Rudolf Moroder-Lenèrt (26 January 1877 in

Urtijëi Urtijëi (; ; ) is a town of 4,637 inhabitants in South Tyrol in northern Italy. It occupies the Val Gardena within the Dolomites, a mountain chain that is part of the Alps. Geography Urtijëi borders the following municipalities: Kastelruth, V ...

County of Tyrol The (Princely) County of Tyrol was an Imperial State, estate of the Holy Roman Empire established about 1140. After 1253, it was ruled by the House of Gorizia and from 1363 by the House of Habsburg. In 1804, the County of Tyrol, unified with th ...

– 22 December 1914 in Radlow, Galicia) was an Austrian sculptor specializing in religious art, who was a member of the

Moroder family Moroder () is a germanised version of the Ladin language, Ladin surname Mureda. Originally a surname from Val Gardena, South Tyrol (present almost exclusively in Ortisei), since the 18th century traders migrating from Val Gardena have also distri ...

South Tyrol South Tyrol ( , ; ; ), officially the Autonomous Province of Bolzano – South Tyrol, is an autonomous administrative division, autonomous provinces of Italy, province in northern Italy. Together with Trentino, South Tyrol forms the autonomo ...

, which was notable for the many artists of repute they produced. Rudolf_Moroder_Lenert_1905_ca

Life

Rudolph was the son of Franz Moroder-Lenèrt, a leading politician of the region, and of Marianna Moroder-Lusenberg, the sister of the noted sculptor

Josef Moroder-Lusenberg Josef Theodor Moroder, also known as the Lusenberger, (28 May 1846 in Urtijëi – 16 February 1939 in Urtijëi) was a painter and sculptor, the most prominent artist of the Moroder family from the Grödenthal in South Tyrol (now the Val Gardena ...

. During a period of military service in the

Austro-Hungarian Army The Austro-Hungarian Army, also known as the Imperial and Royal Army,; was the principal ground force of Austria-Hungary from 1867 to 1918. It consisted of three organisations: the Common Army (, recruited from all parts of Austria-Hungary), ...

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, he recognized that his true interest was in being an artist. He began his training in the craft under Anton Runggaldier (known as "Tone da Passua") and then became an assistant in the studio of Franz Tavella. In 1902 Moroder opened his own studio in Lenèrt House, home of the firm, Moroder Brothers, where his brother-in-law, Ludwig Moroder, also worked. His own works ranged across a number of religious themes, and were mostly created for the various churches and cathedrals of the

Grand Duchy of Baden The Grand Duchy of Baden () was a German polity on the east bank of the Rhine. It originally existed as a sovereign state from 1806 to 1871 and later as part of the German Empire until 1918. The duchy's 12th-century origins were as a Margravia ...

and the

Kingdom of Württemberg The Kingdom of Württemberg ( ) was a German state that existed from 1806 to 1918, located within the area that is now Baden-Württemberg. The kingdom was a continuation of the Electorate of Württemberg, which existed from 1803 to 1806. Geogr ...

. He created a famous set of the

Stations of the Cross The Stations of the Cross or the Way of the Cross, also known as the Via Dolorosa, Way of Sorrows or the , are a series of fourteen images depicting Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ on the day of Crucifixion of Jesus, his crucifixion and acc ...

for the Church of St. Ann in

Silesia Silesia (see names #Etymology, below) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at 8, ...

. Moroder re-entered military service when

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

broke out. Stationed at a base in Radlow in

Austrian Galicia The Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, also known as Austrian Galicia or colloquially Austrian Poland, was a constituent possession of the Habsburg monarchy in the historical region of Galicia in Eastern Europe. The crown land was established ...

, he was there when the position was overrun by enemy forces. He, along with many of his comrades, was

bayonet A bayonet (from Old French , now spelt ) is a -4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ... , now spelt ) is a knife, dagger">knife">-4; we might wonder whethe ...

ted to death, dying at the age of 37. His body was buried there.

Works

Moroder decided to submit a work to an art exhibit at the World's Fair of 1900, to be held in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. He chose his wooden sculpture of ''St.

Elizabeth of Hungary Elizabeth of Hungary (, , ; 7 July 120717 November 1231), also known as Elisabeth of Thuringia, was a princess of the Kingdom of Hungary and the landgravine of Thuringia. Elizabeth was married at the age of 14, and widowed at 20. After her hus ...

with a Beggar'', which he had sculpted in 1898 at the age of 21, based on a design by Christian Delago. He won the gold medal in the exhibition for this piece. The work is now in the

Rosary The Rosary (; , in the sense of "crown of roses" or "garland of roses"), formally known as the Psalter of Jesus and Mary (Latin: Psalterium Jesu et Mariae), also known as the Dominican Rosary (as distinct from other forms of rosary such as the ...

Chapel A chapel (from , a diminutive of ''cappa'', meaning "little cape") is a Christianity, Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. First, smaller spaces inside a church that have their o ...

of the parish church of Urtijëi, known for the large number of significant works of art from that period created by the large, local artistic community of the region. Another of Moroder's pieces, a large, wooden sculpture of

Saint Peter Saint Peter (born Shimon Bar Yonah; 1 BC – AD 64/68), also known as Peter the Apostle, Simon Peter, Simeon, Simon, or Cephas, was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus and one of the first leaders of the Jewish Christian#Jerusalem ekklēsia, e ...

, stands in the

sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred space, sacred place, such as a shrine, protected by ecclesiastical immunity. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This seconda ...

of the church, next to the main

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religion, religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, Church (building), churches, and other places of worship. They are use ...

Gallery

File:Saint-Peter-R.Moroder.jpg, A statue of

, carved in wood (1907), in the parish church of Urtijëi File:Portrait Rudolf Moroder.jpg, A portrait by Moroder File:Elisabeth of Hungary Moroder.jpg, ''St.

with a Beggar'' (1898)
in wood, in the parish church of Urtijëi File:Saint with child Rudolf Moroder.jpg, ''St.

Anthony of Padua Anthony of Padua, Order of Friars Minor, OFM, (; ; ) or Anthony of Lisbon (; ; ; born Fernando Martins de Bulhões; 15 August 1195 – 13 June 1231) was a Portuguese people, Portuguese Catholic priest and member of the Order of Friars Minor. ...

with the Infant Jesus''
(plaster cast) File:Bedaia de Rudolf Moroder Expo 1900.jpg, Gold Medal awarded to Rudolf Moroder for the sculpture Saint Elisabeth with beggar at the World's Fair of 1900 in Paris File:Bedaia Expo 1900 Rudolf Moroder dovia.jpg, Reverse of the gold medal

Sources

* CM (Christian Moroder): ''N lecord dl scultëur Rudolf Moroder de Lenert 80 ani do si mort''. Calënder de Gherdëina 1994, Union di Ladins de Gherdëina, St. Ulrich 1993. pages 16–38. (sources of the images) ( Ladin) * Edgar Moroder: ''Die Moroder, Ein altladinisches Geschlecht aus Gröden-Dolomiten''. Vom 14. bis zum 20. Jahrhundert. Ursprung – Geschichte – Biographien – Anhang. Beitrag zur tirolischen Familienforschung. Eigenverlag St. Ulrich in Gröden 1980, pages 246–249. (German) *Adele Moroder de Lenèrt: N memoria de Rudolf Moroder de Lenert do 50 ani che 'l i.e. tumà tla gran viëra mondiela 1914''. Calënder de Gherdëina 1965, Union di Ladins de Gherdëina, St. Ulrich 1964. pages 29-31. (Ladin) * Cirillo Dell’Antonio: ''Artisti ladini 1580–1939''. Cristiano Trebinger, Melchiore Vinazer, Domenico Moling, Valentino Rovisi, Domenico Mahlknecht, G. Battista Pettena, Ferdinando Demetz, G. Battista Chiocchetti, Francesco Tavella, G. Moroder-Lusenberg, Giuseppe Iellico, Rodolfo Moroder. Trento. Ed. della Scuola D'Arte. 1951.

Literature

External links

Source of Rudolph Moroder's images and more information regarding his life
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moroder-Lusenberg, Josef 1877 births 1914 deaths People from Urtijëi 19th-century Austrian painters 19th-century Austrian male artists Austrian male painters 20th-century Austrian painters Austrian male sculptors Austro-Hungarian military personnel killed in World War I Deaths by bayonet Burials in Lesser Poland Voivodeship 20th-century Austrian sculptors 19th-century Austrian sculptors Ladin people Rudolf Catholic sculptors 20th-century Austrian male artists