Paul Ondrusch (born 4 June 1875, Leobschütz; died 29 September 1952, UntermühlhausenThe name of the place differs in various sources.) was a German sculptor who created religious works of art. Ondrusch was an active artist in

Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...

n towns and villages at the time when they belonged to the

German Empire The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...

and later when they were part of

Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic (german: link=no, Weimarer Republik ), officially named the German Reich, was the government of Germany from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional federal republic for the first time in history; hence it is al ...

and 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 ...

since 1919 and 1933 respectively. After 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 opposin ...

he moved to Germany when his hometown was included in the territory of post-war communist-ruled

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

in 1945.

Biography

Early years

Ondrusch was born to Paul Ondrusch and Anna Granel as their third child. His father was an artist who specialized in

carpentry Carpentry is a skilled trade and a craft in which the primary work performed is the cutting, shaping and installation of building materials during the construction of buildings, ships, timber bridges, concrete formwork, etc. Carpenters tr ...

and wished his son would go into the same profession, preparing him for it in his own workshop. Paul's talent was soon discovered when he started to carve wooden sculptures. After finishing primary school education, he was sent to a school in Würbenthal in which he was taught xylography. A year later, he was able to leave that school because of his extraordinary abilities. In 1890 he made a wooden sculpture of the Christ for the Catholic Church in Leobschütz (now

Głubczyce Głubczyce ( cs, Hlubčice or sparsely ''Glubčice'', german: Leobschütz, Silesian German: ''Lischwitz'') is a town in Opole Voivodeship in southern Poland, near the border with the Czech Republic. It is the administrative seat of Głubczyce Co ...

). Apart from that sculpture, he also contributed to numerous projects as well as the creation of other works including a

pulpit A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, access ...

in the Trinity Church (nowadays the closed Church of St. Anne) and

Saint Florian Florian ( la, Florianus; 250 – 304 AD) was a Christians, Christian holy man, and the patron saint of Linz, Austria; chimney sweeps; soapmakers, and firefighting, firefighters. His feast day is 4 May. Florian is also the patron saint of Upper ...

's altar in Leobschütz.Schmidt, J.

Academic studies

Having finished Würbenthal school, in November 1894 Ondrusch started his studies at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich where he was recognized and awarded for his life-size statue of the biblical figure,

Judas Iscariot Judas Iscariot (; grc-x-biblical, Ἰούδας Ἰσκαριώτης; syc, ܝܗܘܕܐ ܣܟܪܝܘܛܐ; died AD) was a disciple and one of the original Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ. According to all four canonical gospels, Judas betraye ...

, during the fourth year of his study. His teacher was Syrius Eberle. At the age of twenty-two, he was welcomed with open arms anywhere he went. Despite his early age, he was many a time offered the position of professor. However, he did not accept the offers. He decided to devote his artistic work to religious art.Maler, K. 1996 That choice was inspired by Ondrusch's deep

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

beliefs which had been instilled in him by his devout family. Most of his works were crosses, altars, pulpits and figures of the saints with a particular emphasis on the figures of

The Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...

.Schmidt, J.

Further work

As an Academy graduate, he returned to his place of birth, Leobschütz, where he again started to work in Paul Ondrusch senior's workshop where he painted and carved in wood and stone. It was then that many of his works came into existence. These included sculptures for local schools (e.g., a monument for the deceased students and teachers; and an altar in the chapel of a local gymnasium) as well as for churches located in the nearest area, but also in

Neisse The Lusatian Neisse (german: Lausitzer Neiße; pl, Nysa Łużycka; cs, Lužická Nisa; Upper Sorbian: ''Łužiska Nysa''; Lower Sorbian: ''Łužyska Nysa''), or Western Neisse, is a river in northern Central Europe.Königshütte;

Langenbielau Bielawa (german: Langenbielau; szl, Bielawa) is a town in southwestern Poland. Since 1999, it has been situated in Dzierżoniów County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship. From 1975 to 1998, it was part of the Wałbrzych Voivodeship. As of December 2 ...

; and

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 ...

. He carved among other things, a figure of Saint Mary (

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...

, St. Anne Church); figure of Saint John (

oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

wood); and figures of

Saint Francis St. Francis or Saint Francis may refer to: Roman Catholic saints *Francis of Assisi (1181–1226), Italian founder of the Order of Friars Minor (Franciscans) *Francis of Paola (1416–1507), Italian (Calabrian) founder of the Order of the Minims * ...

, Saint Anthony and

Saint Michael Michael (; he, מִיכָאֵל, lit=Who is like El od, translit=Mīḵāʾēl; el, Μιχαήλ, translit=Mikhaḗl; la, Michahel; ar, ميخائيل ، مِيكَالَ ، ميكائيل, translit=Mīkāʾīl, Mīkāl, Mīkhāʾīl), also ...

defeating the devil. Other works included organ balustrades,

confessional A confessional is a box, cabinet, booth, or stall in which the priest in some Christian churches sits to hear the confessions of penitents. It is the usual venue for the sacrament in the Roman Catholic Church and the Lutheran Churches, but sim ...

s and

Stations of the Cross The Stations of the Cross or the Way of the Cross, also known as the Way of Sorrows or the Via Crucis, refers to a series of images depicting Jesus Christ on the day of Crucifixion of Jesus, his crucifixion and accompanying prayers. The station ...

. Grateful for the support from Hans Georg von Oppersdorff (born 1866), who financed Ondrusch's studies, Ondrusch became the creator of several notable works, including a lifesize statue of Jesus for the Oppersdorffs family tombstone; busts of the members of that family; and a statue of Saint Dorothea which was subsequently cast in

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...

. All of the mentioned works have been reported missing after the war. Nevertheless, Ondrusch's artistry can be evaluated and described on the basis of the two works of art which have remained in Oberglogau, north of his family town, Leobschütz. One of them is a sandstone sculpture of Christ carrying the cross (1903, with a meaningful gesture of a raised hand). This work can be found on a

defensive wall A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or earthworks to extensive military fortifications with towers, bastions and gates ...

between a monastery and the building of a former city guard in Oberglogau (now

Głogówek Głogówek (pronounced , German: ''Oberglogau'', cs, Horní Hlohov, szl, Gogōwek) is a small historic town in southern Poland. It is situated on the Osobloga River, in Opole Voivodeship of the greater Silesian region. The city lies approximat ...

). The other work is a wooden figure of Saint Mary with the Infant Jesus which can be currently seen in the Regional Museum in Głogówek, but it used to be placed in a local castle's chapel.Szyndzielorz, A. Paul Ondrusch was also the creator of other sculpted tombstones and busts that decorated buildings' fronts. These first ones included the figure of

Saint John the Baptist John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...

placed in the old cemetery in Leobschütz in 1924.Schmidt, J. Ondrusch's wooden sculpture of

Remus von Woyrsch Martin Wilhelm Remus von Woyrsch (4 February 1847 – 6 August 1920) was a Prussian field marshal, a member of the Prussian House of Lords from 1908 to 1918, and an ''Ehrenkommendator'' or Honorary Commander of the Order of St. John. Family ...

, a German

Field Marshal General ''Generalfeldmarschall'' (from Old High German ''marahscalc'', "marshal, stable master, groom"; en, general field marshal, field marshal general, or field marshal; ; often abbreviated to ''Feldmarschall'') was a rank in the armies of several ...

, decorated the main hall in the town hall of Leobschütz. General von Woyrsch was portrayed as a knight wearing a coat and a

chain mail Chain mail (properly called mail or maille but usually called chain mail or chainmail) is a type of armour consisting of small metal rings linked together in a pattern to form a mesh. It was in common military use between the 3rd century BC and ...

, with his hands placed on a handle of a large sword resting against the ground. That work has not withstood the destruction of the building, bombed in March 1945 and pulled down during the following years. The mentioned busts decorating buildings' fronts were similar to

cartouche In Egyptian hieroglyphs, a cartouche is an oval with a line at one end tangent to it, indicating that the text enclosed is a royal name. The first examples of the cartouche are associated with pharaohs at the end of the Third Dynasty, but the fea ...

s placed above main buildings' doors. Those

bas-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, created by Ondrusch, decorated buildings constructed in the years 1922-1923 in Leobschütz and they portrayed Saint Hedwig with a church in the background;

Saint Joseph Joseph (; el, Ἰωσήφ, translit=Ioséph) was a 1st-century Jewish man of Nazareth who, according to the canonical Gospels, was married to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and was the legal father of Jesus. The Gospels also name some brothers of ...

with Jesus; Saint Martin with a coat with which he covers the needy;

Saint Anne According to Christian apocryphal and Islamic tradition, Saint Anne was the mother of Mary and the maternal grandmother of Jesus. Mary's mother is not named in the canonical gospels. In writing, Anne's name and that of her husband Joachim come o ...

with Jesus; Saint Elizabeth with the roses; the

Holy Family The Holy Family consists of the Child Jesus, the Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph. The subject became popular in art from the 1490s on, but veneration of the Holy Family was formally begun in the 17th century by Saint François de Laval, the first ...

escaping from Egypt; the

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...

saints;

Saint George Saint George (Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin: Georgius, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christian who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to tradition he was a soldier ...

who kills a dragon; and the

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

, this single sculpture being exceptionally done in

limewood ''Tilia'' is a genus of about 30 species of trees or bushes, native throughout most of the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The tree is known as linden for the European species, and basswood for North American species. In Britain and Ireland they ...

. The material used for these carvings was taken from earthworks carried out during the construction of a sports field. The newly done carvings were then transported to the master potter's workshop where they were fired in a

kiln A kiln is a thermally insulated chamber, a type of oven, that produces temperatures sufficient to complete some process, such as hardening, drying, or chemical changes. Kilns have been used for millennia to turn objects made from clay int ...

. Afterwards, the sculptures were coloured and then placed above the doors of the building. Some of these cartouches measured in length and in height, whereas others were round. Ondrusch was commissioned by the municipal authorities of

Gleiwitz Gliwice (; german: Gleiwitz) is a city in Upper Silesia, in southern Poland. The city is located in the Silesian Highlands, on the Kłodnica river (a tributary of the Oder River, Oder). It lies approximately 25 km west from Katowice, the re ...

to do a sculpture of

crucified Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the victim is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross or beam and left to hang until eventual death from exhaustion and asphyxiation. It was used as a punishment by the Persians, Carthagin ...

Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, names and titles), was ...

and mourning witnesses, which was erected at the Lime trees Cemetery in Petersdorf (now Szobiszowice; a district of Gleiwitz). He was also asked to sculpt a monument dedicated to seventy-six children who were killed in a theatre in 1919. The latter work is one that is characterized as modest in its message. It portrays the children embraced by Jesus and is situated in front of a flat stone. Originally, it also included an inscription in

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 **Ger ...

which could be translated as follows: "Come to me children," and "In memory of 76 children of Gleiwitz who died a violent death on 24 March 1919."Pokorska, E. Apart from these works, Ondrusch also created several other works for the All Saints' Church in Gleiwitz (now Polish

Gliwice Gliwice (; german: Gleiwitz) is a city in Upper Silesia, in southern Poland. The city is located in the Silesian Highlands, on the Kłodnica river (a tributary of the Oder). It lies approximately 25 km west from Katowice, the regional cap ...

).Schmidt, J. Ondrusch presented his works at annual exhibitions in Gleiwitz; Hindenburg; and Oppeln. One trace leads to Ostwestfalen. In 1927, Paul Ondrusch met his future son-in-law, Anton Spilker (fiancé of his daughter Elsa), who came from his father's cabinetmaker's workshop in Steinheim, Westphalia, and profiled himself as a furniture designer. It came to a cooperation when the workshop of Anton Spilker senior in Steinheim was commissioned to make an oak plaque for the classmates fallen in the World War by the association of former high school students. Paul Ondrusch created in his unique style the middle cross-shaped sculpture with the risen Christ as Lord of life and death. After the shipment of the core piece from Leobschütz to Steinheim, the panel was produced in its entirety in the Steinheimer carpentry, and Anton Spilker junior cut in the inscriptions and names of the fallen. It was then solemnly unveiled on 23 October 1928 and found its place in the music hall of the high school. Today, the Furniture Museum Steinheim is the repository. Nowadays, the artist Ondrusch and the works of art preserved in Silesia are being honored again in Poland. In the territory of the Federal Republic of Germany there are hardly any works in the generally accessible, religious or public space. So he is largely forgotten as an artist and person in Germany today. As an exception, there are the institutions of the refugees and displaced from the Eastern territories. It is reported that works of Paul Ondrusch can be found in Oldenburg, Eschershausen (Leobschützer Heimatstube) and Wiesbaden as well as in private collections.

Family life

Ondrusch had eleven siblings. He married Martha Olbrich in 1902 and they had four daughters (Lucia born in 1902, Elsa - 1903, Margarethe - 1908 and Charlotte - 1912) and two sons (Paul born 1916 and Heinz - 1920). He was recruited during the

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

(1914–1918). His oldest daughter died in 1916 and his wife in 1922. Three years after her death, he remarried and started a second family with Emma Werdecker with whom he had a daughter Ingeborg (1928) and a son, Gerhard (1932).Schmidt, J. Paul Ondrusch moved to Germany in 1945 and there he continued his work. He died at the age of seventy-seven.

Notes

References

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ondrusch, Paul 1875 births 1952 deaths 19th-century German sculptors 20th-century German sculptors 20th-century German male artists Christian artists German Christians German male sculptors People from Głubczyce People from the Province of Silesia Academy of Fine Arts, Munich alumni