Julius fruit

Julius Obst (born September 23, 1878 in Rödelheim , † probably 1939 in Berlin-Weißensee ) was a German sculptor .

Life

Julius Obst was born in Rödelheim near Frankfurt am Main in 1878 . He came from a Jewish family. After attending the Philanthropin's secondary school in Frankfurt, he initially trained as a plasterer with Charles van der Stappen (1843-1910) at the Royal Art Academy in Brussels from 1897 to 1900 . In 1900 he moved to Constantin Meunier's studio in Brussels. At this time Meunier concentrated on depicting working people, which was also reflected in the early works of Obst. Obst is considered to be his only student and stayed there until Meunier's death in April 1905. After that, he probably moved to Berlin . In 1908 he was commissioned by the city of Frankfurt to take over the sculptural exterior design of the philanthropist's new school building. From 1910/1911, Obst was registered as a sculptor in Berlin and ran a workshop for tombs at Lessingstrasse 12 in Berlin-Steglitz .

An article by Karl Beyer in 1911 said about Obst that he could be called 'a Meunier translated into Jewish'. Only once, in 1922, was he represented at the Great Berlin Art Exhibition, where he showed the sculptures 'Schneider' and 'Reitender Arbeiter'. Very few works by Obst can be traced, although Jewish encyclopedias up to the most recent times consider him a more important sculptor. His bust of Richard Dehmel from 1911 as well as the bronze figure 'Vow' that was erected in the town hall of Wittenau in 1926 are lost.

Julius Obst probably died in Berlin-Weißensee in 1939 . The exact date of his death is not yet known. A Pauline Obst born. Görnemann (* 1878) from Berlin was probably his wife, who in November 1941 after Lodz was deported in the ghetto of Lodz died.

Work (selection)

• 1908: Flute player (standing naked youth, his short hair tied with a hoop, playing a flute, on a round, fluted plinth; 50.8 cm high, bronze, blackish brown patina, signed "J. Obst" behind the right foot)
• before 1911: The Garbenbinder (lost)
• 1911: bronze bust of Richard Dehmel (lost)
• 1926: bronze figure pledge (lost)
• Seated tailors

literature

• Georg Matzdorff: Description of the new school building. In: Program of the Realschule of the Israelitische Gemeinde Philanthropin (Realschule and Höhere Mädchenschle) in Frankfurt a. M. 1908/1909. Kumpf & Reis, Frankfurt am Main 1909, pp. 3–20.
• Karl Bayer: Julius fruit. In: Ost und West , June 1911 edition, p. 529.
• Berlin's Memorial Book of the Jewish Victims of National Socialism, Berlin, p. 593.

supporting documents

1. ^ Registry office Charlottenburg III: marriage register . No. 587/1909.