Willi Schmidt (sculptor)

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Fountain in Schwalbach am Taunus
The seated one
Commemorative plaque (1978) for the destruction of Frankfurt in the air war
Commemorative plaque to the former synagogue in Frankfurt-Bockenheim (1988)

Willi Schmidt (born June 7, 1924 in Marktleuthen ; † December 1, 2011 in Schwalbach am Taunus ) was a German sculptor . For many years he was a lecturer at the Städelschule in Frankfurt am Main .

Career

Born Wilhelm Heinrich Schmidt, son of the glassworker Johann Georg Schmidt, he began a three-year apprenticeship as a stonemason at the age of 14 , before he was drafted into the war at the age of 17 and then became a prisoner of war until 1948 . Then he attended the master school for stone processing (granite sculptor school ) in Wunsiedel until 1950 and graduated as a master sculptor. Until 1956 he worked as a student of Hans Mettel at the University of Fine Arts in Frankfurt and earned his living, among other things, as an assistant for stone training. Since 1956 he has been a freelance sculptor and took over teaching activities at the Städelschule, where he also worked as a lecturer in theoretical and practical training from 1972 to 1989. Schmidt died on December 1, 2011 at the age of 87 in his place of residence in Schwalbach am Taunus.

Works in public space (selection)

Large reclining woman in Frankfurt's pedestrian zone
  • 1976: Great reclining figure (also popularly known as Die fett Gret ) in the Freßgass in Frankfurt am Main
  • 1978: Round, bronze commemorative plaque on the ground for the destruction of Frankfurt in the aerial warfare . Set in the cobblestone pavement between the Technical Town Hall and the Schirn Kunsthalle in Frankfurt. Removed in connection with the renovations for the New Frankfurt Old Town and stored for later relocation (between cathedral and Goldener Waage?) (Not to be seen again at the end of 2018).
  • 1979: Nativity figures for Limburg Cathedral
  • 1986: Helena in the state central bank
  • 1988–1990: Figure group for a clinic in Tokyo
  • 1989: The seated woman (meadow in Schwalbach am Taunus)
  • 1992: Marktplatz fountain in Schwalbach am Taunus

Exhibitions (selection)

Willi Schmidt was involved in several exhibitions together with well-known sculptors (solo exhibitions are relatively unusual in this area). From 1953 to 1980 his works were shown at international art exhibitions in Milan , Paris and Lyon . You could also see his figures in:

literature

  • Alexander Bastek (arr.): Of heads and bodies. Frankfurt sculpture from the Städel , Frankfurt a. M .: Städel 2006, ISBN 9783935283113 , pp. 252-253.

Web links

Commons : Willi Schmidt  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ http://www.uni-freiburg.de/bildkunst2/AUSSTELL/GALERIEN/KEMMERICH/1998.html ( Memento from July 22, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
  2. ^ Farewell to Willi Schmidt. Obituary in the Höchst District Gazette on December 10, 2011 (accessed on July 2, 2014).
  3. ↑ How Frankfurt was destroyed in the air war . Information brochure from the City of Frankfurt am Main. March 1992
  4. ↑ http://www.uni-freiburg.de/bildkunst2/AUSSTELL/GALERIEN/KEMMERICH/KUENSTLER/willi_schmidt_data.htm ( Memento from February 17, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
personal data
SURNAME Schmidt, Willi
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Schmidt, Wilhelm Heinrich (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German sculptor
DATE OF BIRTH June 7, 1924
PLACE OF BIRTH Market people
DATE OF DEATH December 1, 2011
Place of death Schwalbach am Taunus