Dieter von Levetzow

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Bronze sculpture "Euro boy" in Rees
"Harmonica player" on the Rhine promenade in Emmerich am Rhein
Bronze sculpture "Goat" in Rees
Statue of St. Jodokus on the fountain on the church square in Uedem-Keppeln

Dieter von Levetzow (born November 22, 1925 in Gronau , German Empire ) is a German painter, sculptor and medalist . He is a great-great-nephew of Goethe's later love, Ulrike von Levetzow .

Career

Dieter von Levetzow was born in Gronau in the Hildesheim district in Lower Saxony in 1925 . He grew up in Bad Pyrmont , a spa town and independent municipality in the Hameln-Pyrmont district in Lower Saxony. His childhood was overshadowed by the global economic crisis. During his youth, it became apparent that he would later embark on an artistic career. It already began with the snowman in the sandpit and the modeling of animals on the sandy beach of Kolberg . As a little boy he also sketched all kinds of bare women. When his parents asked him where he had seen something like this, he replied:

"They were painted on the ceiling of the foyer in Bad Pyrmont, but nobody looked up."

During the Second World War , he applied for a place at the Weimar University of Fine Arts in 1941 with an elephant made of plasticine . Because of his work, he received a special permit from the Ministry of Culture in Berlin with one condition. He was not allowed to attend a model class because he was still a minor . However, the Weimar professors told him the following:

"If you want to become a sculptor, you have to look at the naked!"

Shortly before, he was expelled from what he called a "shock chamber" school. Dieter von Levetzow is still a humorous person who runs in the family. Shortly before he was captured by the Soviets, his mother wrote him the following in a letter:

"Your greatest wish has come true, the school was bombed."

Dieter von Levetzow did not finish his studies in Weimar until after the military service and the Polish-Soviet captivity . Since he saw no perspective for himself after the war in the east, he fled to the west. His first destination was Hamburg . But there he only got ration cards . He started his first job as an assistant set designer in the city of Heide . He later said the following about it:

"It was wonderful to experience an untroubled time in the theater world after the end of the war."

While he was working in Heide, his colleague, the painter Dieter Güllert , raved about the Lower Rhine . When he then moved to Paesmühle near Straelen , Dieter von Levetzow followed him shortly afterwards. There they converted a greenhouse into a studio and subsequently operated it together. The first exhibition Junge Kunst Paesmühle took place in the Hotel Lomm. His preferred material at that time was the Kirchheim shell limestone.

In 1951 Dieter von Levetzow went on a study trip to Italy , via Rome , Naples and Capri . During his stay there, he took up a job as a sculptor for the Bishop of Sorrento in the Church of Anacapri, which he held for several years. During this time he fell in love with an Indian woman with whom he finally moved to Bavaria in the 1950s . The beginning was not easy there. At the time, he was living as a Protestant unmarried with an Indian woman in Bavaria. Only one event changed this, said Dieter von Levetzow:

"Reverend greeted us at the weekly market, after which we were accepted."

At the end of the 1950s he began to work with the cire perdue casting technique. In the following years he took part in exhibitions in Cologne-Düsseldorf, Munich , Duisburg and Kevelaer .

Dieter von Levetzow lives today on the more than 500 year old farm “Klarenbeck” in Kranenburg , where he runs a studio. He bought the farm in the 1970s and renovated it. His partner is a Dutch foundry whose customers include the former Queen Beatrix .

He has no children.

Works (selection)

The following is a small selection of the works of Dieter von Levetzow:

  • 1981: Butterwieger , Gelsenkirchen
  • 1983: Relief with a tree , Gelsenkirchen
  • 1983: Terracotta relief , Gelsenkirchen
  • 1987: Rhinkieker , Rees
  • 1989: Spanish officer , Rees
  • 1989: Goat , Rees
  • 1993: Frog King , Rees
  • 1995: History of the Berger Feld , Gelsenkirchen
  • 2002: Euro boy , Rees
  • 2006: Lady with a Hat , Rees
  • Cupid , Cleves
  • The straight rider
  • Trout fountain, Kranenburg
  • Golfer Plastics
  • Janus Fountain , Kleve
  • Children's fountain
  • Lute player , Rees
  • Poorte Jäntje , Goch
  • Poortekerl , Emmerich am Rhein
  • Swan as heraldic animal , Worcester

The first edition of the Karl Leisner Medal designed by Dieter von Levetzow was Pope Benedict XVI. presented.

He also designed an altar in Huethum .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ artist. Dieter von Levetzow. German Society for Medal Art, accessed on November 16, 2014 .
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Haus Klarenbeck's "human friend" is 90 years old , RP Online, November 21, 2015
  3. ↑ a b c Dr. Dagmar Gaßdorf: Dieter von Levetzow's lively gestures in bronze , Thüringische Landeszeitung, December 26, 2010
  4. ↑ a b c d e f Daams, Andreas: Die gute Erde , Der Westen, November 19, 2015
  5. ↑ a b c d e f g h Impressive look into the work of Dieter von Levetzow , RP Online, August 5, 2015
  6. ↑ [1] , Wiki Gelsenkirchen
  7. ↑ [2] , Wiki Gelsenkirchen
  8. ↑ [3] , Wiki Gelsenkirchen
  9. ↑ a b c d e f g Sculpture tour through Rees (PDF), City of Rees, 2011
  10. ↑ [4] , Wiki Gelsenkirchen
  11. ^ Photo of the "Lute Player" by Dieter von Levetzow
  12. ↑ Dowe, Kristin: The Fate of a Traitor , NRZ, January 5, 2016
  13. ↑ Bronze relief commemorates Karl Leisner , RP Online, April 2, 2015

Web links

Commons : Dieter von Levetzow  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
personal data
SURNAME Levetzow, Dieter von
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German painter, sculptor and medalist
DATE OF BIRTH November 22, 1925
PLACE OF BIRTH Gronau , German Empire