Edmund Ritter von Hellmer (12 November 1850,

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

– 9 March 1935, Vienna), born Edmund Hellmer and ennobled in 1912, was an Austrian sculptor who worked in the styles of

Historicism Historicism is an approach to explaining the existence of phenomena, especially social and cultural practices (including ideas and beliefs), by studying the process or history by which they came about. The term is widely used in philosophy, ant ...

and

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...

Life

Hellmer studied architecture at the Polytechnikum in Vienna. At the same time, he received his first artistic training from his uncle, the sculptor Josef Schönfeld. In 1866, Hellmer decided to study sculpture full-time at the

Academy of Fine Arts Vienna The Academy of Fine Arts Vienna () is a public art school in Vienna, Austria. Founded in 1688 as a private academy, it is now a public university. The academy is also known for twice rejecting admission to a young Adolf Hitler in 1907 and 1908. ...

. While there, he also worked in the studio of Hanns Gasser, who helped him to finance a short stay in Paris. In 1869, at the age of 19, he presented a statue of

Prometheus In Greek mythology, Prometheus (; , , possibly meaning "forethought")Smith"Prometheus". is a Titans, Titan. He is best known for defying the Olympian gods by taking theft of fire, fire from them and giving it to humanity in the form of technol ...

at the International Art Exhibition in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

. He won a prize that included a scholarship, enabling him to spend almost two years in Italy. In 1870, he returned to Vienna and worked as a freelance sculptor. In 1879, he was appointed a Professor at the Academy and, from 1882 to 1892, was a member of the faculty there. Emil Fuchs was one of Hellmer's most prominent students.Quoted on Tate website:

Ronald Alley Ronald Edgar Alley (12 March 1926 – 25 April 1999) was a British art historian and curator. He was keeper of the modern collection at the Tate Gallery, London from 1965 to 1986. Ronald Alley was born in Bristol on 12 March 1926 and educated ...

, ''Catalogue of the Tate Gallery's Collection of Modern Art other than Works by British Artists'', Tate Gallery and Sotheby Parke-Bernet, London 1981, pp.227–8 In 1897, he was one of the founders of the

Vienna Secession The Vienna Secession (; also known as the Union of Austrian Artists or ) is an art movement, closely related to Art Nouveau, that was formed in 1897 by a group of Austrian painters, graphic artists, sculptors and architects, including Josef Ho ...

. From 1901 to 1922 he was an associate dean, then a full dean at the Academy. During the last year of his life, he was confined to a wheelchair.

Major works

* ''Franz Joseph I Gives His People a Constitution'',

Pediment Pediments are a form of gable in classical architecture, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the cornice (an elaborated lintel), or entablature if supported by columns.Summerson, 130 In an ...

at the

Austrian Parliament Building The Austrian Parliament Building (, colloquially ''das Parlament'') in Vienna is the meeting place of the two houses of the Austrian Parliament. The building is located on the in the first district, ''Innere Stadt'', near Hofburg Palace and t ...

, 1879 * ''Malerei'' (Allegory of Painting), Sculpture at the facade of the Natural History Museum (Naturhistorisches Museum) at Maria-Theresien-Platz, Vienna, 1880 * ''Schindler Monument'' in the

Stadtpark, Vienna The Stadtpark (, ''City Park'') in Vienna, Austria is a large municipal park that extends from the Ringstraße in the Innere Stadt first district up to the Heumarkt (Hay Market) in the Landstraße third district. The park is divided in two sectio ...

. Marble, 1895 * ''Die Macht zu Lande'' (The Forces on Land), fountain at the

Hofburg The Hofburg () is the former principal imperial palace of the Habsburg dynasty in Austria. Located in the Innere Stadt, center of Vienna, it was built in the 13th century by Ottokar II of Bohemia and expanded several times afterwards. It also ser ...

in Vienna. Marble, 1897 * ''Goethe Monument'', at the Opera Ring in Vienna. Bronze, 1900. * ''Empress Elisabeth Monument'',

Salzburg Salzburg is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020 its population was 156,852. The city lies on the Salzach, Salzach River, near the border with Germany and at the foot of the Austrian Alps, Alps moun ...

, 1901. * ''Castalia Fountain'' at the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (, ) is a public university, public research university in Vienna, Austria. Founded by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, Duke Rudolph IV in 1365, it is the oldest university in the German-speaking world and among the largest ...

, 1910 * ''Johann Strauß Monument'' in the Stadtpark, Vienna. Bronze with marble reliefs, 1921 * Grave statues for Hans Makart (1889), Nikolaus Dumba (1903) and

Hugo Wolf Hugo Philipp Jacob Wolf (; ; 13 March 1860 – 22 February 1903) was an Austrian composer, particularly noted for his art songs, or Lieder. He brought to this form a concentrated expressive intensity which was unique in late Romantic music, so ...

(1904), among many others.

References

External links

*
Edmund von Hellmer, Wiener Goethe-Denkmal, 1900

Entry for Edmund von Hellmer
on the

Union List of Artist Names The Union List of Artist Names (ULAN) is a free online database of the Getty Research Institute using a controlled vocabulary, which by 2018 contained over 300,000 artists and over 720,000 names for them, as well as other information about artist ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hellmer, Edmund von Austrian male sculptors Sculptors from Vienna 1850 births 1935 deaths Sculptors from Austria-Hungary Art Nouveau sculptors Members of the Vienna Secession 20th-century Austrian sculptors 19th-century Austrian sculptors 19th-century Austrian male artists 20th-century Austrian male artists

Life

Major works

References

Further reading

External links