August Karl Eduard Kiss, or Kiß (October 11, 1802 – March 24, 1865), was a German sculptor, known for his monumental bronzes. His work was mostly executed in the

Neoclassical architecture Neoclassical architecture, sometimes referred to as Classical Revival architecture, is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassicism, Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy, France and Germany. It became one of t ...

style and consisted largely of portraits and mythological and allegorical subjects.

Life and works

Kiss was born in Paprotzan (now Paprocany, part of

Tychy Tychy (Polish pronunciation: ; ) is a city in Silesia in southern Poland, approximately south of Katowice. Situated on the southern edge of the Upper Silesian industrial district, the city borders Katowice to the north, Mikołów to the west, Bie ...

in Poland) in

Prussian Silesia The Province of Silesia (; ; ) was a provinces of Prussia, province of Kingdom of Prussia, Prussia from 1815 to 1919. The Silesia region was part of the Prussian realm since 1742 and established as an official province in 1815, then became part ...

. He studied at the

Prussian Academy of Arts The Prussian Academy of Arts () was a state arts academy first established in 1694 by prince-elector Frederick III of Electorate of Brandenburg, Brandenburg in Berlin, in personal union Duke Frederick I of Prussia, and later king in Kingdom of ...

under Christian Daniel Rauch,

Christian Friedrich Tieck Christian Friedrich Tieck (14 August 1776 – 24 May 1851), often known only as Friedrich Tieck, was a German sculptor and a occasional artist in oils. His work was primarily figurative and includes both public statuary and private commissions ...

, and

Karl Friedrich Schinkel Karl Friedrich Schinkel (13 March 1781 – 9 October 1841) was a Prussian architect, urban planning, city planner and painter who also designed furniture and stage sets. Schinkel was one of the most prominent architects of Germany and designed b ...

. As a student, his most famous work was the relief on the gable field of the St. Nicholas Church in

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and largest city of the Germany, German States of Germany, state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the Havel, River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...

. Kiss became well known in Germany by 1839 when he made a sculpture depicting an

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek myth ...

fighting a panther in marble for

Ludwig I of Bavaria Ludwig I or Louis I (; 25 August 1786 – 29 February 1868) was King of Bavaria from 1825 until the German revolutions of 1848–49, 1848 revolutions in the German states. When he was crown prince, he was involved in the Napoleonic Wars. As ki ...

. It was later cast into bronze as Amazone zu Pferde, and placed outside the

Altes Museum The Altes Museum (English: ''Old Museum'') is a List of World Heritage Sites in Germany, listed building on the Museum Island in the Mitte (locality), historic centre of Berlin, Germany. Built between 1825 and 1830 by order of King Frederick Will ...

. Kiss was responsible for two monuments in

Wrocław Wrocław is a city in southwestern Poland, and the capital of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. It is the largest city and historical capital of the region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the Oder River in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Eu ...

: On the west part of the Ring, stood a bronze equestrian statue of

Frederick the Great Frederick II (; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was the monarch of Prussia from 1740 until his death in 1786. He was the last Hohenzollern monarch titled ''King in Prussia'', declaring himself ''King of Prussia'' after annexing Royal Prussia ...

(1847), and another equestrian statue of Prussian King Frederick Wilhelm III of Prussia (1862). His only other work in marble was the

monument A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, historical ...

dedicated to Countess Laura Henckel von Donnersmarck, itself based on a previous work by mentor Christian Rauch dedicated to Queen

Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (Luise Auguste Wilhelmine Amalie; 10 March 1776 – 19 July 1810) was Queen of Prussia as the wife of King Frederick William III. The couple's happy, though short-lived, marriage produced nine children, inclu ...

. In 1863, he was admitted as an associate member of the

Royal Academies for Science and the Arts of Belgium The Royal Academies for Science and the Arts of Belgium (RASAB) is a non-governmental association that promotes and organises science and the arts in Belgium by coordinating the national and international activities of its constituent academies su ...

. Kiss died unexpectedly on 24 March 1865, aged 62, in Berlin.

Legacy

In 1889, the Fairmount Park Art Association (now the Association for Public Art) obtained a plaster of one of Amazone zu Pferde. In 1929, the work was cast in bronze and now stands in front of the

Philadelphia Museum of Art The Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMA) is an List of art museums#North America, art museum originally chartered in 1876 for the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. The main museum building was completed in 1928 on Fairmount, a hill located at ...

. An obelisk near Paprocany, his ancestral home, was commemorated in 2003.

Selected sculptures

File:St Michael Berlin Engel Statue Kiss.JPG, The angel Michael at Saint Michael's church, Berlin. File:Berlin Neues Museum Westtympanon August Kiss.JPG, Neues Museum (Berlin) western pediment File:Saint George and the Dragon by August Kiss in Berlin.jpg, Saint George and the Dragon, Berlin

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kiss, August 1802 births 1865 deaths 19th-century German sculptors German male sculptors Architectural sculptors People from Tychy Artists from the Province of Silesia Prussian Academy of Arts alumni 19th-century German male artists