Fritz Schwarzbeck

Friedrich Fritz Paul Schwarzbeck (born December 22, 1902 in Wicklesgreuth near Ansbach , † June 17, 1989 in Darmstadt ) was a German sculptor . Most of his works were intended for the sacred area.

Life

"The Standing Woman", 1967

Schwarzbeck first completed an apprenticeship as an optician. From 1924 to 1927 he attended the municipal vocational school in Nuremberg with Schmid-Riegel (metal course) and with Konrad Roth (sculpture class). From 1927 to 1930 he studied at the State Art Academy in Düsseldorf with Richard Langer . In 1930 he worked as a sculptor at the Städel Art Institute in Frankfurt am Main for a year . From 1931 until his death in 1989 he lived in Darmstadt . In 1935/36 he received the Rome Prize , which included a nine-month stay in the Villa Massimo at the German Academy in Rome . 1947–1968 he led the sculpture class at the Werkkunstschule in Darmstadt. Some of his students were a. Wilhelm Loth and Karl Heinz Schnabel.

Schwarzbeck was a member of the Darmstadt group as well as the Darmstadt and Palatinate secession . In 1977 he was awarded the Darmstadt Bronze Merit Plaque. In 1979 he was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit. Paul Appel dedicated a poem to Schwarzbeck about one of his works.

Fritz Schwarzbeck was buried in the old cemetery in Darmstadt (grave site: II N 55).

plant

Fountain sculpture "Bulls", around 1955

With his bronzes and drawings he stands in the great tradition of classical French sculpture of the early 20th century, which is associated with names such as Aristide Maillol and Charles Despiau . With his alabaster sculptures he succeeded in reconsidering ancient ideals. From this he developed a reduced, abstracting image of man, which was characterized by a humanism and a lived closeness to nature.

• Youth with helmet, Jura marble, mausoleum of the F. Schmitt family, Waldfriedhof Darmstadt, 1942.
• “Die Spendende”, University Stadium of the TU Darmstadt, 1943
• Fountain sculpture "Bulls", Heinrichstrasse corner Beckstrasse, red sandstone, Darmstadt, around 1955
• "Schwarzbeck figures" in the Johanneskirche, Darmstadt, 1957
• Figure group "victims" as a place of honor for the war dead, Waldfriedhof, Darmstadt, 1958
• Christ figure, Luther Church Worms
• Thomas reliefs, Thomas Community Darmstadt
• “The Standing Woman”, Offenbach-Lauterborn , 1967
• Female Torso, 1970 (in a private collection)
• Memorial for Griesheim market women, 1974
• Pottery sculpture in Urberach, Rödermark, 1976

Exhibitions (selection)

• Torsos and drawings (November 28 to December 27, 1970) Justus Liebig House
• Painting, graphics: Exhibition in Haus Mülberger (March 5 to March 26, 1972)
• Watercolors and drawings, sculptures and sculptural drawings February 25 to March 30, 1973 Pfalzgalerie Kaiserslautern
• Heads, statuettes and alabaster work: Kunsthalle Darmstadt, January 17 to February 21, 1982

Awards

• Rome price 1935/36
• 1940 Gau Culture Prize from Hessen-Nassau
• 1977 Darmstadt bronze plaque of merit
• 1979 Federal Cross of Merit on ribbon
• 1985 Johann Heinrich Merck honor from the city of Darmstadt

literature

• Schwarzbeck, Fritz . In: Hans Vollmer (Hrsg.): General Lexicon of Fine Artists of the XX. Century. tape 4 : Q-U . EA Seemann, Leipzig 1958, p. 240 .
• Christmut Präger: Fritz Schwarzbeck (1902–1989). Life and work. Bronze sculptures, alabaster sculptures and drawings. (Exhibition catalog, Galerie Netuschil , Darmstadt, November 29, 2002 to January 25, 2003; Oberhessisches Museum, Altes Schloß, Gießen, January 15 to February 24, 2004) 64 pages, Netuschil Gallery, 2002, ISBN 3922002447
• Schwarzbeck, Fritz. In: Peter Engels (Ed.): Stadtlexikon Darmstadt . Darmstadt 2006, p. 816, ISBN 978-3-8062-1930-2

Web links

• Photos of the group of figures "victims" by Schwarzbeck, Waldfriedhof, Darmstadt at sites-of-memory.de