Johann Degen (sculptor)

Portrait of Johann Degen around 1900

Grave of the Degen family in Cologne's Melaten cemetery

Johann Degen , also Jean Degen or Johannes Degen , (born December 2, 1849 in Cologne , † December 13, 1916 there ) was a German sculptor .

Life

Johann Degen initially completed an apprenticeship as a furniture carver and wood sculptor. He then received artistic training in the studio of the Cologne sculptor Wilhelm Albermann . Around 1879 he got a job as a teacher for modeling (in clay and wax) at the technical college in Cologne (one of the predecessor institutions of today's Cologne University of Applied Sciences ). From 1880 he worked as a freelance sculptor, his building sculptures also attracted attention far beyond the city of Cologne.

As a fun-loving artist, he quickly found his way to the Cologne Carnival , designed Rose Monday procession and also made a contribution to the decoration of the corresponding event rooms. From 1902 to 1907 he was president of the Rote Funken and from 1909 to 1912 chairman of the Great Carnival Society .

Johann Degen found his final resting place in the Melaten cemetery (lit. M, no. 41–42). In the settlement bollard dam in Cologne-Poll is Johann-dagger street named after him.

plant

1881: four bronze relief portraits ( Kaiser Wilhelm I , Crown Prince Friedrich , Otto von Bismarck , Helmuth von Moltke ) and other elements in bronze and stone on the war memorial in Dortmund (architecture by Carl Nordmann and Julius Flügge ; not preserved)
1889: War memorial for those who fell in the wars of 1866 and 1870/1871 in Düren (architecture by Georg Frentzen ; demolished in 1949 after considerable war damage)
1893 ?: Sculpture of Colonia in front of the main post office in Cologne, An den Dominikanern 4
1893: four larger than life statues ( Charlemagne , Great Elector , King Friedrich Wilhelm I , Kaiser Wilhelm I) on the facade of the town hall in Halle (Saale) , Markt 2 (removed and destroyed in 1951)
1897: Building sculpture on the building of the Reichsbank headquarters in Cologne , Unter Sachsenhausen (today used by Deutsche Bank AG)
1897: Kaiser Wilhelm monument in Bonn-Venusberg
1897: four portrait medallions ( Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher , Heinrich Friedrich Karl vom und zum Stein , Adolph Diesterweg , Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi ) on the facade of the Blücherschule in Wiesbaden , Blücherplatz (architecture by Felix Genzmer )
before 1901: Building sculpture on the facade of a residential building at the Georeonskloster in Cologne (architecture by Felix Genzmer)
1911: Building sculpture on the building of the Cologne Higher Regional Court , Reichenspergerplatz

and undated:

Building sculpture on the house of the reading society in Cologne, Langgasse
Albertus Magnus sculpture at the University of Cologne (not preserved)

literature

Robert Steimel: Cologne heads. Cologne 1958, column 99.
Ilse Prass, Klaus Zöller: From Carnival Heroes to Cologne Triumvirate 1823–1992. Cologne 1992, p. 43 f.
Michael Werling : Architecture teacher at Cologne University of Applied Sciences, Part I, The Alumni. (Ed. on the occasion of the 35th anniversary of the department or the faculty for architecture of the Cologne University of Applied Sciences) Cologne 2006, p. 67 ff.

Individual evidence

^ Marianne Vogt-Werling, Michael Werling: The Melaten cemetery in Cologne. All monuments and their future. Cologne 2010, ISBN 978-3-7743-0471-0 .
^ Johann-Degen-Straße , accessed on March 11, 2013.
↑ Deutsche Bauzeitung , Volume 15, 1881, No. 30 (April 13, 1881), p. 180.
↑ War memorial in Düren on www.ehrenmale-kreis-dueren.de , accessed on March 11, 2013
↑ Chronik Niestroj 2015 (PDF) on www.igs-halle.de , p. 94
^ Illustration of the Cologne Reichsbank main office at www.bilderbuch-koeln.de , accessed on March 11, 2013
↑ Schweizerische Bauzeitung , year 1900, 35th half volume, No. 24 (from June 16, 1900), p. 265.
↑ Images from the Higher Regional Court at Reichenspergerplatz in Cologne at www.bilderbuch-koeln.de , accessed on March 11, 2013
^ Board of Directors of the Reading Society in Cologne (ed.): 125 Years Reading Society in Cologne from 1872–1997. (Festschrift) Cologne 1997, p. 19.

personal data
SURNAME	Sword, Johann
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Sword, Jean; Sword, Johannes
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	German sculptor
DATE OF BIRTH	December 2, 1849
PLACE OF BIRTH	Cologne
DATE OF DEATH	December 13, 1916
Place of death	Cologne

[1] Marianne Vogt-Werling, Michael Werling: The Melaten cemetery in Cologne. All monuments and their future. Cologne 2010, ISBN 978-3-7743-0471-0 .

[2] Johann-Degen-Straße , accessed on March 11, 2013.

[3] Deutsche Bauzeitung , Volume 15, 1881, No. 30 (April 13, 1881), p. 180.

[4] War memorial in Düren on www.ehrenmale-kreis-dueren.de , accessed on March 11, 2013

[5] Chronik Niestroj 2015 (PDF) on www.igs-halle.de , p. 94

[6] Illustration of the Cologne Reichsbank main office at www.bilderbuch-koeln.de , accessed on March 11, 2013

[7] Schweizerische Bauzeitung , year 1900, 35th half volume, No. 24 (from June 16, 1900), p. 265.

[8] Images from the Higher Regional Court at Reichenspergerplatz in Cologne at www.bilderbuch-koeln.de , accessed on March 11, 2013

[9] Board of Directors of the Reading Society in Cologne (ed.): 125 Years Reading Society in Cologne from 1872–1997. (Festschrift) Cologne 1997, p. 19.