Schiller Monument (Ludwigsburg)
The Schiller Monument in Ludwigsburg near Stuttgart is the work of the Ludwigsburg sculptor Ludwig von Hofer . He created the marble statue in Carrara in 1880 and gave it to his hometown, which had it erected in the center of the triangular Schillerplatz in Ludwigsburg in 1882.
The monument was erected in honor of Friedrich Schiller , who was born in the neighboring town of Marbach am Neckar, who spent six years of his childhood in Ludwigsburg, attended Latin school here and returned to Ludwigsburg for a few months in 1794/1795.
construction
The pedestal of the monument is just as high as the Schiller figure, so that the viewer has to look up at Schiller. The Schiller figure from Bertel Thorvaldsen's Schiller Monument from 1838 , which is located on Schillerplatz in Stuttgart, is even further removed from the viewer's gaze. The pedestal, which is as high as the figure, but much more massive, also rests on an expansive five-step staircase ten meters long.
The pedestal consists of a wide base plate on which a plinth cube and the base plate ( plinth ) rest. This bears the inscription on the back: "by Ludwig Hofer in Carrara 1882 fec." The base of the statue bears a six-pointed star on the front, including the name SCHILLER, and on the back the inscription:
- “Designed out of admiration for the great poet and executed in marble for Carrara at the age of 81, Ludwig Hofer is also giving this monument to his hometown Ludwigsburg in grateful memory of his parents JJ Hofer from Pleidelsheim [and] Regina Hofer from Marbach. Ludwigsburg, September 7th, 1882. "
freeze frame
The statue shows the young poet in a frontal view as a manly imposing figure with a powerful figure and broad shoulders. The posture and the distant gaze give the poet of Sturm und Drang a dynamic appearance.
head
The towering, life-size statue shows an idealized Schiller who boldly looks into the distance with a clear view. In doing so, Hofer avoided the sometimes malicious criticism that Thorwaldsen's Schillerkopf had met with. Critics' displeasure was "especially aroused by the poet's posture with the bowed head and the expression on his face lost in thought." The art historian Patricia Peschel writes in her Hofer monograph: "It seems as if the poet has just found inspiration for his work: his gaze is open and glides into the distance."
Back of the Schiller statue, 2014.
A Schiller bust by the Stuttgart sculptor Johann Heinrich Dannecker , which was created between 1796 and 1806, served as a model for the facial features and the head . The full face with the sharply curved, narrow nose, the thinker's fold at the root of the nose and the energetic chin and mouth area as well as the long bare neck underline the impression of determined strength and the internalization of a thinker. The head is framed by a shoulder-length curly hair flowing downwards ("Schillerlocken") crowned by a laurel wreath, in ancient times the symbol of the poet who was crowned in the poet contest (" poeta laureatus ").
body
The poet's powerful, broad-shouldered stature is wrapped in half-antique, half-fashionable clothing. Under a toga- like cloak, which is supposed to be reminiscent of the poets and philosophers of antiquity, Schiller wears contemporary clothing made of an open ruffled shirt, jacket and boots.
Using his outstretched left arm, he gathers the cloak that falls over his left shoulder. This leaves the upper body with the jacket free, while almost the entire lower body is covered by the voluminous, pleated garment. Schiller puts his right leg in a walking position so that the foot pushes itself over the edge of the plinth. The tight-fitting jacket and the right leg, which is clearly visible under the toga, suggest a well-formed, muscular body.
Schiller holds the poet's insignia in his hands: a quill in his right hand and a scroll in his left hand. Behind the poet's right foot, the floor-length robe falls onto a pile of four books, including Schiller's works “Die Räuber”, “Kabale und Liebe” and “Fiesco”.
history
The Stuttgart librarian August Wintterlin dedicated a chapter in his book “Württemberg Artists in Life Pictures” to Ludwig Hofer in which he deals with his Schiller statue. According to Wintterlin, Hofer had already sketched a Schiller statue in 1850 and offered the city of Marbach to produce the statue in marble in memory of his mother, who came from Marbach, at a very cheap price for the Schillerhöhe . Hofer's offer was rejected for unknown reasons. Nevertheless, Hofer created a life-size model that he exhibited in public in the Stuttgart palace garden in 1859 (?). However, it met with divided applause and no customer.
When Hofer was in Carrara in 1880, he redesigned his model of the Schiller statue in marble. In 1882 he gave the statue to his hometown Ludwigsburg as a gift, where it was placed on today's Schillerplatz. In 1895, Wintterlin judged Hofer's Schiller statue:
- “Using Dannecker's bust for the head, Schiller is depicted as a young man who is receiving and writing down poetic inspiration. This view has found a very lively and apt expression in the movement of the upper body, the position of the hand and the facial expression. "
literature
- Patricia Peschel: The Stuttgart court sculptor Johann Ludwig von Hofer (1801 - 1887), work monograph. Stuttgart 2009, pages 116-136, 274-277.
- August Wintterlin : Johannes Ludwig Hofer. In: Württemberg artists in pictures of life. Stuttgart 1895, pages 331-344, here: 341.
Footnotes
- ↑ fec. = fecit = created.
- ↑ It is only by chance that the star has the shape of a Star of David . It can be assumed that the star is supposed to refer to Schiller as a "star in the German poet's heaven".
- ↑ #Peschel 2009 , page 125.
- ↑ #Peschel 2009 , page 275.
- ↑ #Peschel 2009 , page 275.
- ↑ #Wintterlin 1895 .
Coordinates: 48 ° 53 '39.78 " N , 9 ° 11' 17.25" E