Bernhard Bleeker
Bernhard Bleeker | |
|---|---|
 Bleeker with a bust of Friedrich Ebert, 1927 | |
| Born | 26 July 1881 |
| Died | 11 March 1968 (aged 86) |
| Nationality | German |
| Education | Munich Academy with Wilhelm von Rümann |
| Known for | Sculpture |
| Movement | Munich School, Neoclassic Sculptures |
Josef Bernhard Maria Bleeker (26 July 1881 – 11 March 1968) was a German sculptor.[1]
Life[edit]
Bernhard Bleeker was born on 26 July 1881 in Münster, Westphalia, North (Germany).[2] After training as a stonemason in Münster and Munich he worked on various Munich building sites.[3] In 1903 Bleeker received his first public contract to build a monument in Miesbach. He built a fountain with a sculpture of Saint Michael slaying the dragon. "This work is still influenced by a typically neobaroque style, represented by his teacher Rümann and other numerous artist-colleagues."[1] Later he came under the influence of Adolf von Hildebrand, probably the most significant sculptor of that time.[1] Bleeker is supposed to be one of the main representatives of the Munich School of Sculptors, a significant bust sculptor and a builder of neo-classical monomuents.[3]
In 1912 he founded with others the "Neue Münchener Secession".[1] In 1918 he started teaching at the Munich Academy and became a full professor ("Ordentlicher Professor") in 1922. "During the Third Reich, Bleeker as a well respected artist often participated in propagandistic exhibitions, for example at the Große Deutsche Kunstausstellung at the Haus der Deutschen Kunst in Munich."[1] He obtained the order to create a bust of Adolf Hitler (Bust at German Historical Museum). He reworked it several times and up to 1944 25 busts were delivered to the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (NSDAP).[3] As a result of his connection to the Nazi regime he lost his teaching post at the Munich Academy in 1945.[4] In 1951 he was rehabilitated and became a member of the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna and an honorary member of the Munich Academy. In 1968 he died in Munich.[2]
Selected works[edit]
For a full list see:[1]
- 1910/11 Bust "Prinzregent Luitpold"
- 1924/25 "Dead Warrior" (Toter Krieger) in the crypt of the war memorial in the Munich Hofgarten
- 1931 Bleeker's most famous piece of art, the "Horse Tamer" (Rossebändiger) at the Technical University Munich, was heavily damaged in World War II. As a result the horse was melted down. Today the tamer stands in front of the Alte Pinakothek.[4] Busts of Friedrich Ebert, Max Liebermann, Paul von Hindenburg and Max Slevogt.
- 1935 A second version of the "Dead Warrior" for the Hindenburg Crypt in the Tannenberg Memorial.
- 1944 Monument "August Neidhardt von Gneisenau" in Posen (now Poznań, Poland).
Awards and distinctions[edit]
- 1917 Royal Ludwigs Medal in Gold (Königliche Ludwigs-Medaille in Gold)[4]
- 1928 Bavarian Maximilian Order for Science and Art (der Bayrische Maximiliansorden für Wissenschaft und Kunst)[3]
- 1930 Member of the Prussian Academy of Arts (Preußischen Akademie der Künste zu Berlin).[5]
- 1956 Culture Prize of the City of Munich (Förderpreis im Bereich Bildende Kunst der Landeshauptstadt München)[6]
- 1961 Golden Honorary Coin of the City of Munich (Goldene Ehrenmünze der Stadt München).[7]
Literature[edit]
- Frank Henseleit: Der Bildhauer Bernhard Bleeker (1881–1968). Leben und Werk. Dissertation, Universität Augsburg 2006 (Online – full text, 307 pages, PDF 2,44MB)
- Claus Pese: Mehr als nur Kunst. Das Archiv für Bildende Kunst i m Germanischen Nationalmuseum. (= Kulturgeschichtliche Spaziergänge im Germanischen Nationalmuseum; Bd.2). Ostfildern-Ruit 1998, pp. 40–43, 84
- The written legacy is part of the German Art Archive at the German Nationalmuseum.[8]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d e f Henseleit, Frank (2005). Der Bildhauer Bernhard Bleeker (1881–1968).Leben und Werk [The Sculptor Bernhard Bleeker (1881–1968). Life and Work.] (Dissertation) (in German). Universität Augsburg. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
- ^ a b "Bernhard Bleeker – Bildhauer". Munzinger Online – Personen (in German). Munzinger-Archiv. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
- ^ a b c d "Biographie of Bernhard Bleeker" (in German). Deutsches Historisches Museum. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
- ^ a b c "Biographie of Bernhard Bleeker" (in German). Nordostkultur München. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
- ^ "Mitglied Bernhard Bleeker" (in German). Akademie der Künste. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
- ^ "Prize Winner" (in German). Stadt München. Retrieved 18 August 2011.
- ^ "Owners of the Honorary Coin" (in German). Stadt München. Retrieved 18 August 2011.
- ^ "Inventory of the Art Archive" (PDF) (in German). Germanisches Nationalmuseum. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 August 2011. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
External links[edit]
- Literature by and about Bernhard Bleeker in the German National Library catalogue
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