Figure field

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Figure field by Alois Wünsche-Mitterecker near Eichstätt

The figure field is a sculpture field located on a hillside meadow near Eichstätt . It consists of 78 mostly larger than life figures by the sculptor and painter Alois Wünsche-Mitterecker (1903–1975). The artist wanted to create a “Monumentum perpetuum”, a memorial for eternity , a warning about war , in which there are no winners and vanquished. The erection of the figures lasted from 1958 until the artist's death in 1975. The field of figures is unfinished. The figure field has been a listed building since 1976 .

sculpture

The figure field is reminiscent of a battlefield. The figures are disordered, almost chaotic: the field has no central starting point and is not accessible via a clear route. The sculptures show fighters and victims - falling, crawling and lying on the ground. There are no winners and no losers. Three steles with reliefs are a little more reserved and form a memorial. They represent prisoners who warn against war and violence.

Dark blue-gray clay from deposits in the area was used as modeling material. Around 4000 m 3 of humus were removed and filled with solid material to serve as a foundation for the heavy figures. The weight per m 3 is 2.7-2.8 tons. Some plastics weigh over six tons. The average is 3.5 tons. The “prisoners” cast in three blocks weigh 18 tons each. A total of 800–850 tons of material was used.

The sculptures were made by the artist in his workshop in Eichstätt and only then transported to the figure field and set up. Some figures were made according to his designs between 1976 and 1979, after the artist's death. Over the decades, the sculptures have acquired a natural patina .

The figure field is embedded in the barren Jura landscape of the so-called Hessental, overgrown only with heather grass, hedges and juniper bushes, which is full of hollows and hills, which contributes to the appearance of a battlefield.

Picture gallery

  • Sculpture field Eichstaett-078.jpg
  • Sculpture field Eichstaett-039.jpg
  • Sculpture field Eichstaett-042.jpg
  • Sculpture field Eichstaett-057.jpg
  • Sculpture field Eichstaett-066.jpg
  • Sculpture field Eichstaett-109.jpg

literature

  • Karl Bauer: Thoughts in front of the memorial in the Hessental . In: Steinmetz + Sculptor. Callwey, Munich 1975, Volume 91, Issue 11, pp. 653-656
  • Alois Wünsche-Mitterecker (1903-1975) - an artist in Eichstätt . Kunstverlag Fink, Lindenberg 2007, ISBN 978-3-89870-455-7 . Exhibition catalog
  • Myriam Wagner: Battlefield Monument. On Alois Wünsche-Mitterecker's memorial (1958-1975). 2 volumes: 1. text, 2. illustrations. Ars et Unitas, Neuried 2008, ISBN 978-3-936117-32-5 .
  • Raimund Wünsche : Figurfeld Eichstätt , Großbaudenkmäler Heft 324, Deutscher Kunstverlag Munich, Berlin 1979

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Eichstätt website , accessed on March 6, 2014
  2. ^ Raimund Wünsche : Figurfeld Eichstätt , Großbaudenkmäler Heft 324, Deutscher Kunstverlag Munich, Berlin 1979, p. 2

Web links

Commons : Figurfeld Alois Wünsche-Mitterecker  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 48 ° 53 '10.4 "  N , 11 ° 12' 59.2"  E