Fritz Maenicke

Fritz Maenicke (born October 23, 1892 in Halle (Saale) ; † March 16, 1970 in Magdeburg ) was a sculptor and restorer .

Life

Maenicke was born the son of a mechanical engineer. He spent his childhood and youth in Halle, Cottbus , Falkenberg , Torgau and Leipzig . From 1907 to 1911 he trained in the workshop of the sculptor Wollstädter in Leipzig. After obtaining his journeyman's certificate , he worked as a sculptor's assistant from 1911 to 1915. He also attended the State Academy in Leipzig with Adolf Lehnert . In 1913 and 1914 he also studied at the Academy of Fine Arts and at the school of the Kunstgewerbemuseum Berlin . Emil Orlik , Walther Schmarje and Josef Wackerle were among his teachers .

From 1915 to 1918 he took part in the First World War as a German soldier and then worked as a freelance sculptor in Leipzig until 1920. From 1921 to 1932 he worked again as a sculptor's assistant. During this time he created the horse figure at the horse gate and the Magdeburg maiden at the Rotehornpark observation tower for the 1927 German theater exhibition in the Rotehornpark in Magdeburg based on designs by Albin Müller . Both works are still preserved today. At the telecommunications office on Listemannstrasse in Magdeburg, he created four larger-than-life, female, allegorical figures (telephone, telegraphy, letter post and airmail).

In 1932 Maenicke established himself as a freelance sculptor in Magdeburg until he was drafted into the military in 1943 during World War II .

On January 16, 1945, during the heaviest air raid by Anglo-American bomber units on the city of Magdeburg, Maenicke's workshop was also destroyed. A large part of his life's work was lost.

After the end of the war, he initially worked for several years as a winemaker's assistant in Roßbach near Naumburg (Saale) before returning to artistic activity in 1950. He created various sculptures.

In 1955 he moved back to Magdeburg and mainly worked as a restorer on Magdeburg Cathedral . From 1957 to 1961 he restored the Magdeburg rider . In the following time he was busy with restoration work for many churches, monasteries and castles in the area of ​​today's Saxony-Anhalt .

Honor

Maenicke received the GDR III National Prize in 1963 . Art and literature class . The city of Magdeburg named a street in his honor ( Fritz-Maenicke-Straße ).