Alexander Oppler (10 February 1869 – 18 March 1937) was a German sculptor of Jewish ancestry; best known for his

portrait bust A bust is a sculpted or cast representation of the upper part of the human figure, depicting a person's head and neck, and a variable portion of the chest and shoulders. The piece is normally supported by a plinth. The bust is generally a p ...

s. He also worked as a

medallist A medalist (or medallist) is an artist who designs medals, plaquettes, badges, metal medallions, coins and similar small works in relief in metal. Historically, medalists were typically also involved in producing their designs, and were usually ...

Life and work

His father was the architect,

Edwin Oppler Edwin Oppler (18 June 1831, in Oels – 6 September 1880, in Hanover) was a German architect of Jewish ancestry,Arno Herzig: ''Jüdische Geschichte in Deutschland. Von den Anfängen bis zur Gegenwart'', C. H. Beck Verlag, 2002, and , pg. 179; a ...

. His older brother, Ernst, was a painter and

etcher Etching is traditionally the process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio (incised) in the metal. In modern manufacturing, other chemicals may be used on other types ...

. He had two younger brothers who were also well known; , a doctor, and , a

jurist A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyses and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal qualification in law and often a legal practitioner. In the Un ...

. From 1888 he studied art; first at the

Academy of Fine Arts, Munich The Academy of Fine Arts, Munich (german: Akademie der Bildenden Künste München, also known as Munich Academy) is one of the oldest and most significant art academies in Germany. It is located in the Maxvorstadt district of Munich, in Bavaria, ...

, then at the Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts in Brussels and the

Académie des Beaux-Arts An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...

in Paris. He was a member of the

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

and

Berlin Secession The Berlin Secession was an art movement established in Germany on May 2, 1898. Formed in reaction to the Association of Berlin Artists, and the restrictions on contemporary art imposed by Kaiser Wilhelm II, 65 artists "seceded," demonstrating ag ...

s. He was an early member of the

Deutscher Künstlerbund The Deutscher Kuenstlerbund (Association of German Artists) was founded in 1903 the initiative of Count Harry Kessler, promoter of arts and artists, Alfred Lichtwark, director of the Hamburg Art Gallery and the famous painters Lovis Corinth, M ...

(Artists' Association), and took part in their first exhibition, in 1904, at what is now the Staatliche Antikensammlungen (antiquities collection) in Munich; represented by two marble statues and a plaster bust. Among his best known works is a bust of the artist,

André Derain André Derain (, ; 10 June 1880 – 8 September 1954) was a French artist, painter, sculptor and co-founder of Fauvism with Henri Matisse. Biography Early years Derain was born in 1880 in Chatou, Yvelines, Île-de-France, just outside Paris ...

. He considered his most important work to be the fountain at in Berlin, which was destroyed by the

Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hit ...

.Jochen Bruns: ''Ernst Oppler.(1867–1929). Leben und Werk. Mit einem Werkkatalog seiner Ölgemälde und Druckgraphiken'', Münster, 1993, Vol.1, pg.271 A sculpture he created for his family grave at the has also been lost. Many of his works were saved by his daughter Ellen, when she emigrated to the United States. They were later donated to the Brevard Art Center (now the Foosaner Art Museum) in

Melbourne, Florida Melbourne is a city in Brevard County, Florida, United States. It is located southeast of Orlando. As of th2020 Decennial Census there was a population of 84,678. The municipality is the second-largest in the county by both size and population ...

. His works may also be seen at the Wallraf-Richartz-Museum in Cologne, the

Museum Kunst Palast The Kunstpalast, formerly Kunstmuseum Düsseldorf is an art museum in Düsseldorf. History The roots of the museum go back around 300 years. In 1932, the collection of the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf (Academy of Art) was housed in the Kunstm ...

in Düsseldorf, the Museum August Kestner in Hanover, and the

Landesmuseum Württemberg The Landesmuseum Württemberg (Württemberg State Museum) is the main historical museum of the Württemberg part of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It emerged from the 16th-century “Kunstkammer” ( Cabinet of art and curiosities) of t ...

in Stuttgart.

References

External links

More works by Oppler
@ the

Victoria & Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...

Drawings by Oppler
@ the

Jewish Museum Berlin The Jewish Museum Berlin (''Jüdisches Museum Berlin'') was opened in 2001 and is the largest Jewish museum in Europe. On of floor space, the museum presents the history of Jews in Germany from the Middle Ages to the present day, with new focuses ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oppler, Alexander 1869 births 1937 deaths 20th-century German sculptors 20th-century German male artists German male sculptors Olympic competitors in art competitions People from Hanover

Life and work

References

Further reading

External links