Fridolin Dietsche (31 October 1861 - 25 June 1908) was a
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
sculptor from
Baden
Baden (; ) is a historical territory in South Germany, in earlier times on both sides of the Upper Rhine but since the Napoleonic Wars only East of the Rhine.
History
The margraves of Baden originated from the House of Zähringen. Baden i ...
.
Context
Following
unification in 1871 Germany underwent several decades of rapid economic modernisation and growth, which was coupled with government encouragement for expressions of national pride. This was reflected in a building boom in
Karlsruhe
Karlsruhe ( , , ; South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the third-largest city of the German state (''Land'') of Baden-Württemberg after its capital of Stuttgart and Mannheim, and the 22nd-largest city in the nation, with 308,436 inhabitants. ...
and across the country. New churches, commercial properties and homes for rich entrepreneurs were enhanced with fashionable coloured glass embellishments, elaborate ironwork grills and ceramic tiles, wall-mounted fountains in entrance halls and, naturally, with sculptures. Municipal authorities and other public bodies also competed to commission and erect imposing sculptures in public squares, outside public buildings and in other suitable locations. This provided encouragement and opportunity for artists such as Dietsche in Karlsruhe as elsewhere.
[
]
Life
Fridolin Dietsche was born at Schönau im Schwarzwald
Schönau im Schwarzwald is a town in the district of Lörrach in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated in the Black Forest, on the river Wiese, northeast of Basel, Switzerland, and south of Freiburg.
Mayors
* 1945–1946: Albert Gutm ...
, a small town along the Wiese valley in the hills to the north-east of Basel
, french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese
, neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...
. His father was a cabinet maker
A cabinet is a case or cupboard with shelves and/or drawers for storing or displaying items. Some cabinets are stand alone while others are built in to a wall or are attached to it like a medicine cabinet. Cabinets are typically made of wood (so ...
.[ His artistic journey began with a three-year training at the ]wood carving
Wood carving is a form of woodworking by means of a cutting tool (knife) in one hand or a chisel by two hands or with one hand on a chisel and one hand on a mallet, resulting in a wooden figure or figurine, or in the sculptural ornamentation ...
school in Furtwangen
Furtwangen im Schwarzwald (; Low Alemannic: ''Furtwange im Schwarzwald'') is a small city located in the Black Forest region of southwestern Germany. Together with Villingen-Schwenningen, Furtwangen is part of the district (German: Kreis) of Sc ...
. After that, between 1880 and 1884 he studied at the "Arts and Crafts Academy" (''"Kunstgewerbeschule"'') in Karlsruhe
Karlsruhe ( , , ; South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the third-largest city of the German state (''Land'') of Baden-Württemberg after its capital of Stuttgart and Mannheim, and the 22nd-largest city in the nation, with 308,436 inhabitants. ...
. The next year was spent at the Arts and Crafts Academy in Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...
, before a two-year period of study under Fritz Schaper
Fritz (Friedrich) Schaper (31 July 1841, Alsleben – 29 November 1919, Berlin) was a German sculptor.
Life
He was orphaned at an early age, and was sent to Halle to receive instruction at the Francke Foundations. After being apprenticed as ...
at 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 ...
. He then studied more briefly under Wilhelm von Rümann
Wilhelm von Rümann (11 November 1850 in Hanover – 6 February 1906 in Ajaccio) was a prominent German sculptor, based in Munich.
Life
Rümann was born in Hanover. He studied from 1872 to 1874 at the Academy of Fine Arts, Munich (''Akademie ...
at the Fine Arts Academy in Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...
, before returning to Karksruhe.
Back at the "Arts and Crafts Academy" in Karlsruhe
Karlsruhe ( , , ; South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the third-largest city of the German state (''Land'') of Baden-Württemberg after its capital of Stuttgart and Mannheim, and the 22nd-largest city in the nation, with 308,436 inhabitants. ...
he was a "masters student" (''"Meisterschüler"'') of , while also working as a researcher and undertaking teaching assignments between 1888 and 1898. He also took the opportunity to undertake extended study trips to Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
and 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 ...
. In 1898 he succeeded as Professor of Sculpture at the Karlsruhe academy.
In a competition for the commission of figures for the new facade of the Freiburg
Freiburg im Breisgau (; abbreviated as Freiburg i. Br. or Freiburg i. B.; Low Alemannic: ''Friburg im Brisgau''), commonly referred to as Freiburg, is an independent city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With a population of about 230,000 (as o ...
city hall, he was able to win against a rival tender from the city's own .[Ute Scherb: ''Wir bekommen die Denkmäler, die wir verdienen. Freiburger Monumente im 19. und 20. Jahrhundert.'' (= ''Veröffentlichungen aus dem Archiv der Stadt Freiburg im Breisgau.'' Vol. 36). Freiburg 2005, , p. 88f.] With his pupil, Wilhelm Merten (1879–1952), he created for the city-hall facade a figure of Egino, the first Count of Freiburg. Another of the niches accommodated Dietsche's statue of Conrad I, Duke of Zähringen
Conrad I ( – 8 January 1152) was Duke of Zähringen from 1122 until his death and from 1127 also Rector of Burgundy. He spent most of his life stemming the growing power of the House of Hohenstaufen and to this end, allied himself with the ...
, which before finding its more permanent position was exhibited at the Paris World Fair in 1900. It was melted down during the Second World War
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 opposi ...
.[Karl Schmid, Hans Schadek: ''Die Zähringer.'' Vol. 2: ''Anstoss und Wirkung.'' Thorbecke, Sigmaringen 1986, , p. 368 f.]) The other two spaces displayed figures of Leopold III, Margrave of Austria
Leopold III (german: Luitpold, 1073 – 15 November 1136), known as Leopold the Good, was the Margrave of Austria from 1095 to his death in 1136. He was a member of the House of Babenberg. He was canonized on 6 January 1485 and became the patron ...
and of Charles Frederick, the first Grand Duke of Baden
The Grand Duchy of Baden (german: Großherzogtum Baden) was a state in the southwest German Empire on the east bank of the Rhine. It existed between 1806 and 1918.
It came into existence in the 12th century as the Margraviate of Baden and subse ...
.[Ute Scherb: ''Wir bekommen die Denkmäler die wir verdienen. Freiburger Monumente im 19. und 20. Jahrhundert.'' from: Ulrich P. Ecker, Christiane Pfanz-Sponagel, Hans-Peter Widmann (compiler-editor): ''Veröffentlichungen aus dem Archiv der Stadt Freiburg im Breisgau.'', 2005, p. 89.] Four statues in Freiburg's Kaiser-Joseph-Straße were also taken down in 1942 and transported to Hamburg in order to be melted down. Two of these four (Emperor Maximilian I
Maximilian I (22 March 1459 – 12 January 1519) was King of the Romans from 1486 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1508 until his death. He was never crowned by the pope, as the journey to Rome was blocked by the Venetians. He proclaimed himself Ele ...
and Rudolf I
Rudolf I (1 May 1218 – 15 July 1291) was the first King of Germany from the House of Habsburg. The first of the count-kings of Germany, he reigned from 1273 until his death.
Rudolf's election marked the end of the Great Interregnum which h ...
) were also the work of Fridolin Dietsche, again with input, in the case of King Rudolf's statue, from Wilhelm Merten. The other two, produced between 1899 and 1900, were the work of . When war
War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...
ended in May 1945 all four of these bronze figures were still intact, but they were in Hamburg
(male), (female) en, Hamburger(s),
Hamburgian(s)
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and war had exhausted the city's finances. In 1950 the Freiburg city council, mindful of the high cost of transporting the figures back south, renounced any rights to have them returned.
Between 1900 and 1901 Dietsche took part in another competition, this time for the creation of Karlsruhe
Karlsruhe ( , , ; South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the third-largest city of the German state (''Land'') of Baden-Württemberg after its capital of Stuttgart and Mannheim, and the 22nd-largest city in the nation, with 308,436 inhabitants. ...
's Bismarck Memorial
The Bismarck Memorial (german: Bismarck-Nationaldenkmal) is a prominent memorial statue in the Tiergarten in Berlin dedicated to Prince Otto von Bismarck, Minister President of the Kingdom of Prussia and the first Chancellor of the German Em ...
. There was no overall winner of the competition as originally configured, but in a second version Dietsche's submission was determined to be the best available (''"relativ besten"''). Subsequently, however, the memorial committee decided to go ahead with one of the (three) proposals submitted by Karl Friedrich Moest. Despite being evidently underwhelmed by all the submissions, the committee let it be known that they favoured Moest because he was more than twenty years older than Dietsche who would, they anticipated, have plenty more opportunities to create public sculptures. Ironically, Moest would live to be 85, dying only in 1923, while Dietsche died in 1908 aged 45.[Diverse. In: Heinz Schmitt (Hrsg.): Denkmäler, Brunnen und Freiplastiken in Karlsruhe 1715–1945. 2nd edition Vol. 7, Karlsruhe 1989, , p. 420 (Published by the Karlsruhe city archive).]
Shortly before he died Dietscke was given a commission by The Grand Duke Frederick to draft a proposal for a memorial to Karlsruhe
Karlsruhe ( , , ; South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the third-largest city of the German state (''Land'') of Baden-Württemberg after its capital of Stuttgart and Mannheim, and the 22nd-largest city in the nation, with 308,436 inhabitants. ...
's founder, Margrave Charles III William. The intention was to replace the Karlsruhe Pyramid in the Market Square. After there was a public outcry against the idea of removing the pyramid, Dietsche submitted a proposal that combined the pyramid with the required memorial. He prepared a model which added a separated fountain and equestrian statue which won widespread support when it was exhibited, but before the project could be further progressed he died at Hamburg
(male), (female) en, Hamburger(s),
Hamburgian(s)
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while travelling to a coastal cure resort for a medical investigation.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dietsche, Fridolin
1861 births
1908 deaths
People from Schönau im Schwarzwald
People from the Grand Duchy of Baden
19th-century German sculptors
20th-century German sculptors
20th-century German male artists