Friedrich Wilhelm Dankberg

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Friedrich Wilhelm Gustav Dankberg (born October 9, 1819 in Halle (Westphalia) , † October 13, 1866 in Berlin ) was a German sculptor and plasterer .

Live and act

Dankberg learned the carpentry trade in his homeland . At the age of twenty he came to Berlin as a journeyman in 1839 and initially worked with a master carpenter. Full of artistic ambitions, he soon looked around for other activities. His foster father Gustav Wilhelm Kisker enabled him to enroll as a student at the Berlin Art Academy in 1840, with practical training from the sculptor Friedrich Wilhelm Holbein . After two years of training, he went public with one of his first sculptural figures, which he called "Echo". The contemporary art historian Max Schasler (1819–1903) later described this as Dankberg's most beautiful work because of its “gracefulness in form and dexterity of technology” . A "lion fighter" followed, which also drew attention to the young artist. Concern about livelihood and differences with the teachers of the academy caused Dankberg to finish his studies in 1843 and to turn to the art industry, especially building sculpture. He founded the Dankberg Institute for Architectural Ornamentation in an old wagon depot on the property at Zimmerstrasse 84 and was fortunate that the landlord, master mason Schneider, provided him with active support.

After a short time, the famous architects Ludwig Persius , Heinrich Strack and Friedrich Hitzig , among others , became aware of Dankberg's great talent and commissioned him to carry out numerous small and large sculptural works. During this time the construction of the Borsig factory in Berlin-Moabit fell , for which Dankberg received the order for all decorative jewelry. In this context he also got to know August Borsig , who supported him financially and with further assignments.

Permanent collection of the Dankberg factory in 1866

The increasing number of orders from princely and private individuals required an expansion of the company, which already employed around 50 workers. So Dankberg decided together with his brothers Carl Ludwig Dankberg (1823–1889) and Heinrich August Dankberg (1828–1888) to move the company to the property at Friedrichstrasse 214. In addition to several studios and workshops, the operating facilities now also included an extensive collection of samples and models for architectural ornamentation . The building that he had erected for this purpose contained countless objects of sculpture and plastic , busts , figures, reliefs , friezes , caryatids , columns , capitals , pilasters , consoles and architectural structures. The sculptors Christian Genschow , Alexander Calandrelli , Ludwig Drake (1826–1897), Carl Heinrich Gramzow (* 1807) and Julius Lippelt were among the temporary artistic employees of the flourishing company .

Major orders for Dankberg and his company included the decoration of rooms in the Babelsberg Palace , the Berlin City Palace , the Schwerin Palace , the Palace of the Prince of Hohenzollern in Löwenberg in Silesia , the Crown Prince's Palace in Berlin and the Orangery Palace in Potsdam- Sanssouci . In addition to Persius, Hitzig and Strack, Dankberg worked for the architects Martin Gropius , Hermann Friedrich Waesemann , Friedrich August Stüler , Ludwig Ferdinand Hesse and Friedrich Adler .

Dankberg possessed a wealth of inventiveness, which manifests itself in the countless different motifs and modifications of all kinds of ornamentation. A number of well-known groups of fountains and fountains emerged from his studio.

Dankberg, who received the Royal Order of the Crown, 4th class in 1863 , was a member of the Archaeological Society of Berlin until his death . Max Schasler characterized the artist, who died of a stroke when he laughed heartily at a criticism of the Berlin academy exhibition, in his obituary: “In his private life, Dankberg was a simple and honest man, amiable and hospitable to a high degree. He had a practical mind and a cheerful demeanor that made him many friends. "

tomb

Friedrich Wilhelm Dankberg was buried in the old Dorotheenstadt and Friedrichswerder cemetery on Chausseestrasse in Berlin-Mitte. Friedrich Hitzig provided the draft for his antique tower tomb; the sculptures were created in Dankberg's workshop. The equally representative wall grave of the Dankberg brothers, lavishly decorated with colored terracottas, has been preserved in cemetery IV of the Jerusalem and New Church community at Bergmannstrasse 45 in Berlin-Kreuzberg (east wall) , albeit without a lattice .

Work (selection)

Architectural jewelry

  • Dankberg tomb, Berlin

  • (2) detail

  • Triumphal Gate Potsdam

  • (2) detail

  • Elector figures at the magnificent chimney at Babelsberg Palace

  • Sculpture decorations on / in the Palazzo Revoltella in Trieste

Sculptures

  • "Fleiß", "Eintracht" ("Concordia"), "Fischerei", "Harvest" (altogether about 2000 copies produced in different variants and materials)
  • "Echo", "Lion Fighters", "Christmas"
  • "Morning", "Evening" (preserved in the holdings of the National Gallery Berlin)
  • "Hyperborean Griffin" (1855, bronze)
  • " Justitia " as a grave figure ( Kisker grave in Misdroy )
  • Statues of Brandenburg electors in Schloss Monbijou Berlin
  • Caryatids "Music" and "Painting"
  • Well figures:
    • "Boy with a shell" (including Park Glienicke, Orangeriehof Schwerin)
    • "Fisher Boy"
    • "Triton"
    • "Frog Fountain" (Sanssouci Park)
    • Dolphin fountain (Palaisgarten Detmold)

  • Boys' fountain in Schwerin

  • Dolphin fountain in Detmold

Busts / portrait reliefs

Other independent works

Sources and web links

Commons : Friedrich Wilhelm Dankberg  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
  1. ^ Max Schasler: Friedrich Wilhelm Dankberg , p. 339
  2. ^ Max Schasler: Friedrich Wilhelm Dankberg , p. 341
  3. ↑ Photos with details on www.kudaba.de
  4. ↑ Photos on http://imgsrc.ru/
  5. ↑ Photo on www.haller-zeitraeume.de ( Memento from March 27, 2014 in the Internet Archive )

literature

  • Robert Dohme:  Dankberg, Friedrich Wilhelm . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 4, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1876, p. 736 f.
  • Max Schasler : Friedrich Wilhelm Dankberg. In: HJ Meyer (Ed.): Supplementary sheets for knowledge of the present. Hildburghausen 1867, Volume 2, p. 339 ff.
  • Christoph Fischer, Renate Schein (eds.): "O, ewich so long". The historic cemeteries in Berlin-Kreuzberg. A workshop report. (Catalog of the exhibition of the same name at the Landesarchiv Berlin) Berlin 1987.
  • Alfred Etzold, Wolfgang Türk: The Dorotheenstädtische Friedhof. The burial places on Chausseestrasse. Berlin 1993.
personal data
SURNAME Dankberg, Friedrich Wilhelm
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Dankberg, Friedrich Wilhelm Gustav (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German sculptor
DATE OF BIRTH October 9, 1819
PLACE OF BIRTH Halle (Westphalia)
DATE OF DEATH October 13, 1866
Place of death Berlin