Arthur Schopenhauer | |
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Bust on display in the Elisabet Ney Museum in Austin, Texas | |
Artist | Elisabet Ney |
Year | 1859 |
Medium | Marble sculpture |
Subject | Arthur Schopenhauer |
Location | Elisabet Ney Museum, Austin, Texas, United States |
Arthur Schopenhauer is a sculpture of German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer by sculptor Elisabet Ney. Completed in 1859, the piece is a portrait bust rendered in marble. The bust was modeled and carved in Germany, but it is now held by the Elisabet Ney Museum in Austin, Texas, United States.
As a young artist in Berlin, Elisabet Ney had sculpted various luminaries of the city, including Jacob Grimm, Cosima Liszt, and Alexander von Humboldt. Ney had been patronized by the naturalist Humboldt, sculptor Christian Rauch, and diplomat Varnhagen von Ense; when all three died between late 1857 and mid 1859, she decided to travel Germany in search of new notable subjects. [1] :133–134
In the autumn of 1859, she went to Frankfurt to make a sculpture of prominent philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer. Ney called on Schopenhauer uninvited and unannounced, and at first he refused to be her model. [2] Nonetheless, she soon persuaded him to sit for her, and the two developed a friendship as she composed the portrait. [1] :134–135
After finishing the portrait in clay, Ney returned to her studio in Berlin to render the piece in marble later in 1859. In the year after its completion, the marble was shown in Frankfurt, Berlin, and Leipzig (where Schopenhauer's publisher was located); [3] :25 Ney also showed the work at the Paris Salon of 1861, [4] together with her portrait bust of Eilhard Mitscherlich. [3] :30 The piece is now owned by the Elisabet Ney Museum in Austin, Texas, where Ney moved later in life. [5]
Schopenhauer depicts its subject at age seventy-one, a year before his death. The bust prominently features Schopenhauer's much-caricatured bald crown, unruly hair and shaggy sideburns. [3] :27 The figure is unclothed, showing the subject's bare shoulders and upper chest. [1] :138 The eyes are lightly incised, and the head is slightly tilted, with an ambiguous expression; these details make the portrait more personal than Ney's earlier, more strictly neoclassical works. [3] :27
Schopenhauer was considered to be a good likeness of its subject, if flattering. [3] :27 The work was well received by critics, and also by Schopenhauer himself, [4] who had been deeply displeased with his own earlier portraits in painting and photography. [1] :136 The success of the piece contributed to Ney's commission for her next major work, a bust of King George V of Hanover. [1] :141
Christian Daniel Rauch was a German sculptor. He founded the Berlin school of sculpture, and was the foremost German sculptor of the 19th century.
Events from the year 1859 in art.
Franzisca Bernadina Wilhelmina Elisabeth Ney was a celebrated German-American sculptor who spent the first half of her life and career in Europe, producing portraits of famous leaders such as Otto von Bismarck, Giuseppe Garibaldi and King George V of Hanover. At age 39, she immigrated to Texas with her husband, Edmund Montgomery, and became a pioneer in the development of art there. Among her most famous works during her Texas period were life-size marble figures of Sam Houston and Stephen F. Austin, commissions for the Texas State Capitol. A large group of her works are housed in the Elisabet Ney Museum, located in her home and studio in Austin. Other works can be found in the US Capitol, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, and numerous collections in Germany.
The Elisabet Ney Museum is a museum located in Austin, Texas, United States. It is housed in the former studio of sculptor Elisabet Ney and is dedicated to showcasing her life and works. There is a permanent collection of her portrait busts and personal memorabilia on display.
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Giuseppe Garibaldi is a sculpture of Italian revolutionary Giuseppe Garibaldi by German sculptor Elisabet Ney. Completed in 1866, the piece is a portrait bust rendered in marble. The portrait was modeled and carved in Italy, but it is now held by the Elisabet Ney Museum in Austin, Texas.
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