Franz Melnitzky (13 November 1822, Krasíkov – 1 February 1876,

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

) was an Austrian sculptor.

Life and work

His father was 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 he was originally trained for the same profession. After deciding to become a sculptor, he went to study in

Olmütz Olomouc (, , ; german: Olmütz; pl, Ołomuniec ; la, Olomucium or ''Iuliomontium'') is a city in the Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, i ...

, but was dissatisfied there, so he moved to Vienna. His application to the

Academy of Fine Arts The following is a list of notable art schools. Accredited non-profit art and design colleges * Adelaide Central School of Art * Alberta College of Art and Design * Art Academy of Cincinnati * Art Center College of Design * The Art Institute o ...

was rejected, but he was able to take private lessons from Josef Klieber. In 1851, he took a study trip through Germany. A planned trip to Italy never materialized, due to passport issues. When he returned, after a brief period with

Hanns Gasser Hans Gasser (18171868) was an Austrian painter and sculptor. His name is sometimes spelled Hanns, and he was baptized as Johann. He shortened his name to avoid confusion with a now-forgotten Tyrolean artist who was also named Johann Gasser.Heinr ...

, he set up his own studio. He soon received several large commissions, including a monument to

Henry II, Duke of Austria Henry II (german: Heinrich; 1107 – 13 January 1177), called Jasomirgott, a member of the House of Babenberg,Lingelbach 1913, pp. 91–92. was Count Palatine of the Rhine from 1140 to 1141, Duke of Bavaria (as ''Henry XI'') and Margrave of Austria ...

, for the (now at the Rathausplatz), and sculptures for the , symbolizing war, peace, fame and prosperity. They were destroyed in 1945, during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He also created four allegorical figures directly above the entrance to what is now the

Hotel Imperial The Hotel Imperial, also known as The Imperial, is a five-star luxury hotel in Vienna, Austria. It is located on the Vienna Ring Road (''Ringstraße'') at Kärntner Ring 16, in the Innere Stadt district. Description The Hotel Imperial's façade ...

, representing wisdom, honor, justice and strength. For the new building of the Musikvereins, he created a front panel depicting ''

Orpheus in the Underworld ''Orpheus in the Underworld'' and ''Orpheus in Hell'' are English names for (), a comic opera with music by Jacques Offenbach and words by Hector Crémieux and Ludovic Halévy. It was first performed as a two-act " opéra bouffon" at the Thé� ...

'' and, for the in

Praterstern Praterstern is a major square in the Leopoldstadt district of Vienna, Austria . The square features the column to Admiral Wilhelm von Tegetthoff. Located and named after it are the Wien Praterstern railway station, and the connecting Prater ...

, he provided the entrance portal. It was lost when the building was converted to corporate offices in 1955, following the

Soviet occupation During World War II, the Soviet Union occupied and annexed several countries effectively handed over by Nazi Germany in the secret Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of 1939. These included the eastern regions of Poland (incorporated into two different ...

. He created another series of allegorical figures for the Nordwestbahnhof, on the departure side, symbolizing cities served by the

Austrian Northwestern Railway The Austrian Northwestern Railway (German: ''Österreichische Nordwestbahn'', ÖNWB, Czech: ''Rakouská severozápadní dráha'') was the name of a former railway company during the time of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy. Today, the term is still ...

. This building fell victim to urban development and was demolished in 2015. He also made several statues for the high altar at the in the

Landstraße Landstraße (; Central Bavarian: ''Laundstrossn'') is the 3rd municipal district of Vienna, Austria (german: 3. Bezirk). It is near the center of Vienna and was established in the 19th century. Landstraße is a heavily populated urban area with ...

district. One of his best known students was .

Sources

* *

Felix Czeike Felix Czeike (21 August 1926 – 23 April 2006) was an Austrian historian and popular educator. He was an author and partly also editor of numerous publications on the history of Vienna and was the director of the . His main work is the six-volume ...

, ''Historisches Lexikon Wien''. Vols.1–5, Kremayr & Scheriau, Wien 1992–2004 * F. Melnitzky, ''Römisches Grab bei Schwannenstadt''. In: ''Mitteilungen der K. K. Central-Commission zur Erforschung und Erhaltung der Baudenkmale f. Bd.'' 1883, S. CLVII, Mosaikboden zu Weyregg, ib. S. CLVII. * Joachim Reiber
"Orpheus in der Oberwelt. Ein Mythos unter dem Dach des Musikvereins"
In: ''Musikverein'' (magazine), November 2004.

External links

Biography and references
@ the Wien Geschichte Wiki {{DEFAULTSORT:Melnitzky, Franz 1822 births 1876 deaths Austrian sculptors Architectural sculptors People from Tachov District