also created part of the memorial for

Eugène de Beauharnais Eugène Rose de Beauharnais, Duke of Leuchtenberg (; 3 September 1781 – 21 February 1824) was a French nobleman, statesman, and military commander who served during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. Through the second marr ...

, stepson of

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

's stepson and son-in-law of King

Maximilian I Maximilian I may refer to: *Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, reigned 1486/93–1519 *Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria, reigned 1597–1651 *Maximilian I, Prince of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen (1636-1689) *Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria, reigned 1795� ...

of Bavaria, which had been designed by Klenze and was completed by Thorvaldsen. The two genii at the bottom of the monument are by Mayer. Back in Munich, Mayer continued restoring antique statues, but also created sculptures of his own, including the pediment figures for the Glyptothek building, among them three antique artists representing the crafts that Mayer himself practised: the modeller (''Koroplastes''), the bronze caster (''Statuarius'') and the stone sculptor (''Glyptos''). In 1830 Mayer became Professor of Stone Sculpting at the Polytechnic in Munich. He married Amailie Burgett (1808 – 1880) and the couple had three daughters and one son. Mayer died in Munich at the age of 47 on 21 January 1844 of a skull fracture after a fall on ice in front of his workshop. His successor at the Munich Polytechnic was his pupil

Johann Halbig Johann Halbig, (also Johann von Halbig) (13 July 1814 – 29 August 1882) was a German sculptor of the Classicism school. Biography He was born at Donnersdorf in Lower Franconia and was educated at the Polytechnical School and at the Academy of ...

Major works

(see picture gallery) * three large and six small figures in the Glyptothek pediment * marble bust of Mayer's teacher an employer Bertel Thorvaldsen * two angels at the bottom of Klenze'/Thorvaldsen's de Beauharmais-tomb * Thukydides and Homer * Heine-Memorial in Würzburg * 8 marble candelabra and seats and a marble table at the Walhalla

Picture Gallery

File:Halbig Mayer.jpg, Ernst Mayer (bust by his pupil

) File:Glyptothekgiebel.jpg, Pediment of the Glyptothek File:Thorv_ bust.jpg, Bertel Thorvaldsen, (bust by Ernst Mayer) File:leuchtenbergdenkmal.jpg, Memorial for

File:thukydides homer-1.jpg, Thukydides und Homer File:Heinse bueste-1.jpg,

Wilhelm Heinse (Johann Jakob) Wilhelm Heinse (16 February 1746, Langewiesen, Schwarzburg-Sondershausen – 22 June 1803), German author, was born at Langewiesen in Schwarzburg-Sondershausen (now in Thuringia). After attending grammar school at Schleusingen he st ...

-bust File:Heinemayer2.jpg,

Heine Heine is both a surname and a given name of German origin. People with that name include: People with the surname * Albert Heine (1867–1949), German actor * Alice Heine (1858–1925), American-born princess of Monaco * Armand Heine (1818–1883) ...

-Memorial
in Würzburg File:Marmortischmayer.jpg, Marble table
in the Walhalla File:Apoll_Ernst_Mayer.jpg, Mayer's restoration of the Barbarinian Apollo (left), "purified" in 1967 (right)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mayer, Ernst German sculptors German male sculptors 1844 deaths People from Ludwigsburg 1796 births Classicism

Life

Major works

Picture Gallery

Further reading

References