Alexander Gilli
Alexander Gilli (born October 24, 1823 in Berlin , † May 30, 1880 in Berlin) was a Prussian sculptor . He is considered a representative of the Berlin School of Sculpture .
life and work
Gilli was the son of the Carrara sculptor Ceccardo Gilli, who followed Christian Daniel Rauch in 1819 when he moved from Italy to Berlin. As a student in the studio community of Rauch and Friedrich Tieck , Alexander Gilli was represented for the first time in 1842 at the Berlin Academy exhibition with an antique head sculpture. In 1850 he received the Rome scholarship and stayed in the Tiber city until 1855.
After his return he exhibited the pleasing statuette of a "snake killer" at the Berlin Academy exhibition in 1856, a repetition of which was preserved in 1874 (Staatliche Museen zu Berlin).
Gilli later worked increasingly for Prince Carl of Prussia and his summer residence, Schloss Glienicke , for which he was awarded the title of "Prince Carl's Court Sculptor". In 1868 he created a bust of the prince, restored newly acquired antiques (which Rauch's workshop had previously done) and probably also created the four allegorical figures of the lion fountain in Glienicke.
The architectural design of the “ Loggia Alexandra ” pavilion on the Böttcherberg from 1868 must be viewed as a special case of his work . The design was then carried out by the master builder Ernst Petzholtz and painted according to Gilli's design.
Gilli's work was probably not particularly extensive and little is known from written sources, even less has survived. The grave of his father Ceccardo Gilli (1862) is located in the old St. Hedwig cemetery . The Asmus Jacob Carstens tomb has been preserved in the Schleswig cemetery, whereas the Pommer-Esche tomb in the Dorotheenstadt cemetery has been destroyed.
Portrait busts of Karl Weierstrass, Friedrich Bellermann, Alexander von Humboldt and Gotthold Ephraim Lessing are known . Gilli may also have created the (not preserved) bust of Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna for the Loggia Alexandra.
Gilli died in Berlin in 1880 at the age of 56 and, like her father, was buried in the local St. Hedwig cemetery on Liesenstrasse . His tomb has not been preserved.
literature
- Gilli, Alexander . In: Ulrich Thieme , Fred. C. Willis (Ed.): General lexicon of visual artists from antiquity to the present . Founded by Ulrich Thieme and Felix Becker . tape 14 : Giddens-Gress . EA Seemann, Leipzig 1921, p. 40 ( Textarchiv - Internet Archive ).
- Harry Nehls: Alexander Gilli. A forgotten artist from the Berlin School of Sculpture. In: Yearbook for Brandenburg State History. 39, Berlin 1988, pp. 129-143.
- Harry Nehls: A rediscovered portrait of the Berlin sculptor Alexander Gilli (1823–1880). In: Yearbook for Brandenburg State History. 40, Berlin 1989, pp. 138-161.
- Peter Bloch , Sibylle Einholz , Jutta von Simson (eds.): Ethos and Pathos, Die Berliner Bildhauerschule 1786–1914. Staatliche Museen, Berlin 1990 - catalog volume, p. 110 f.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859) - A Gilli 1868 Berlin. digitaltmuseum.se, accessed on March 6, 2019 .
- ^ Hans-Jürgen Mende: Lexicon of Berlin tombs. Haude & Spener, Berlin 2006. p. 54.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Gilli, Alexander |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German sculptor |
| DATE OF BIRTH | October 24, 1823 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Berlin |
| DATE OF DEATH | May 30, 1880 |
| Place of death | Berlin |