Michel Lock
Michel Lock (born April 27, 1848 in Cologne , † February 20, 1898 in Berlin ; spelling also Michael ) was a German sculptor .
Life
Michel Lock was the son of a Cologne merchant. He had 16 siblings, which not least contributed to the fact that he started an apprenticeship as a craftsman at the age of twelve. He learned the art of wood carving and stone carving from the Cologne court sculptor Eschenbach. Here he mainly worked on decorative sculptures for churches, including 18 choir stalls for Cologne Cathedral . After his apprenticeship, Lock went on a hike , but returned to Cologne and worked for the sculptor Wilhelm Albermann . Here he was busy furnishing elegant Cologne houses with ornamental and figurative decorations. In 1866 Lock moved to Hanover and worked in the workshop of the sculptor Carl Dopmeyer . In addition to his work, the first own works were created here and the goal of being active as an independent artist emerged. In December 1868, Lock followed a call from the stone sculptor and plasterer Rössemann to Berlin. After his death in 1871, Lock was accepted as a partner in the company Zeyer & Drechsler , which employed up to forty assistants during this time, whose activities Lock had to supervise and regulate. In 1874 Lock fell out with Zeyer & Drechsler, left the company and went on a study trip to Italy , including Rome , Florence and Venice , to strengthen his artistic awareness .
Back in Berlin he was employed for modeling and stone work in the new building of the National Gallery . Lock was also allowed to use the workshop space available for this in his spare time and worked here on Sunday to create the figure of a Loreley and a group from the Flood . By 1877 at the latest, Lock had its own studio on Schiffbauerdamm . He made a living mainly with commissions for figurative and ornamental sculptures on public and private buildings. In 1884 Lock achieved a certain “breakthrough” as a freelance artist with his sculpture of the aged Daedalus with the corpse of Icarus in his arms. The sculpture was awarded a gold medal at an art exhibition in Brussels and subsequently received general recognition at the art exhibition in Berlin. In 1886 a sculpture of the crucified Spartacus followed , with a daughter comforting him. Two years later, Lock created a group of six colossal figures at the Descent from the Cross . It wasn't until two years later, in 1890, that Lock showed this work at the Great Berlin Art Exhibition and was awarded a small gold medal for it. Lock's wish that this work, executed in marble , would find a worthy installation site was only fulfilled after his death. Today it is in the Hohenzollern Crypt in the Berlin Cathedral . In 1896 he received a large gold medal at the International Art Exhibition in Berlin .
A friendship developed with the sculptor Emil Hundrieser and Hundrieser not only commissioned Lock with the execution of larger sandstone works based on his models, but also designed some designs together with Lock. One such joint work was, for example, the Berolina , which was set up on Potsdamer Platz when the Italian King Umberto I visited in 1889 .
Lock's main work was the group I have no time to be tired, created in 1891 , which shows Kaiser Wilhelm I, sitting in an armchair and dying, with the angel of death to one side. The title refers to a saying made by Wilhelm in old age. After Lock's death, Franz Tübbecke (1856–1937) made a marble version of the work on behalf of the Prussian minister of culture , which was placed in the Hohenzollern Museum in Monbijou Castle . The whereabouts of this work is not known. It may have been lost when the castle was destroyed in World War II .
Lock's character was described as “cheerful” and “indestructible cheerfulness”. He is said to have been able to “have a great company of joy for hours without getting tired”, whereby he also “never spurned a good drink from local vines”. After his death, Lock's body was buried in the Wilmersdorf cemetery. Since Lock had also created several grave sculptures during his lifetime, one was placed on his grave, showing Christ (Lock was a devout Catholic).
Awards
In 1891 Lock showed the sculpture group I have no time to be tired at the Great Berlin Art Exhibition and was awarded the Great Golden Medal for this. In the same year Lock was awarded the Fidicin Medal in Silver by the Association for the History of Berlin .
Existing works
- Descent from the Cross in the Hohenzollern Crypt in Berlin Cathedral from 1888.
- Christ sculpture placed on his grave.
literature
- Adolf Rosenberg: Michael Lock . In: Berliner Architekturwelt , 1st volume, issue 10 (January 1899), pp. 360–370.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Lock, M. In: Berliner Adreßbuch , 1877, Teil 1, p. 476. “[private] Friedrichstraße 138a, Atelier: Schiffbauerdamm 20 [parterre]” (The private apartment was nearby: immediately south of the Weidendammer Bridge , for example at later Palace of Tears ).
- ↑ Rosenberg, p. 366
- ↑ Michael Lock . In: Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon , Volume 12. Leipzig 1908, p. 648.
- ↑ Newspaper clipping about Wilhelm I from 1938
- ^ Biography of Franz Tübbecke
- ↑ Rosenberg, p. 367
- ↑ Recipient of the Fidicin Medal
- ↑ Photo of the sculpture
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Lock, Michel |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Lock, Michael |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German sculptor |
| DATE OF BIRTH | April 27, 1848 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Cologne |
| DATE OF DEATH | February 20, 1898 |
| Place of death | Berlin |