Max Klein (27 January 1847,

Gönc Gönc is a town in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén county in Northern Hungary, 55 kilometers from county capital Miskolc. It is the northernmost town of Hungary and the second smallest town of the county. History Gönc has been inhabited since the Con ...

- 6 September 1908,

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 and

medallist A medalist (or medallist) is an artist who designs medals, plaquettes, badges, metal medallions, coins and similar small works in relief in metal. Historically, medalists were typically also involved in producing their designs, and were usually e ...

, of Jewish ancestry.

Life and work

His family was very poor. After finishing primary school, he learned

watchmaking A watchmaker is an artisan who makes and repairs watches. Since a majority of watches are now factory-made, most modern watchmakers only repair watches. However, originally they were master craftsmen who built watches, including all their par ...

, then went to

Pest Pest or The Pest may refer to: Science and medicine * Pest (organism), an animal or plant deemed to be detrimental to humans or human concerns ** Weed, a plant considered undesirable * Infectious disease, an illness resulting from an infection ** ...

, where he was employed in the sculpture workshop of Ferenc Szandház (1827-1902), and his brother Károly (1824-1892). He studied briefly 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 ...

, in 1865, but had to leave for financial reasons. In 1869, he went to Rome for further training. While there, he joined the , but was a member for only a year. He travelled back through Breslau, Vienna, and Munich; arriving in Berlin in 1874. There, he worked in the studios of the animal painter,

Carl Steffeck Carl Constantin Heinrich Steffeck (4 April 1818, Berlin – 11 July 1890, Königsberg) was a German painter and graphic artist. He was especially well known for his paintings of horses and dogs. Life He was the son of a "gentleman of independ ...

. After a second trip to Rome, he returned to Berlin, where he settled permanently in the

Grunewald Grunewald is the name of both a locality and a forest in Germany: * Grunewald (forest) * Grunewald (locality) Grünewald may refer to: * Grünewald (surname) * Grünewald, Germany, a municipality in Brandenburg, Germany * Grünewald (Luxembourg), ...

district. His debut came at an Academy exhibition in 1877, but received little public recognition until 1879, when he displayed a dramatic bronze group, " Hercules and the Nemean Lion".Károly Lyka, "Klein, Max", In: ''Allgemeines Lexikon der Bildenden Künstler von der Antike bis zur Gegenwart'', Vol. 20: Kaufmann–Knilling, E. A. Seemann, Leipzig 1927, pgs.444–445 In 1881, he was awarded a major commission to create figures of

Plato Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...

and

Aristotle Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of phil ...

, for the

Joachimsthalsches Gymnasium The Joachimsthal Gymnasium (German ''Joachimsthalsches'' or ''Joachimsthaler Gymnasium''), was a princely high school (German ''Fürstenschule'') for gifted boys, founded in 1607 in Joachimsthal, Brandenburg. In 1636, during the Thirty Years' War ...

, a school that was founded in the 17th century. In 1886, he became a

naturalized Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-citizen of a country may acquire citizenship or nationality of that country. It may be done automatically by a statute, i.e., without any effort on the part of the in ...

citizen and married Eva Dohm, the youngest daughter of

Ernst Dohm Friedrich Wilhelm Ernst (or Ernest) Dohm (born Elias Levy Dohm; also known by his pseudonym ''Karlchen Mießnick''; 24 May 1819, Breslau – 5 February 1883, Berlin) was a German editor, actor, and translator. He was Jewish and a convert to Chri ...

, Editor-in-Chief of the satirical magazine, ''

Kladderadatsch ''Kladderadatsch'' ( onomatopoeic for "Crash") was a satirical German-language magazine first published in Berlin on 7 May 1848. It appeared weekly or as the ''Kladderadatsch'' put it: "daily, except for weekdays." It was founded by Albert Hofman ...

'', and his wife, the writer

Hedwig Dohm Marianne Adelaide Hedwig Dohm (née Schlesinger, later Schleh; 20 September 1831 – 1 June 1919) was a German Feminist movement, feminist and author. Family She was born in the Kingdom of Prussia, Prussian capital Berlin to History of the Jew ...

. Their daughter, (1886-1977) was married to the psychologist,

Kurt Koffka Kurt Koffka (March 12, 1886 – November 22, 1941) was a German psychologist and professor. He was born and educated in Berlin, Germany; he died in Northampton, Massachusetts from coronary thrombosis. He was influenced by his maternal uncl ...

, and worked as a translator. He was a regular exhibitor at the

Große Berliner Kunstausstellung Große Berliner Kunstausstellung (Great Berlin Art Exhibition), abbreviated GroBeKa or GBK, was an annual art exhibition that existed from 1893 to 1969 with intermittent breaks. In 1917 and 1918, during World War I, it was not held in Berlin bu ...

; notably in 1900, when he presented a large statue of

Samson Samson (; , '' he, Šīmšōn, label= none'', "man of the sun") was the last of the judges of the ancient Israelites mentioned in the Book of Judges (chapters 13 to 16) and one of the last leaders who "judged" Israel before the institution o ...

, bound and blinded. In 1901, he was awarded the title of Professor. His last work, a

statue of Theodor Fontane A statue of Theodor Fontane by German sculptors Max Klein and Frtz Schaper is installed at Großer Tiergarten in Berlin, Germany. File:Max Klein Fontanedenkmal Maerkisches Museum Berlin.jpg, Model by Max Klein in Märkisches Museum The Mä ...

, was left unfinished. It was completed by

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 ...

and dedicated two years later in the Tiergarten. It has since been replaced by a copy, and the original is in the

Märkisches Museum The Märkisches Museum ( Marcher Museum; originally Märkisches Provinzial-Museum, i.e. Museum of the Province of the March f Brandenburg is a museum in Mitte, Berlin. Founded in 1874 as the museum of the city of Berlin and its political regi ...

.''Kunstchronik,'' New edition, Vol.21, Nr. 28, 1910 pg.456

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Klein, Max 1847 births 1908 deaths German sculptors German medallists Jewish sculptors People from Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County

Life and work

References

Further reading

External links