Gustav Adolf Knittel

Gustav Adolf Knittel (born March 10, 1852 in Freiburg im Breisgau ; † May 17, 1909 there ) was a German sculptor .

Life

The son of the sculptor Josef Alois Knittel was first trained by his father and then studied at the academy in Karlsruhe with Carl Steinhäuser , a student of Christian Daniel Rauch and a friend of Bertel Thorvaldsen . From November 1872 studies at the Munich Art Academy with Joseph Knabl followed , where he made a colossal statue of August von Werders , which was in some cases much noticed . He then became a master student of Karl Friedrich Moest in Karlsruhe , where he worked on the figures for the victory monument in Freiburg im Breisgau . When Knittel's father died, Gustav Adolf created the Knittel tomb in Freiburg's main cemetery (presumably in collaboration with his brother Berthold ) .

Tomb of the Knittel family, erected in 1875 by Gustav Adolf, presumably together with his brother Berthold

After a brief activity at Cologne Cathedral under Peter Fuchs between 1876 and 77, Knittel returned to Freiburg. He was accompanied by his wife Maria (née Gsell), whom he met in Karlsruhe and married in 1876. In 1893 his plan to erect a privately financed memorial for the Freiburg city clerk Franz Ferdinand Meyer failed . Apparently the district office and city council accused him of having more of a financial interest than honoring Meyers in mind. In the same year he was commissioned with the creation of a monument bust of the historian Heinrich Schreiber , because he was in possession of a death mask of Schreiber. The original marble bust was badly damaged by unknown persons in 1896 and replaced by a bronze bust in 1897. In 1895 he created a 2.40 m high group of figures for the Stühlinger district .

“This group consists of a life-size Friburgia, which on the right represents a defiant, lively boy, the industrious industry, the opened up and yet to be opened up areas. On the left is a second boy, spade in hand, about to dig up the land for further development ”

- Penny leaf

The group of figures was built at the request of the Stühlinger local association and the Stühlinger entrepreneurs Julius Brenzinger and Berthold Welte at the eastern end of the Stühlinger church square . Knittel only made the clay model and commissioned the Freiburg sculptor Wilhelm Wintermantel to carry it out.

Probably because of competition from his successful colleague Julius Seitz , Knittel worked in Metz , Lorraine , from 1896 , where he worked on the portal of the Saint-Étienne cathedral . For the town hall there he made busts of Albert Calmette and Jules Ferry as well as one of Heinrich von Stephan for the local imperial post office. In 1898 he failed both against Seitz in the competition for the monuments on the Schwabentor Bridge and with a design for the figures on the facade of the town hall. These were created by Fridolin Dietsche from Karlsruhe . It is questionable whether Knittel, as his son Adolf Gustav claims, was the creator of the two figures next to the clock at the Goethe Gymnasium . That they come from Julius Seitz, as his daughter claims, is at least supported by the fact that two of the niche figures on the building were signed by him. However, Knittel also created two female allegories for the side facades.

In the town of Rezonville , Knittel created the Kaiser Wilhelm Rast , which was inaugurated on August 18, 1899 . It was here in 1871 that Wilhelm I received the news of the victorious end of the Franco-Prussian War . In Gravelotte , Knittel made 14 reliefs of military leaders and generals for the memorial hall of the fallen in this war and was awarded the Order of the Crown for this.

In 1907 Knittel returned to Freiburg, where he worked on the Münsterbauhütte and probably also on the new building of the Freiburg theater . At the end of the year he repaired the three pillars in front of the cathedral. In 1909, at the age of only 57, he died of a heart attack while working on a bust of the Prussian Field Marshal Gottlieb von Haeseler , which was to be erected in Metz.

Knittel's sons were also artistically active in Freiburg: Hugo Knittel worked as a sculptor and Adolf Gustav (born November 30, 1880) worked as a commercial artist and painter after completing his commercial training.

Works

Tomb for Franz Baer

Figures at the portal to the Bursengang

• Life bust of the poet Joseph Victor von Scheffel in Karlsruhe (1877)
• Bust of General Doctor Bernhard von Beck in Freiburg
• Bust of the Privy Councilor Wilhelm Jakob Behaghel
• Maria Immaculata above the blessing gate in the southern porch of the Freiburg Minster (1883)
• Statue of Freiburg Archbishop Johann Baptist Orbin in the Lochererkapelle of the Freiburg Minster (1887)
• Statue of the Freiburg auxiliary bishop Lothar von Kübel in the Konviktkirche (1891, destroyed)
• Monument bust of the historian Heinrich Schreiber (1893)
• Figure group with Friburgia in the Stühlinger (1895)
• Kaiser Wilhelm Rast near Rezonville (1899)
• Columns in front of the Freiburg Minster (coat of arms, upper parts of the shaft, capitals) and a statue of St. Alexander
• Gravestones in the main cemetery in Freiburg
  • Marbe family
  • Dentist Günther
  • Archbishop's building director Franz Baer (bronze portrait, edging by Wilhelm Walliser )
  • Christian Jakob August von Berstett
• Bust of Archduke Friedrich I of Baden (Baden)
• Memorial for Major General Ernst von Craushaar (1815–1870) at Saint-Privat on behalf of the Saxon King
• Figures of scholar and student at the entrance to the Bursengang in Freiburg (based on a design by Fritz Geiges )

literature

• Alfred Biehler: The father: sculptor Gustav Adolf Knittel . In: Heinz Spath: sculptor Hugo Knittel , approx. 1956, p. #.
• Michael Klant: The Knittel family of artists. In: Sculpture in Freiburg. 19th century art in public spaces , Freiburg 2000, ISBN 3-922675-77-8 , pp. 173–180.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Matrikeleintrag 02822 Adolph Knittel , access on March 20 of 2010.
2. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h} Alfred Biehler: The father: sculptor Gustav Adolf Knittel in: Heinz Spath: sculptor Hugo Knittel , approx. 1956.
3. ↑ Ute Scherb: We get the monuments we deserve. Freiburg Monuments in the 19th and 20th Centuries , Freiburg 2005, ISBN 3-923272-31-6 , p. 52.
4. ↑ Ute Scherb: We get the monuments we deserve. Freiburg Monuments in the 19th and 20th Centuries , Freiburg 2005, ISBN 3-923272-31-6 , p. 46f., P. 48.
5. ↑ Pfennig-Blatt after Klant, p. 177.
6. ↑ Ute Scherb: We get the monuments we deserve. Freiburg Monuments in the 19th and 20th Centuries , Freiburg 2005, ISBN 3-923272-31-6 , pp. 90f.
7. ↑ Ute Scherb: We get the monuments we deserve. Freiburg Monuments in the 19th and 20th Centuries , Freiburg 2005, ISBN 3-923272-31-6 , pp. 88f.
8. ↑ Michael Klant: Forgotten sculptors. In: Sculpture in Freiburg. 19th century art in public space , Freiburg 2000, ISBN 3-922675-77-8 , pp. 164–172, here pp. 169 f.
9. ^ Karl Schuster: On the building history of the Freiburg Minster in the 18th century  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. .  in: Freiburger Münsterblätter 5, 1909, p. 2.
10. ^ Karl Schuster : On the building history of the Freiburg Minster in the 18th century  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.   . In: Freiburger Münsterblätter Vol. 5, 1909, p. 4.
11. ↑ Michael Klant: Forgotten sculptors. In: Sculpture in Freiburg. Art of the 19th century in public space , Freiburg 2000, ISBN 3-922675-77-8 , pp. 164–172, here pp. 167f.
12. ↑ Franz Josef Gemmert, August Freiherr von Berstett, the founder of the Upper Rhine Münzgeschichte In: Badische home 39 Vol 1959, Issue first

Web links

Commons : Gustav Adolf Knittel  - Collection of images, videos and audio files