Otto Sonnleitner

Hans Otto Sonnleitner (born November 20, 1906 in Würzburg ; † June 30, 1985 there ) was a German sculptor . His works can be found in many churches in the Franconian region. In Würzburg in particular, there are many of his works in public places. Sonnleitner also created works for the Walhalla in Donaustauf .

Life

Otto Sonnleitner was born on November 20, 1906 in Leistenstrasse in the Würzburg Steinbachtal . Around 1900 the father, Ludwig Sonnleitner, moved from Landau an der Isar to Würzburg. He worked as a sculptor and set up his own workshop before the outbreak of the First World War . The mother of the later artist is not known.

The young Otto first attended secondary school in Würzburg and planned to do an apprenticeship with his father after graduating. In addition to his training, Sonnleitner attended the polytechnic in his hometown and learned to draw there. In 1925, after completing his apprenticeship, he went to Munich to improve his skills. There he was sponsored by Valentin Kraus, who later headed the monastic sculpture workshop in Münsterschwarzach.

In addition to small, little paid jobs in the Bavarian capital, Sonnleitner worked on the inscriptions on the war memorial in the Hofgarten , among other things , and began studying at the Academy of Fine Arts, first with Karl Killer , later with Fritz Behn . He studied with Behn until 1931 before becoming a master student of the sculptor Josef Wackerle . Otto Sonnleitner finished his studies in 1937, went into business for himself in Munich the following year and married Gertrud von Oelhafen.

As early as 1935, Sonnleitner had received the first order from Würzburg for the university gynecological clinic with the Adebar relief . After completing his studies, other works followed, such as the boy with a foal in front of the Goethe School in Würzburg. In 1940 Sonnleitner was called up for military service and prevented from carrying out further work. Sonnleitner did not return to Munich from captivity until December 1945 and found the studio destroyed by an aerial bomb.

In 1947 Otto Sonnleitner returned to his hometown. The father had died shortly before and Sonnleitner took over the workshop in the house where he was born. Further orders followed in Würzburg and the surrounding area, so a relief was created on the new Sparkasse building, which is supposed to represent the father Main . A first, larger work is the market fountain in nearby Karlstadt , which was dedicated to the chemist Johann Rudolph Glauber .

Many orders followed; In particular, fountain designs were preferred by Sonnleitner. Another focus of his work is the representation of Saint Barbara . Several of his works became landmarks in Würzburg . The market bear on the market square and the messenger rider come from the artist. Otto Sonnleitner died on June 30, 1985 in his native Würzburg.

Awards

• Member of the Hetzfeld rafters' guild under the name "Bär"
• Honorary member of the Friends of Mainfränkischer Kunst und Geschichte (1971)
• Culture Prize of the City of Würzburg (1974)
• Federal Cross of Merit on Ribbon (1975)

Works (selection)

Many of the sculptor's works are in public places, mainly in the main place of work in Würzburg, but there are also some works in southern Bavaria. Schoolyards were often decorated with sculptures by Otto Sonnleitner.

year	Place name, place of installation	materials	plant	image
1935	Würzburg, University Hospital	Ruhpolding marble	Adebar
1938	Würzburg, Goethe School	Shell limestone	Boy with foal
1939	Würzburg, Sandermare swimming pool	Shell limestone and bronze	Catfish fountain and gargoyle
1950	Würzburg, Kilianshaus	bronze	Relief of the Main
1951	Würzburg, corner of Sanderstraße / Elefantengasse	Shell limestone	House Madonna
1952	Würzburg, St. Josef	Wood	Vesper picture
1953	Würzburg, Steinbachtal School	Shell limestone	Boy with unicorn
1954	Würzburg, Burkardushaus	Bluebank limestone	St. Michael and the Dragon
1954	Heidenfeld , Catholic parish church	Diabase	Relief Michael Faulhaber
1955	Karlstadt , market square	Red sandstone	Rudolph Glauber Fountain
1955	Würzburg, Franciscan Church	Shell limestone	Altar and pulpit relief
1955	Hameln , Catholic Church	Treuchtlingen marble	Evangelist symbols
around 1955	Würzburg, Peterplatz	Red sandstone	Monument to the former Benedictine monastery of St. Stephan
1955-1959	Würzburg, St. Elisabeth	bronze	Choir cross and suspension throne
1956	Königsberg in Bavaria , Catholic parish church	Shell limestone	Angel of judgment
1957	Würzburg, post office on Paradeplatz	bronze	Pigeon fountain
1958	Würzburg, Dallenbergbad	bronze	Fishing group
1959	Münsterschwarzach , monastery church	Treuchtlingen marble	Side altar Egbert, Adalbero and Makarius
1960	Bad Kissingen , high school	bronze	Pythagoras
1961	Münsterschwarzach, monastery church	Treuchtlingen marble	Side altar Willibald, Martin and Burkard
1961	Münsterschwarzach, monastery church	Treuchtlingen marble	Side altar Kilian, Kolonat and Totnan
1961	Würzburg, Wirsberg high school	bronze	Orpheus
1961	Würzburg, Wirsberg high school	bronze	Five reliefs from the life of a schoolboy
1961	Würzburg, St. Gertraud	Shell limestone	Mary with child
1961	Berlin-Zehlendorf , forest cemetery	bronze	Jakob Kaiser tomb
1961	Münsterschwarzach, monastery church	bronze	Epitaph Burkhard Utz
1962	Bad Kissingen, secondary school	bronze	Youth at the source
1963	Escherndorf , Fürstenberg	Shell limestone	Mary with child
1963	Geroldshausen , St. Thomas	Shell limestone	Mary with child
1964	Cologne , St. Bernhard	Red sandstone	Mary with child
1964	Würzburg, University Hospital	bronze	Flamingo group
1964	Würzburg, State Fire Brigade School	Shell limestone	St. Florian
1965	Würzburg, Saalgasse	bronze	Fishing boys
1965	Würzburg, Röntgenring	bronze	Relief by the physiologists Albert von Bezold , Adolf Fick , Maximilian von Frey and Edgar Wöhlisch
1966	Würzburg, Frankfurter Strasse	bronze	Fountain
1966	Würzburg, University	bronze	Door handles
1967	Höpfingen , Catholic parish church	bronze	Mary with child
1967	Würzburg, cathedral	bronze	Kiliansportal
1967	Würzburg, Holy Cross	bronze	Christ returning in perfection
1968	Würzburg, near the Old Main Bridge	bronze	Fisherman
1969	Würzburg, Burkarderstraße	bronze	Heron group
1970	Lohr am Main , St. Pius	bronze	Way of the Cross
1970	Siegelbach , Catholic parish church	bronze	Mary with child
1971	Würzburg, Bismarckstrasse	bronze	Fisherman
1971	Würzburg, market square	bronze	Market bear
1972	Kitzingen , St. Johannes	bronze	Salvation is in the cross
1972	Mömlingen , market square	Shell limestone	Peace memorial
1972	Königshofen , Catholic parish church	bronze	portal
1972	Würzburg, forest cemetery	Shell limestone	Anatomy memorial stone
1972	Würzburg, Matthias Ehrenfried House	bronze	Portrait of Matthias Ehrenfried
1973	Donaustauf , Valhalla	Greek marble	Jean Paul
1974	Würzburg, market square	bronze	The messenger rider
1974	Rieneck , Catholic parish church	bronze	Sacrament house and ambo
1976	Würzburg, Ottostrasse	bronze	Würzburg City of Music Fountain
1977	Würzburg, Grombühlstrasse	bronze	Memorial to the local poet Elisabeth Scheuring
1978	Würzburg, cathedral	bronze	Epitaph Matthias Ehrenfried

literature

• Hanswernfried Muth: The Würzburg sculptor Otto Sonnleitner. Friends of Mainfränkischer Art and History, Würzburg 1977 (= Mainfränkische Hefte. Volume 65).

Web links

Commons : Otto Sonnleitner  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Otto Sonnleitner in the German biography
• WürzburgWiki: Otto Sonnleitner , accessed on February 24, 2016
• City of Würzburg: Otto Sonnleitner .

Individual evidence

1. ^ Hanswernfried Muth: The Würzburg sculptor Otto Sonnleitner. P. 5.
2. ^ Hanswernfried Muth: The Würzburg sculptor Otto Sonnleitner. P. 7.
3. ^ Hanswernfried Muth: The Würzburg sculptor Otto Sonnleitner. P. 10.
4. ^ City of Würzburg: Otto Sonnleitner .
5. ↑ Announcement of awards of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany. In: Federal Gazette . Vol. 27, No. 46, March 6, 1976
6. ^ Hanswernfried Muth: The Würzburg sculptor Otto Sonnleitner. P. 14 f.