Karl Ludwig Manzel, by Fritz Burger (1912)

Karl Ludwig Manzel (3 June 1858, Neu Kosenow – 20 June 1936,

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 ...

) was a German sculptor, painter and graphic artist.

Life

Friedrich I Brandenburg Siegesallee Zitadelle

His father was a tailor and his mother was a

midwife A midwife is a health professional who cares for mothers and newborns around childbirth, a specialization known as midwifery. The education and training for a midwife concentrates extensively on the care of women throughout their lifespan; co ...

. The family moved twice, first to

Boldekow Boldekow is a municipality in the Vorpommern-Greifswald district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Eur ...

then, in 1867, to

Anklam Anklam [], formerly known as Tanglim and Wendenburg, is a town in the Western Pomerania region of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is situated on the banks of the Peene river, just 8 km from its mouth in the ''Kleines Haff'', the western ...

where he attended the Gymnasium. It was there that he first expressed a desire to study art, but this was not supported by his parents. In 1875, at the age of seventeen, he arrived in Berlin, penniless, with the intention of enrolling 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 supported his education by teaching drawing at a commercial art school and providing illustrations to the magazines ''

Ulk The German language satirical magazine ''Ulk'' was printed from 1872 until 1933 by the publisher Rudolf Mosse. Its headquarters was in Berlin, Germany. Initially it was an independent weekly paper as ''Wochenblatt für Humor und Satire''. It w ...

'' (Joke, or Spoof) and ''Lustige Blätter'' (The Funny Papers). Among his teachers at the Academy were Albert Wolff and

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 a ...

.Androom Archives: Brief biography
/ref> Under the aegis of a sculptor's association called "Am Wege" (On the Way), he had his first successes and obtained a one-year scholarship to Paris, where he actually remained for three years, working in a major art studio.

Successes in Berlin

In 1889, he returned to Berlin, became a free-lance artist and developed a standing contract with the Imperial Family to produce busts and

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. His true breakthrough came in 1894, when he was commissioned to do figures for the

Berlin Cathedral The Berlin Cathedral (german: link=yes, Berliner Dom), also known as the Evangelical Supreme Parish and Collegiate Church, is a monumental German Evangelical church and dynastic tomb (House of Hohenzollern) on the Museum Island in centra ...

and the Reichstag. In 1895, he became a member of the Academy and, the following year, a Professor at the Museum of Applied Arts. In 1903, he succeeded

Reinhold Begas Reinhold Begas (15 July 1831 – 3 August 1911) was a German sculptor. Biography Begas was born in Berlin, son of the painter Carl Joseph Begas. He received his early education (1846–1851) studying under Christian Daniel Rauch and Ludwig ...

as head of the Masters Studio, a position he held until 1925. Perhaps his best-known student was

Josef Thorak Josef Thorak (7 February 1889 in Vienna, Austria – 26 February 1952 in Bad Endorf, Bavaria) was an Austrian-German sculptor. He became known for oversize monumental sculptures, particularly of male figures, and was one of the most promin ...

, one of the "official sculptors" of the

Third Reich Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

. He served two terms as President of the Academy; from 1912 to 1915 and from 1918 to 1920. In 1914, he was one of the signatories to the

Manifesto of the Ninety-Three The "Manifesto of the Ninety-Three" (originally "To the Civilized World" by "Professors of Germany") is a 4 October 1914 proclamation by 93 prominent Germans supporting Germany in the start of World War I. The Manifesto galvanized support for the w ...

, a document supporting Germany's invasion of Belgium. Manzelbrunnen 3

He was a friend of both 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 ...

and

Georg Wertheim Georg Wertheim (11 February 1857 in Stralsund – 31 December 1939 in Berlin) was a German merchant and founder of the popular Wertheim chain of department stores. Early years Wertheim grew up in Stralsund. After being an apprentice at ''W ...

. When the Kaiser renovated an old manor for use as a summer residence in Cadinen, he contracted with Manzel to help modernize the

earthenware Earthenware is glazed or unglazed nonvitreous pottery that has normally been fired below . Basic earthenware, often called terracotta, absorbs liquids such as water. However, earthenware can be made impervious to liquids by coating it with a ce ...

factory there, as well as produce new

Jugendstil ''Jugendstil'' ("Youth Style") was an artistic movement, particularly in the decorative arts, that was influential primarily in Germany and elsewhere in Europe to a lesser extent from about 1895 until about 1910. It was the German counterpart of ...

designs for pitchers, vases and jars. When the project was completed in 1905, the

Wertheim Department Store Wertheim was a large department store chain in pre-World War II Germany. It was founded by Georg Wertheim and operated various stores in Berlin, one in Rostock, one in Stralsund (where it had been founded), and one in Breslau. It was Aryanized ...

obtained exclusive rights to sell the new products. In his final years, he turned to painting, producing altarpieces for several churches in

Charlottenburg Charlottenburg () is a Boroughs and localities of Berlin, locality of Berlin within the borough of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf. Established as a German town law, town in 1705 and named after Sophia Charlotte of Hanover, Queen consort of Kingdom ...

. One of his last works was a bronze medallion of

Joseph Goebbels Paul Joseph Goebbels (; 29 October 1897 – 1 May 1945) was a German Nazi politician who was the ''Gauleiter'' (district leader) of Berlin, chief propagandist for the Nazi Party, and then Reich Minister of Propaganda from 1933 to 19 ...

. His grave is decorated with a female head he sculpted at an early stage of his career.

Selected major works

* 1894: Figures of the Apostles for the Berlin Cathedral. * 1898: A figure named "Sedina" (a symbolic embodiment of the city of

Stettin Szczecin (, , german: Stettin ; sv, Stettin ; Latin language, Latin: ''Sedinum'' or ''Stetinum'') is the capital city, capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the Po ...

), in a fountain which came to be known as the "Manzelbrunnen". It was dismantled and melted for the copper in 1942. The fountain was later reconstructed with an anchor as the centerpiece. In 2012, the Szczecin City Council approved the re-establishment of a Sedina figure there. * 1900: Group 15 in 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

Frederick I, Elector of Brandenburg Frederick (Middle High German: ''Friderich','' Standard German: ''Friedrich''; 21 September 1371 – 20 September 1440) was the last Burgrave of Nuremberg from 1397 to 1427 (as Frederick VI), Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach from 1398, Margr ...

as the central figure, flanked by side figures of the knight Johannes von Hohenlohe (1370-1412) and 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 ...

Wend von Ileburg. * 1906: Statue representing "Labor", on the first floor landing of Wertheim's department store,

Leipziger Platz Leipziger Platz is an octagonal square in the center of Berlin. It is located along Leipziger Straße just east of and adjacent to the Potsdamer Platz. History Layout and original architecture The square with the shape of an octagon, initi ...

. * 1912-1924: A monumental Christ-relief on the theme "Come unto me, all ye who labor...", with 24 figures. Intended for a Protestant church in

Gnesen Gniezno (; german: Gnesen; la, Gnesna) is a city in central-western Poland, about east of Poznań. Its population in 2021 was 66,769, making it the sixth-largest city in the Greater Poland Voivodeship. One of the Piast dynasty's chief cities, ...

, it could not be installed because that city was returned to Poland in 1920.''Mitteilungen, Erstes Heft'', Verlag der Historischen Gesellschaft für Posen, Berlin 1925, pg.79 Since 1932, it has been part of a grave memorial for

F. W. Murnau Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau (born Friedrich Wilhelm Plumpe; December 28, 1888March 11, 1931) was a German film director, producer and screenwriter. He was greatly influenced by Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, Shakespeare and Ibsen plays he had seen at t ...

in the Südwestkirchhof Stahnsdorf, not far from Manzel's own grave.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Manzel, Ludwig 1858 births 1936 deaths German sculptors German male sculptors German illustrators Prussian Academy of Arts alumni 20th-century sculptors 19th-century sculptors

Life

Successes in Berlin

Selected major works

References

Further reading

External links