Blaschka
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Leopold Blaschka (27 May 1822 – 3 July 1895) and his son Rudolf Blaschka (17 June 1857 – 1 May 1939) were
glass artists Glass is an amorphous ( non-crystalline) solid. Because it is often transparent and chemically inert, glass has found widespread practical, technological, and decorative use in window panes, tableware, and optics. Some common objects made o ...
from
Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...
,
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
. They were known for their production of biological and botanical models, including
glass sea creatures The glass sea creatures (alternately called the Blaschka sea creatures, glass marine invertebrates, Blaschka invertebrate models, and Blaschka glass invertebrates) are works of glass artists Leopold and Rudolf Blaschka. The artistic predecessors ...
and
Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
's
Glass Flowers The Ware Collection of Blaschka Glass Models of Plants (or simply the ''Glass Flowers'') is a collection of highly realistic glass botanical models at the Harvard Museum of Natural History in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Created by Leopold and Rud ...
.


Family background

The Blaschka family's roots trace to Josephthal in
Erzgebirge The Ore Mountains (, or ; ) lie along the Czech–German border, separating the historical regions of Bohemia in the Czech Republic and Saxony in Germany. The highest peaks are the Klínovec in the Czech Republic (German: ''Keilberg'') at a ...
,
Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...
, a region known for processing glass,
metals A metal () is a material that, when polished or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. These properties are all associated with having electrons available at the Fermi level, as against no ...
, and gems. Members of the Blaschka family worked in
Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...
,
Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...
, and Germany. Leopold referred to this history in an 1889 letter to
Mary Lee Ware Mary Lee Ware, (Jan. 7, 1858 – Jan. 9, 1937) daughter of Elizabeth Cabot (Lee) Ware and Charles Eliot Ware, was born to a wealthy Bostonian family and, with her mother, was the principal sponsor of the Harvard Museum of Natural History's famous ...
: Leopold was born in
Český Dub Český Dub () is a town in Liberec District in the Liberec Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 2,900 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Monument zones, urban mon ...
,
Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...
, one of the three sons of Joseph Blaschke. Leopold himself would later Latinize the family name to Blaschka. He and his son were native to the Bohemian Czech-German borderland. Leopold was apprenticed to a
goldsmith A goldsmith is a Metalworking, metalworker who specializes in working with gold and other precious metals. Modern goldsmiths mainly specialize in jewelry-making but historically, they have also made cutlery, silverware, platter (dishware), plat ...
and gem cutter in
Turnov Turnov (; ) is a town in Semily District in the Liberec Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 15,000 inhabitants. It is a traditional centre for gemstone polishing, glass craftsmanship and arts. The historic town centre is well preserved and ...
, a town in the
Liberec Region Liberec Region () is an administrative unit (Czech language, Czech: ''kraj'') of the Czech Republic, located in the northernmost part of its historical region of Bohemia. It is named after its capital Liberec. The region shares international bor ...
of today's Czech Republic. He then joined the family business which produced glass ornaments and
glass eye An ocular prosthesis, artificial eye or glass eye is a type of craniofacial prosthesis that replaces an absent natural eye following an enucleation, evisceration, or orbital exenteration. Someone with an ocular prosthesis is altogether blind ...
s. Leopold developed a technique which he termed "glass-spinning" which permitted the construction of highly precise and detailed works in glass. He soon began to focus the business on manufacturing glass eyes. In 1846, Leopold married Caroline Zimmermann, and within four years their son Josef Augustin Blaschka was born. Caroline and Josef both died of
cholera Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...
in 1850. A year later, Leopold's father died. Leopold "sought consolation in the natural world, sketching the plants in the countryside around his home."


Glass marine invertebrates

In 1853, Leopold travelled to the United States. While on route, the ship was delayed at sea for two weeks due to a lack of
trade winds The trade winds or easterlies are permanent east-to-west prevailing winds that flow in the Earth's equatorial region. The trade winds blow mainly from the northeast in the Northern Hemisphere and from the southeast in the Southern Hemisphere ...
. During this time, Leopold studied and sketched local
marine invertebrates Marine invertebrates are invertebrate animals that live in marine habitats, and make up most of the macroscopic life in the oceans. It is a polyphyletic blanket term that contains all marine animals except the marine vertebrates, including the ...
, the glass-like transparency of their bodies intriguing him. He wrote: On his return to
Český Dub Český Dub () is a town in Liberec District in the Liberec Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 2,900 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Monument zones, urban mon ...
, Leopold focused on producing glass eyes, costume ornaments, lab equipment, and other goods and specialty items whose production was expected of master lampworkers. He married his second wife, Caroline Riegel, in 1854. In his free time, he created glass models of plants. These would eventually become the basis of the ''Ware Collection of Blaschka Glass Models of Plants'', also known as the
Glass Flowers The Ware Collection of Blaschka Glass Models of Plants (or simply the ''Glass Flowers'') is a collection of highly realistic glass botanical models at the Harvard Museum of Natural History in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Created by Leopold and Rud ...
, which were collected many years later. During this period, Blaschka did not make any money producing the models. Eventually, however, the models attracted the attention of Prince Camille de Rohan, who arranged to meet with Leopold at
Sychrov Castle Sychrov Castle () is a castle in Sychrov (Liberec District), Sychrov in the Liberec Region of the Czech Republic. It is a unique example of Neo-Gothic castle architecture from the second half of the 19th century. A large park surrounds the castle ...
in 1857. Prince Camille, an enthusiast of natural sciences, commissioned Leopold to craft 100 glass
orchid Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Orchids are cosmopolitan plants that are found in almost every habitat on Eart ...
s for his private collection. In 1862, "the prince exhibited about 100 models of orchids and other exotic plants, which he displayed on two artificial tree trunks in his palace in Prague." This royal commission brought Blaschka's craft to the attention of Professor
Ludwig Reichenbach Heinrich Gottlieb Ludwig Reichenbach (8 January 1793 – 17 March 1879) was a German botanist, ornithologist and illustrator. It was he who first requested Leopold and Rudolf Blaschka, Leopold Blaschka to make a set of glass marine invertebrate m ...
, then director of the Natural History Museum in Dresden. Professor Reichenbach admired the botanical models and convinced Leopold to try creating glass models of marine invertebrates. In the nineteenth century, the dominant method of displaying preserved marine invertebrates was wet-preservation, which involved taking a live specimen and placing it in a sealed jar, usually filled with alcohol. This killed the specimen and frequently decomposed the specimens beyond recognition. Initially, the designs for these were based on drawings in books, but Leopold was soon able to use his earlier drawings to produce models of other species. His reputation spread quickly. Demand for the models pushed Leopold to further the training of his son and apprentice, Rudolf Blaschka. A year after the success of the glass sea anemones, the family moved to
Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...
to give young Rudolf better educational opportunities.


Belgium

In 1886,
Edouard Van Beneden Édouard Joseph Louis Marie Van Beneden (5 March 1846 in Leuven – 28 April 1910 in Liège) was a Belgian embryologist, cytologist and marine biologist. He was professor of zoology at the University of Liège. He contributed to cytogenetics ...
, founder of the Institute of Zoology, ordered 77 Blaschka models in order to illustrate zoology lessons. Some of these models are still on display at Treasure in the Aquarium-Museum in
Liège Liège ( ; ; ; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the Liège Province, province of Liège, Belgium. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east o ...
.


Contact with Harvard

By 1880, Rudolf was assisting his father in producing the glass models, including the production of 131 Glass sea creature models for the
Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
Society of Natural History Museum (now the Museum of Science). These models, along with the ones purchased by Harvard's
Museum of Comparative Zoology The Museum of Comparative Zoology (formally the Agassiz Museum of Comparative Zoology and often abbreviated to MCZ) is a zoology museum located on the grounds of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It is one of three natural-history r ...
, were seen by Professor
George Lincoln Goodale George Lincoln Goodale (August 3, 1839 – April 12, 1923) was an American botanist and the first director of Harvard's Botanical Museum (now part of the Harvard Museum of Natural History). It was he who commissioned the making of the univers ...
, who was in the process of establishing and building the
Harvard Botanical Museum The Harvard University Herbaria and Botanical Museum are institutions located on the grounds of Harvard University at 22 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts. The Botanical Museum is one of three which comprise the Harvard Museum of Natural ...
's collection. In 1886, Goodale, traveled to Dresden to meet with the Blaschkas and request a series of glass botanical models for Harvard. Some reports claim that Goodale saw a few glass orchids in the room where they met, surviving from the work two decades earlier. Although initially reluctant, Leopold eventually agreed to send test-models to the U.S. Despite being badly damaged by U.S.
Customs Customs is an authority or Government agency, agency in a country responsible for collecting tariffs and for controlling International trade, the flow of goods, including animals, transports, personal effects, and hazardous items, into and out ...
, Goodale appreciated their craftsmanship and showed them widely. Goodale was convinced that Blaschka's glass art was a worthy investment for Harvard, which was a global centre for the study of
botany Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...
. At that time, botanical specimens were almost entirely showcased as dried, pressed and labeled specimens called "specimina exsiccata" (dried specimens), but this presented a number of problems. Pressed plant specimens were two-dimensional and tended to lose their color and form, making them difficult to use as accurate teaching tools. Dried specimens were also quite heavy and bulky, making their transport and storage expensive. Having already seen the intact Blaschka models at Harvard, Professor Goodale decided to commission the glass flowers. To cover the expensive enterprise, Goodale approached former student
Mary Lee Ware Mary Lee Ware, (Jan. 7, 1858 – Jan. 9, 1937) daughter of Elizabeth Cabot (Lee) Ware and Charles Eliot Ware, was born to a wealthy Bostonian family and, with her mother, was the principal sponsor of the Harvard Museum of Natural History's famous ...
and her mother, Elizabeth C. Ware, already funders of Harvard's botany department. Mary convinced her mother to underwrite the consignment of the glass models, and in 1887, the Blaschkas contracted half of their time to producing the models for Harvard with the remaining time dedicated to making marine invertebrate models.However, in 1890, the Blaschkas insisted that it was impossible for them to craft the botanical models for half the year and do the sea creatures during the other half, declaring that they “must give up either one or the other."Annual reports of the President and Treasurer of Harvard College 1890-1891, pp. 160-163 - https://iiif.lib.harvard.edu/manifests/view/drs:427018526$1i To resolve this, the Blaschkas signed an exclusive ten-year contract with Harvard to make
glass flowers The Ware Collection of Blaschka Glass Models of Plants (or simply the ''Glass Flowers'') is a collection of highly realistic glass botanical models at the Harvard Museum of Natural History in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Created by Leopold and Rud ...
for 8,800 marks per year. New arrangements were also made to send the models directly to Harvard, where museum staff - possibly including Elizabeth Hodges Clark - could open them safely under the observation of Customs staff. Their models showcased a range of plant specimens. In total, up to 164 taxonomic families and a diversity of plant part morphologies, including flowers, leaves, fruits, and roots, were created. Some were shown during
pollination Pollination is the transfer of pollen from an anther of a plant to the stigma (botany), stigma of a plant, later enabling fertilisation and the production of seeds. Pollinating agents can be animals such as insects, for example bees, beetles or bu ...
by insects; others were diseased in various ways. Goodale noted that the activity of the Blaschkas was "greatly increased by their exclusive devotion to a single line of work." Writing for the ''Annual reports of the President and Treasurer of Harvard College 1890-1891'':


Production of Glass Flowers

Claims arose that Leopold and his son were using secret methods to make their glass models. These claims were refuted by Leopold himself. Blaschka stated "One cannot hurry glass. It will take its own time. If we try to hasten it beyond its limits, it resists and no longer obeys us. We have to humor it." The Blaschkas used a mixture of clear and colored glass, sometimes supported with wire, to produce their models. Many pieces were painted by Rudolf. In order to represent plants which were not native to the Dresden area, father and son studied foreign plant collections at
Pillnitz Palace Pillnitz Palace () is a restored Baroque castle at the eastern end of the city of Dresden in the German state of Saxony. It is located on the right bank of the River Elbe in the former village of Pillnitz. It was the summer residence of many ele ...
and the Dresden Botanical Garden. They also grew some from seeds sent from the United States. In 1892, Rudolf was sent on a trip to the
Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...
and the
U.S. The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...
to study additional plants, making extensive drawings and notes. At this point, the number of glass models sent annually to Harvard was approximately 120. Leopold died in 1895 while Rudolf was on a second trip to the
U.S. The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...
Rudolf continued to work alone, but production slowed. By the early twentieth century, he found that he was unable to buy high quality glass and began making his own. This was confirmed by Mary Lee Ware during her 1908 visit to Rudolf. In a letter she later wrote to the second director of the Botanical Museum, Professor
Oakes Ames Oakes Ames (January 10, 1804 – May 8, 1873) was an American businessman, investor, and politician. He was a member of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts. As a congressman, he is credited by many historians as being ...
, she observed how "one change in the character of udolf'swork and, consequently in the time necessary to accomplish results since I was last here, is very noteworthy. At that time €¦he bought most of his glass and was just beginning to make some, and his finishes were in paint. Now he himself makes a large part of the glass and all the enamels, which he uses powders to use as paint." In addition to funding and visiting the project, Mary took an active role in its progress, going so far as to personally unpack each model and make arrangements for Rudolph's fieldwork in the
U.S. The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...
and
Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...
. Ames was less passionate about the Glass Flowers than his predecessor had been. However, he soon requested what he referred to as "Economic Botany", asking Rudolf to make glass models of
olives The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'' ("European olive"), is a species of Subtropics, subtropical evergreen tree in the Family (biology), family Oleaceae. Originating in Anatolia, Asia Minor, it is abundant throughout the Mediterranean ...
and grapes. This eventually evolved into a series of glass fruit models in both rotting and edible condition.Oakes Ames Correspondence: Botany Libraries, Archives of the Economic Botany Herbarium of Oakes Ames, Harvard University Herbaria Ames continued to exchange letters with Mary Lee Ware discussing the project and commented on the quality and speed of production declining with Rudolf's age, expressing concern whether Blaschka could continue to produce models of satisfactory quality. Rudolf continued making models for Harvard until 1938. By then 80 years old, he announced his retirement. Neither he nor his father Leopold had taken on an
apprentice Apprenticeship is a system for training a potential new practitioners of a Tradesman, trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study. Apprenticeships may also enable practitioners to gain a license to practice in ...
and Rudolf left no successor, as he and his wife Frieda had no children. In total, Leopold and Rudolf made approximately 4,400 models for Harvard, 780 of which showed species at life-size. As of 2016, fewer than 75 per cent of the models are on regular display at the
Harvard Museum of Natural History The Harvard Museum of Natural History (HMNH) is a natural history museum housed in the University Museum Building, located on the campus of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It features 16 galleries with 12,000 specimens drawn fr ...
in the Ware Collection. Older exhibitions contained up to 3,000 models, but this number was reduced during renovations of the museum's collections. Unlike the glass sea creatures which were "a profitable global mail-order business", the Glass Flowers were commissioned solely for Harvard.


Legacy

Over the course of their collective lives, Leopold and Rudolf crafted as many as ten thousand glass marine invertebrate models and 4,400 botanical models, the most famous being Harvard's
Glass Flowers The Ware Collection of Blaschka Glass Models of Plants (or simply the ''Glass Flowers'') is a collection of highly realistic glass botanical models at the Harvard Museum of Natural History in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Created by Leopold and Rud ...
. The Blaschka studio survived the
bombing of Dresden in World War II The bombing of Dresden was a joint British and American Area bombardment, aerial bombing attack on the city of Dresden, the capital of the German state of Saxony, during World War II. In four raids between 13 and 15 February 1945, 772 heavy ...
and, in 1993, the
Corning Museum of Glass The Corning Museum of Glass is a museum in Corning (city), New York, Corning, New York, United States, dedicated to the art, history, and science of glass. It was founded in 1951 by Corning Incorporated, Corning Glass Works and currently has a ...
and
Harvard Museum of Natural History The Harvard Museum of Natural History (HMNH) is a natural history museum housed in the University Museum Building, located on the campus of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It features 16 galleries with 12,000 specimens drawn fr ...
jointly purchased the remaining Blaschka studio materials from Frieda Blaschka's niece, Gertrud Pones. The
Pisa Charterhouse Pisa Charterhouse, also Calci Charterhouse or Val Graziosa Charterhouse (), is a former Carthusian monastery, now the home of the Pisa Museum of Natural History. It is 10 km outside Pisa, Tuscany, Italy, in the ''comune'' of Calci. The mon ...
, which houses the Museum of Natural History of the
University of Pisa The University of Pisa (, UniPi) is a public university, public research university in Pisa, Italy. Founded in 1343, it is one of the oldest universities in Europe. Together with Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa and Sant'Anna School of Advanced S ...
, has a collection of 51 Blaschka glass marine invertebrates. Leopold and Rudolf and their spouses are buried together in the Hosterwitz cemetery in
Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...
.


See also

*
Robert Brendel Robert Brendel ( — 1898) and his son Reinhold Brendel ( — 1927) were botanical modelmakers in first Wrocław then Grunewald, Berlin. In 1866, they started the Brendel Company, initially only creating models for medicinal plants. They received ...

The Ware Collection of Blaschka Glass Models of Plants
Harvard Museum of Natural History The Harvard Museum of Natural History (HMNH) is a natural history museum housed in the University Museum Building, located on the campus of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It features 16 galleries with 12,000 specimens drawn fr ...

Blaschka Collection
Museum of Natural History of the University of Pisa


References


External links


The Story of Rudolf and Leopold Blaschka
video
The Blaschka Archives
held by the Rakow Library of the Corning Museum of Glass.
"Sea creatures of the deep - the Blaschka Glass models"
National Museum of Wales. 15 May 2007. *
Out of the Teeming Sea: Cornell Collection of Blaschka Invertebrate Models
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blaschka, Leopold And Rudolf Art duos German flower artists German glass artists German male sculptors 19th-century German male artists 19th-century German sculptors 20th-century German sculptors 20th-century German male artists German Bohemian people Artists from Dresden Scale modeling 19th-century German botanists 20th-century German botanists