Albert Wolff (sculptor)

Not to be confused withAlbert Moritz Wolff(1854-1923); also a German sculptor.

Albert Wolff, from theDarmstädter Tagblatt(Nr. 22/1886)

Friedrich Wilhelm III Monument (1938), from theGerman Federal Archives

Carl Conrad Albert Wolff(14 November 1814,Neustrelitz– 20 June 1892, Berlin) was a German sculptor, andmedallist.

Life and work

His father was the architect and sculptorChristian Philipp Wolff,who died when Albert was only six. At the age of seventeen, he followed in the footsteps of his older brother and moved to Berlin, where he found a position in the workshop of his father's friendChristian Daniel Rauchand took night classes in anatomical drawing at a local art school.In 1844, he was sent toCarrara(where the best marble could be found) to produce statues for the terrace ofSanssouci.

After two years in Italy, he returned to Berlin, assisting Rauch on a monument ofFrederick the Great,but he also worked free-lance, producing a fountain with Countess Anna Raczynska (1823-1906) represented asHygieia(inPosen) and a marblecrucifixfor a church inKamenz.Shortly after, he opened his own workshop. In addition to his larger works, he produced many smaller figures, statuettes and decorations that were widely copied.

In 1866, he was appointed a Professor at thePrussian Academy of Artand had many students who would become well-known, including his own sonMartin.He was named an honorary member of theDresden Academy of Fine Artsin 1881.

Selected major works

• Equestrian statueofErnest Augustus, King of Hanover,inHanover
• Equestrian statue of KingFriedrich Wilhelm IIIwith several base figures, in theLustgarten,Berlin. The statue was unveiled on 16 June 1871.It was damaged during World War II and demolished by the German Democratic Republic (GDR) government.Die Allegorie der Wissenschaft(The Allegory of Science) andClio – the Muse of Historystatues survived and are located nearSt. Nicholas' Church, Berlin.
• Statue of Grand DukeFriedrich Franz IinLudwigslust.
• Figure, "Löwenkämpfer"(The Lion Fighter), at theAltes Museum.A copy may be seen at thePhiladelphia Museum of Art.
• Figure group, "Der Jüngling wird von Athena in neuen Kampf geführt"(Young Man Led to a New Battle byAthena), on theSchlossbrücke(Castle Bridge) inBerlin-Mitte.
• Marble group, "Bacchuswith Panther ", in theAlte Nationalgalerie.
• Bronze relief of victorious troops at the base of theBerlin Victory Column.
• Bronze group, "Löwe seine Jungen gegen eine Riesenschlange verteidigend" (Lion Defending its Young Against a Giant Snake), on the square in front of the Criminal Justice Building inMoabit.It was later moved to the new Court Building on Wilsnacker Straße.

• 
  Löwenkämpfer
• 
  Friedrich Franz I
• 
  Der Jüngling wird von Athena in neuen
  Kampf geführt
• 
  Ernst-August-Denkmal

Illustrations/writings

• Gallerie bedeutender Leute.(Gallery of Distinguished People) – Düsseldorf: Arnz, 1855.Digitalized onlineby theUniversity and State Library Düsseldorf.

Further reading

• Thieme-Becker:Allgemeines Lexikon der Bildenden Künstler von der Antike bis zur Gegenwart.Vol.36. Leipzig 1947, pgs.189-190.
• Jutta von Simson:Der Bildhauer Albert Wolff,Berlin 1982,ISBN3-7861-1289-4.

External links

• Literature about Albert Wolff (sculptor)in the State Bibliography (Landesbibliographie) ofMecklenburg-Vorpommern