Gustav Medon

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Gustav Medon (born March 27, 1823 in Berlin , † September 3, 1905 in Berlin) was a dancer and dance teacher in Berlin.

origin

The son of the choir and opera singer and theater actress, Caroline Medon , was baptized with the first name Carl Ludwig Gustav in the presence of his mother and three godparents in the St. Petri Church in Berlin on April 6, 1823. The godparents were the midwife Marie Jäneke (Mrs. Jenchen) and the married couple Wornitz, with whom the single mother of the child lived at 19 Brüderstraße. In the 1823 register of St. Petri Church, “Medau” was entered as the surname at the time of Carl Ludwig Gustav's baptism. As a child's father, a secret secretary or a foreign diplomat named Louis Medon was later suspected. The later royal dancer and dance teacher was only allowed to officially use the name Medon as a family name at the age of 36. On the basis of his request made by him, a royal cabinet order was issued on February 22nd, 1859, which allowed the "royal dancer" to continue to use the name Medon ".

Medon's mother, Caroline, née Richter, had a relationship with the philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer before Carl Ludwig Gustav was born . Schopenhauer rejected the son "Carl", as he called him, because Carl Ludwig Gustav was born ten months after Schopenhauer's departure from Berlin to Italy in 1823 and so naturally he could not be the child's father. In his will, Schopenhauer gave his former girlfriend a legacy (legacy) of 5000 thalers, which was linked to the condition that it should not benefit her son. After the inheritance occurred with the death of Schopenhauer in 1860, Medon, who was 40 years old, handled the correspondence to pay out the legacy to his mother, who was now over 60 years old. On October 14, 1862, he sent the universal heir "Volksdank für Preußens Krieger", to the attention of the board of directors for this Prussian support fund, Boetticher, the notarized receipt that his mother had requested for forwarding to the "President of the Chamber of Accounts in Potsdam".

Figurant and Royal Dancer

Before Medon was appointed Royal Dancer, he worked on the Royal Ballet as a "figurant", which meant something like being a side dancer. Medon made the occupation “figurant” as an addition to his signature in letters, e. B. in a letter dated June 27, 1848 to the Prussian Lord Chamberlain and Minister Prince zu Sayn-Wittgenstein. In the handbook on the Royal Prussian Court and State for the year 1848, Medon is listed by name among the figurants.

Medon had completed his dance training in Paris. For his stay in France's capital, he received leave from March to July 1846 and at the same time applied for continued payment of his salary on the grounds that his financial "resources are very limited" and that he had to fully support his mother and he wanted the Prussian state for them support. Medon lived together for years with his mother, who was entered in the contemporary Berlin address books as the widow of the "secret secretary" Medau / Medon, even later on March 27, 1859, when he met the young widow Marie in the Berlin Sophien Church Lubow, nee Siegel (* 1831; † 1900), had married.

Portrait of Medon

The author of “Schopenhauer's Beloved in Berlin”, the Viennese attorney at law Robert Gruber, had documents and portraits of both their great-grandmother and of Medon's grandchildren Gustav Heinrich, Wilhelm and Elisabeth for his book published in 1934 by the Wiener Verlag der Österreichische Druck- und Verlagsgesellschaft mbH also received from her grandfather for publication. An illustration from around 1847 shows the dancer as a wiry young man with a mustache in an upright and relaxed posture: his left hand is casually in the trouser pocket of the double-breasted dark-colored suit. Medon wears a wide tie around his well-heeled neck, which ends in the neckline of his light-colored waistcoat decorated with embroidery. An interim clasp in the colors black and white of the Prussian ribbon is attached to the lapel of the wide-open suit jacket. The fact that Medon was the holder of awards is indicated in Berlin address books of the 19th century, for example in the address book for the year 1867. Medon is first named in 1874 as a knight of the Order of the Crown, 4th class with a red cross in the white field in the "German Stage Almanac “Mentioned in the composition of the royal ballet in Berlin. The ballet dancer wore an artist's hairstyle and parted on the left. The hair, combed to the right and mostly smoothly brushed, completely covered one ear with a curl, while only the lobe of the left ear was clearly visible. Medon had inherited the large blue, lively eyes and the voluptuous mouth from his mother.

Extra income

To improve his income, Medon took on part-time tasks that were consistent with his full-time activity as a dancer. He was in charge of "the arrangement of the dances and pantomimes" at the Königsstädter Theater in Berlin. In the foundation established by Empress Augusta in 1872 "for the education and schooling of orphaned daughters of nobles, officers, pastors and civil servants" in Charlottenburg, Medon also gave dance lessons for the collegiate girls on the side.

The later founder of a Berlin dance institute Gustav Apitsch (* 1846; † 1896) was one of Medon's dance students . He had been trained in dance until 1863. In 1866, in his capacity as royal dancer and teacher in the cadet corps, Medon issued him a “certificate”, which reads: “I have convinced myself of his abilities and I certify to Mr. Gustav Apitsch, according to the truth, that he is Dance teacher and qualified for dance arrangements. ". Apitsch underwent an "examination as a dance teacher" with Medon and celebrated his 25th anniversary as a "dance master" on March 10, 1888.

Dance teacher at the Prussian Cadet Corps

As a dance teacher at the Prussian Cadet Corps, Medon worked by the hour from 1866. His predecessor was Benjamin Louis Sergeois (* October 11, 1810, † April 13, 1866), who is listed in a contemporary Berlin address book as a royal dancer and dance teacher for the Cadet Corps and from came from a Huguenot family. In the Berlin address book for 1867 under “Medon, G.” the occupation “Kgl. Dancer ”added. Even after the relocation of the Berlin Cadet Corps from Berlin to Lichterfelde in 1878 to the Prussian Main Cadet Institute , Medon continued to give dance lessons for the officer's pupils and was named among the civilian teachers as a dance teacher. Since his marriage, Medon lived with his family at Monbijouplatz 2 in Berlin, in the house of his father-in-law, the royal fountain builder Wilhelm Siegel. At the age of 62, Medon retired as a dancer with effect from April 1, 1884 and from then on referred to himself as "Royal dancer out of service (retired)". However, Medon continued to work as a dance teacher and was listed as a "teacher at the cadet corps" in the Berlin address book for 1892 with this designation. His successor as a civilian teacher at the main cadet institute in Groß-Lichterfelde was the royal dancer and dance teacher Hermannwege.

Member of the “Resource for Entertainment” in Berlin

Medon belonged to a social association founded in Berlin in 1784, which from 1802 called itself "Resource for entertainment (RzU)". Her former head of many years, Theodor Toepffer, mentioned in the commemorative publication he wrote for the 100th anniversary of the “Resource for Entertainment” that Medon, “royal dance teacher”, was “a member of this association” and praised his services and commitment, for example during the implementation of dance lessons for the children of the resource members. At the age of eighteen, Medon initially gave dance lessons for children in the rented rooms in the house of the wine merchant Güssfeldt on Poststrasse, when the annually elected honorary head of the resource consisted mainly of business people, including the merchant Lubow. Toepffer further emphasized Medon's “excellent performance at balls, dancing of all kinds” and in the performance of quadrilles . Medon's successor in his work as a dance teacher for the “Resource Children”, in the performance of quadrilles at the masked festivals and at balls as well as dance entertainment of all kinds was the “Royal Solo Dancer Berthold Zorn” (* 1861; † 1920), his grandson Gustav Heinrich Wife Margarete, Wilhelm and Elisabeth (Elli) followed Medon in their commitment to the resource for entertainment (RzU) e. V. You took part in comedies and other performances of entertainment pieces as amateur actors in the Oranienburger Strasse theater in Berlin, for example in the RzU's Sunday program on November 18, 1928.

Apartment on Monbijouplatz

After his marriage in 1859, Medon lived with his family on Monbijouplatz in Berlin. The Monbijouplatz belonged to the first pastoral care district of the evangelical Sophien parish. After marrying Anna Bertha Marie (* 1831; † 1900), widow of the merchant as well as broker and honorary church councilor Hermann Lubow, née Siegel, Medon and his mother moved from Kronenstrasse 46 to the apartment building Monbijouplatz 2, which was owned by his father-in-law, Carl Eduard Wilhelm Siegel, a royal palace and council fountain maker, belonged. After his death, Medon's wife Marie inherited the property in 1890 and after her death on April 26, 1900 the “Rentier und Königl. Dancer a. D. and his son, the royal. Hofbrunnenbaumeister “Gustav Georg Owner of the property“ in undivided community of heirs ”. After the death of Gustav Medon, Gustav Georg Medon (* October 9, 1859, † July 15, 1913) became the sole owner: “On the basis of the will of the royal dancer, which was drawn up on June 28, 1890 and opened on May 21, 1900. D. Gustav Medon and his wife as well as the death certificate for the husband from September 3, 1905 ... "

The Berlin list of monuments contains the building Monbijouplatz 2, built in 1841, and describes it as a tenement house. After the death of his father, son Gustav Georg had a country house built in Kleinmachnow , which is one of the local monuments as "Villa Medon".

Visit of the Sophienkirche after its renovation in 1892

Medon's son, who was also called "Gustav" by his first name, was a member of the 35-person church council of the Sophienkirche when a celebratory congregation met on December 20, 1892 to attend the church from 1712/13 after its renovation to rededicate it to the imperial couple Wilhelm II and Auguste Viktoria as well as municipal and church representatives. The pastors of the Sophienkirche, Otto Ludwig Leonhardt (* 1839; † 1902), Georg (e) Souchon (* 1836; † 1899) and Bernhard Gottlob Wilhelm Thiele, and other clergymen present, e.g. B. the general superintendent Gustav Adolf Braun (* 1833; † 1911) and provost Hermann von der Goltz as well as superintendent Wilhelm Heinrich Theodor Hübner (* 1825; † 1897), had taken their seats directly in front of the altar. The Charlottenburg painter Erich Weber captured them in a colored painting, which he made using the gouache technique and which was hung under the organ gallery on the west wall of the Sophienkirche. Father and son Medon were among the numerous worshipers of the Sophienkirche with its 1000 seats and 500 standing places.

Burial at the Sophien-Friedhof II in Berlin

After the funeral service, the royal dancer and dance teacher was  buried in a zinc coffin on September 6, 1905 in the chapel on Cemetery II of the Sophiengemeinde Berlin , newly built in 1897 and inaugurated in 1898 with the help of his son, the church elder and fountain builder Gustav Georg Medon . The family had reserved the polling station on April 26, 1905, the anniversary of Medon's wife's death, and had already paid for it, so that only a small fee had to be paid by the son when registering the funeral. Since 1903, pastor Eduard Johannes Martin Wuttke, retired superintendent, was responsible for Monbijouplatz 2, Gustav Medon's place of residence and death. D. responsible. The churchyard II of the Sophienkirche, the land of which was bought from the landlord Wollank in 1824, was administered by Wilhelm Kniepert from 1905, who before his activity as a churchyard administrator in a "half-disabled company" served a vice sergeant. A so-called corpse bitter had to invite people to the funeral. At Medon's death it was the assistant church servant Robert Eichler.

literature

  • Arthur Hübscher: Schopenhauser's Berlin lover. Unknown letters. Schopenhauer yearbook for 1974. (PDF) pp. 39–52, here p. 41 f.
  • Figurant Medon in the handbook on the Royal Prussian Court and State for the year 1848. Royal Drama under "Ballet" p. 32
  • Uta Motschmann: Handbook of Berlin Associations and Societies ... Published by the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences. Berlin u. a. O. 2015, ISBN 978-3-05-006015-6 , p. 716, Google books
  • Arthur Hübscher: Schopenhauer yearbook for 1974: Schopenhauer's Berlin lover . Waldemar Kramer, ISSN  0080-6935 , p. 39-52 , pp. 41 f., 51 .
  • Unnamed author: Commemorative sheet to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the foundation of the resource for entertainment on October 10, 1884… . Ed .: Society of Resource for Entertainment. Gustav Schade (Otto Francke), Berlin 1884, p. 25, 29, 57 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Victor Herrero Mediavilla: German biographical index = German biographical index , part: 5., Munich 2004, p. 3752 Column 3: Medon (late 19th century) dancer, dance teacher; ISBN 3-598-34176-8
  2. ^ Robert Gruber: Schopenhauer's beloved in Berlin . Documents with 4 pictures and with replicas of documents; DNB portal
  3. ↑ According to Arthur Hübscher, Herr Wornitz was a so-called "sworn wage lakai", like Hüscher in his investigation of Schopenhauser's Berlin lover. Unknown letters. mentioned. In: 55th Schopenhauer yearbook for 1974, pp. 39–52, here p. 41
  4. ^ Robert Gruber: Schopenhauer's beloved in Berlin , plate 12
  5. ^ David Edgar Cartwright: Schopenhauer. A Biography, p. 404: “Carl Ludwig Gustav Medon, whose father was described simply as a foreign diplomat…”. Cambridge University Press, 2010, ISBN 978-0-521-82598-6
  6. ^ Robert Gruber: Schopenhauer's beloved in Berlin . P. 21: Very high cabinet order of February 22, 1859
  7. ^ Karlheinz Muscheler : The Schopenhauer-Marquet trials and Prussian law . Tübingen 1996, ISBN 978-3-16-146546-8 , p. 8 ff.
  8. ^ David Edgar Cartwright: Schopenhauer. A Biography , p. 404. Published by Cambridge University Press 2010; ISBN 978-0-521-82598-6
  9. ^ Robert Gruber: Schopenhauer's beloved in Berlin. P. 39 f.
  10. ↑ Robert Gruber: Schopenhauer's Beloved in Berlin, Plate 10: Facsimile of the letter, dated June 27, 1848 and signed with “Gustav Medon Figurant des Königl. Ballets ”.
  11. ↑ Published by Decker Verlag in Berlin. Printed in Decker's Secret Ober-Hofbuchdruckerei. Section 8: "Royal Drama", (28–32) p. 32; Royal Prussian State Calendar 1848.
  12. ^ Robert Gruber: Schopenhauer's Beloved in Berlin , p. 33
  13. ^ Robert Gruber: Schopenhauer's beloved in Berlin . Preface, p. 5 f.
  14. ↑ picture between pp. 36 and 37
  15. ↑ Medon, G. In: Allgemeiner Wohnungs-Anzeiger together with address and business manual for Berlin , 1867, part 1, p. 396. “Kgl. Dancer and teacher in the Cadet Corps, J. "(= capital letter I, there abbreviation for" holder of decorations ").
  16. ^ German stage almanac . Ed. A. Ent / A. Heinrich's (prompter) successor, Berlin 1874, p. 17
  17. ↑ Robert Gruber: Schopenhauer's Beloved in Berlin, Section: Our Pictures, p. 42
  18. ^ Information from his third generation grandson, Gustav Friedrich Medon, obtained on October 11, 2016.
  19. ↑ Certificate with Prussian tax seal “Ein Sechstel Thaler 5 Gr.”, Dated “Berlin, September 13th 1866” and signed with “G. Medon, royal dancer a. Teacher at the Königl. Cadetten Corps ”. - Private collection Schudi 45
  20. ↑ Sergeois, L. In: Allgemeiner Wohnungs-Anzeiger together with address and business manual for Berlin , 1856, p. 402.
  21. ^ Richard Béringuier (ed.): The family trees of the members of the French Colony in Berlin . Association for the history of Berlin. Photomechanical reprint of the Berlin edition 1885-87, [1990] p. 122; ISBN 978-3-89433-162-7
  22. ↑ Caption on the “Cadettenhaus zu Berlin” ( Neue Friedrichstrasse 13, renamed Littenstrasse in 1951). In: Hans-Werner Klünner, Helmut Börsch-Supan : Berlin Archive , Volume 2; Delivery B 03022, Archiv Verlag (Braunschweig), no year (1977 ff.).
  23. ^ Staats-Beh., Hauptkadettenanstalt . In: Berliner Adreßbuch , 1880, Part IV, p. 42.
  24. ^ Medon, G. In: Berliner Adreßbuch , 1892, Part I, p. 848.
  25. ↑ War Ministry, Main Cadet Institute . In: Berliner Adreßbuch , 1893, Part IV, p. 58.
  26. ↑ Commemorative sheet dedicated to the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the foundation of the resource for entertainment on October 10, 1884, to the members of the society ... p. 29 u. 57 Printing: Gustav Schade (Otto Francke) book printing company in Berlin N.
  27. ↑ Typewritten manuscript of a lecture on the history of the RzU on the occasion of the 170-year foundation festival (1954) by Dr. Gustav Heinrich Medon (1888–1972) owned by his son Gustav Friedrich Medon.
  28. ↑ Program leaflet from Sunday, November 18, 1928, with the names of the actors in the dramatic chat When we age by Otto Blumenthal and in the comedy Vom Landwirtschaftlichen Balle by Emil Pohl (1824–1901).
  29. ^ Wilhelm Witte: The history of the Sophienkirche zu Berlin from 1712-1912. Festschrift to celebrate the bicentenary of the Sophiengemeinde . Pressure. Hermann Klockow, Berlin 1912, p. 193
  30. ^ Wilhelm Witte: The history of the Sophienkirche zu Berlin from 1712-1912. Festschrift to celebrate the bicentenary of the Sophiengemeinde . Pressure. Hermann Klockow, Berlin 1912, p. 169
  31. ^ Medon, G. In: Allgemeiner Wohnungs-Anzeiger together with address and business manual for Berlin , 1859, p. 311.
  32. ↑ Medon, G. In: Allgemeiner Wohnungs-Anzeiger together with address and business manual for Berlin , 1860, p. 317.
  33. ^ Robert Gruber: Schopenhauer's Beloved in Berlin, plate 14: District Court Berlin-Mitte, Department 121. Copy of the land register. From royal city. Volume 123, Sheet No. 5508
  34. ↑ Object Doc. No .: 09080149; Illustration
  35. ↑ Monument: Klausenerstraße 15, Kleinmachnow; Photo of the "Villa Medon"
  36. ↑ Annual report for the parish of the Sophienkirche for the year 1892. Printed by Hermann Blanke, Berlin 1892. In: Evangelisches Zentralarchiv in Berlin, inventory 7, No. 11597
  37. ^ Sophienkirche in: The church building load according to Brandenburg provincial law . Printed by the Grunert brothers. Berlin 1899, p. 101 f.
  38. ^ Report in the national newspaper, December 20, 1892, evening edition; also reprinted in: Wilhelm Witte: History of the Sophienkirche zu Berlin 1712–1912 , printed by Hermann Klockow, Berlin 1912, p. 133 f.
  39. ↑ Otto Fischer: Evangelical Pastor's Book for the Mark Brandenburg since the Reformation / Bd. 2. List of clergymen in alphabetical order / Part 1. Abbadie to Major ; Berlin 1941, p. 89
  40. ^ Neue Preußische (Kreuz-) Zeitung , December 20, 1892, evening edition
  41. ↑ Illustration of a snapshot of the entrance liturgy, held by preacher Wilhelm Thiele (* 1863; † 1930), during the festive service on December 20, 1892 on the contemporary painting by the watercolor and gouache painter Erich Weber from 1893, which is in the Berlin Sophienkirche is to be visited. The gouache painting is printed in: Clemens Krause: 1713–2013 Sophienkirche in Berlin . ISBN 978-3-86568-721-0 , color part (appendix)
  42. ^ Information from his third generation grandson, Gustav Friedrich Medon, obtained on October 11, 2016.
  43. ^ Annual report for the parish of the Sophienkirche for the year 1893. Printed by Hermann Blanke, Berlin 1893. In: Evangelisches Zentralarchiv in Berlin, inventory 7, no. 11597
  44. ^ Wilhelm Witte: The history of the Sophienkirche zu Berlin from 1712-1912. Festschrift to celebrate the bicentenary of the Sophiengemeinde . Pressure. Hermann Klockow, Berlin 1912, p. 173
  45. ↑ 45, - Mark according to the church book of Sophien 1904/1905, serial no. 260 from 1905, microfilm 7204 in the holdings of the Evangelical Regional Church Archive in Berlin; ELAB signature 7204
  46. ^ Wilhelm Witte: The history of the Sophienkirche from 1712 to 1912 . Printing: Hermann Klockow, Berlin 1912, p. 166, 193 and 195
  47. ↑ Eichler, Robert . In: Berliner Adreßbuch , 1905, Part I, p. 397.
  48. ↑ Sophien-Kirche - church officials . In: Berliner Adreßbuch , 1905, Part II, p. 125.
  49. ↑ Theodor Töpffer (annually elected chairman 1870–1881, afterwards simple member) launched a public appeal in the “Mitteilungen des Verein für die Geschichte Berlins”, 1884, with a request for information for his chronicle.
  50. ↑ Title reference in the Berlin Bibliography; Google books
personal data
SURNAME Medon, Gustav
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Medau, Carl Ludwig Gustav (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German dancer and dance teacher
DATE OF BIRTH March 27, 1823
PLACE OF BIRTH Berlin
DATE OF DEATH September 3, 1905
Place of death Berlin