Rodo

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Rodo monument in the English Garden in Geneva
Sculpture group on the gable of the Federal Palace in Bern

Rodo (actually Auguste de Niederhäusern ; born April 2, 1863 in Vevey , † May 23, 1913 in Munich ) was a Swiss sculptor . He is one of the most famous Swiss representatives of symbolism .

biography

The son of a businessman attended the arts and crafts school in Geneva . In 1886 he moved to Paris to complete his training at the Académie Julian (with Henri Chapu ) and at the École des beaux-arts (with Alexandre Falguière ). Auguste de Niederhäusern from then on spent almost his entire life in Paris. He was close to the anarchists and frequented esoteric and symbolist circles . His friends included Antoine Bourdelle , François Pompon and Ferdinand Hodler .

In 1892 he took part in the exhibition of the Salon de la Rose-Croix and was an employee of Auguste Rodin for the following six years . Inspired by him, he adopted the stage name Rodo. In 1895 he was commissioned to create a memorial for Paul Verlaine ; this could only be unveiled in 1911 in the Jardin du Luxembourg . In 1900 he took part in the Paris World Exhibition ; he received the gold medal for his busts of Ferdinand Hodler and Georges Favon . He made other busts of Giovanni Giacometti and Cuno Amiet .

Between 1900 and 1902 Rodo contributed several works to the Bundeshaus under construction in Bern : At the top of the gable is a three-part group of sculptures, which symbolize political independence, the executive and the legislature; He also created the keystones on the arched windows of the south facade. In 1910 he was able to exhibit two sculptures at the 10th National Art Exhibition in the Kunsthaus Zürich .

On May 4, 1908, the monument to Jean-Gabriel Eynard was inaugurated on the Promenade de Bastion in Geneva . The bronze bust was created by Rodo and the monument by the architects Alphonse Laverrière and Eugène Monod .

In 1912 Rodo was accepted into the Legion of Honor . He completed his last work Jérémie in 1913 shortly before his death; this statue has stood in front of the Saint-Pierre cathedral in Geneva since 1931 . During a stay in Munich , where he wanted to present three reliefs for a planned “Temple of Melancholy”, he died at the age of 50.

literature

  • Claude Lapaire: Auguste de Niederhäusern-Rodo (1863-1913). Un sculpteur entre la Suisse et Paris . Ed .: Swiss Institute for Art Research. Benteli Verlag, Bern 2001, ISBN 3-7165-1243-5 .
  • Heinrich Rumpel: Rodo von Niederhäusern . In: Architektur und Kunst , Vol. 31, Issue 7, 1944, pp. 219–224.
  • Hans Trog : The sculptor Auguste de Niederhäusern. In: Schweizer Illustrierte , Vol. 7, 1903, pp. 201–207. ( e-periodica )
  • Rodo . In: Zürcher Kunstgesellschaft - New Year's Gazette 1918 .

Web links

Commons : Rodo  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Swiss illustrated magazine: 1910 National Art Exhibition in Zurich. Retrieved November 22, 2019 .
personal data
SURNAME Rodo
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Niederhäuser, Auguste de
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss sculptor
DATE OF BIRTH April 2, 1863
PLACE OF BIRTH Vevey
DATE OF DEATH May 23, 1913
Place of death Munich