Julius Paul Schmidt-Felling (1835–1920) was a German

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

who worked during the mid-to-late 19th century and early 20th century. The subject matter of his work was wide and varied. He produced, among others, bronze statues of heroic warriors, athletes, blacksmiths, and farmers. A number of his sculptures of young children were in the

Dutch colonial Dutch Colonial is a style of domestic architecture, primarily characterized by gambrel roofs having curved eaves along the length of the house. Modern versions built in the early 20th century are more accurately referred to as "Dutch Colonial Re ...

style, some being whimsical in nature.

Early life

Schmidt-Felling was born in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) was a German kingdom that constituted the state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918. Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. ...

, in 1835. Little is known about his life other than the artwork he produced during an illustrious sculpting career that spanned more than 60 years.

Career

His oeuvre included a wide array of sculptures, ranging in subject matter that included heroic warriors (often mounted on horseback), athletes,

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such as gates, gr ...

s, and farmers. He sculpted a number of pieces featuring young children in primarily the Dutch colonial style. His output included some animal sculpture, too, but in lesser volume compared to other subjects. Some of his better known sculptures are small whimsical models of young boys smoking cigarettes and pipes. Schmidt-Felling was a very versatile sculptor. The majority of Schmidt-Felling's work was cast in bronze and most pieces can be classified as being within the

realism Realism, Realistic, or Realists may refer to: In the arts *Realism (arts), the general attempt to depict subjects truthfully in different forms of the arts Arts movements related to realism include: *Classical Realism *Literary realism, a move ...

or art nouveau genres. Late in his career, however—during the

art deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

era—he produced a number of

chryselephantine Chryselephantine sculpture (from Greek grc, χρυσός, chrysós, gold, label=none, and grc, ελεφάντινος, elephántinos, ivory, label=none) is sculpture made with gold and ivory. Chryselephantine cult statues enjoyed high status ...

sculptures whereby both

ivory Ivory is a hard, white material from the tusks (traditionally from elephants) and teeth of animals, that consists mainly of dentine, one of the physical structures of teeth and tusks. The chemical structure of the teeth and tusks of mammals i ...

and bronze were used together in the casting and construction process. Fellow German sculptors

Ferdinand Preiss Johann Philipp Ferdinand Preiss (13 February 1882 – 29 July 1943) was a German sculptor. He was one of the leading sculptors of the Art Deco period. Early life Ferdinand Preiss was born in Erbach im Odenwald as one of six children to Karl ...

and

Franz Iffland Franz Iffland (1862–1935) was a German sculptor and painter who worked during the late 19th and early 20th century. He was born in 1862 in Berlin, Kingdom of Prussia. The majority of his sculptures were influenced by the jugendstil movement bu ...

were also successful with this mix of production materials during their careers. Usually, the face and hands of a statue would be carved from ivory while the remainder of the sculpture would be cast in bronze. A large number of Schmidt-Felling’s bronzes, many cast at the NBW foundry in Berlin, feature partial and full nudity. Schmidt-Felling also employed the Aktien-Gesellschaft Gladenbeck foundry for many of his bronze castings.

Death

Schmidt-Felling died in 1920, presumably in Germany.

Signature example

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schmidt-Felling, Julius 19th-century German sculptors Sculptors from the Kingdom of Prussia German male sculptors 20th-century German sculptors 20th-century German male artists 1835 births 1920 deaths Sculptors from Berlin