Joseph Gasser, after 1879: Ritter von Valhorn (22 November 1816, Wallhorn, near Prägraten - 28 October 1900, Prägraten) was an Austrian sculptor.

Life and work

His father, Jakob, was a Master carpenter. His younger brother, Hans, also became a sculptor. He originally studied

wood carving Wood carving (or woodcarving) is a form of woodworking by means of a cutting tool (knife) in one hand or a chisel by two hands or with one hand on a chisel and one hand on a mallet, resulting in a wooden figure or figurine, or in the sculpture, ...

at home, then went to Vienna where, in 1837, he enrolled at the Academy of Fine Arts. His instructors there included Johann Nepomuk Schaller and Josef Klieber. He made his debut with a

statuette A figurine (a diminutive form of the word ''figure'') or statuette is a small, three-dimensional sculpture that represents a human, deity or animal, or, in practice, a pair or small group of them. Figurines have been made in many media, with cla ...

Leopold VI, Duke of Austria Leopold VI (15 October 1176 – 28 July 1230), known as Leopold the Glorious, was Duke of Styria from 1194 and Duke of Austria from 1198 to his death in 1230. He was a member of the House of Babenberg. Biography Leopold VI was the younger son o ...

("The Glorious"), which brought him a scholarship to study in Rome. He was there from 1845 to 1849, acquainting himself with the sculptures of antiquity. Wien

His health began to decline during this period, and he would suffer from depression for the rest of his life. He initially returned to his hometown, and did not go back to Vienna until 1852. Shortly after, he created five statues for the portal at

Speyer Cathedral Speyer Cathedral, officially ''the Imperial Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption and St Stephen'', in Latin: Domus sanctae Mariae Spirae (German: ''Dom zu Unserer lieben Frau in Speyer'') in Speyer, Germany, is the seat of the Roman Catholic Bish ...

. After making busts of Emperor

Maximilian of Mexico Maximilian I (; ; 6 July 1832 – 19 June 1867) was an Austrian archduke who became emperor of the Second Mexican Empire from 10 April 1864 until his execution by the Mexican Republic on 19 June 1867. A member of the House of Habsburg-Lorra ...

and his wife,

Charlotte of Belgium Charlotte of Mexico (; ; 7 June 1840 – 19 January 1927), known by the Spanish version of her name, Carlota, was by birth a princess of Belgium and member of the House of Wettin in the branch of House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Saxe-Coburg ...

, he developed a large clientele among the nobility. His next order was for six statues at the palace of Archudke Ludwig Victor. He taught at the Vienna Academy from 1865 to 1873. His most famous student there was Viktor Oskar Tilgner. He was raised to the Knighthood in 1879, following his work at the

Votivkirche The ''Votivkirche'' () is a neo-Gothic style church located on the Ringstraße in Vienna, Austria. Following the attempted assassination of Emperor Franz Joseph in 1853, the Emperor's brother Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian inaugurated a campai ...

. After that, his commissions decreased, as his style were becoming "out of date". He eventually had to be rescued from poverty by a pension from the City of Vienna. After 1896, he lived in his hometown, poor and almost forgotten. His works include life-size statues of

Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I (22 March 1459 – 12 January 1519) was King of the Romans from 1486 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1508 until his death in 1519. He was never crowned by the Pope, as the journey to Rome was blocked by the Venetians. He proclaimed hi ...

, and

Frederick II, Duke of Austria Frederick II (; 25 April 1211 – 15 June 1246), known as Frederick the Quarrelsome (''Friedrich der Streitbare''), was Duke of Austria and Styria from 1230 until his death. He was the fifth and last Austrian duke from the House of Babenberg, sin ...

, for the "k.u.k. Hofwaffenmuseum" (now the Museum of Military History), and statues symbolizing the

Seven Liberal Arts 7 (seven) is the natural number following 6 and preceding 8. It is the only prime number preceding a cube. As an early prime number in the series of positive integers, the number seven has symbolic associations in religion, mythology, supers ...

at the State Opera. He also created a statue of

Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria Rudolf IV (1 November 1339 – 27 July 1365), also called Rudolf the Founder (), was a scion of the House of Habsburg who ruled as duke of Austria (self-proclaimed archduke), Styria and Carinthia from 1358, as well as count of Tyrol from 136 ...

; originally on the , now at the

Karlsplatz is a town square on the border of the first and fourth districts of Vienna, Austria. It is one of the most frequented and best connected transportation hubs in Vienna. The Karlskirche is located here. The first district can be reached either ...

. His best known work is a cover plate for the marble

sarcophagus A sarcophagus (: sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a coffin, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Greek language, Greek wikt:σάρξ, σάρξ ...

of Klemens Maria Hofbauer at Maria am Gestade.

Selected sculptures

Gasser's work includes: * Five heroic figures for the portal of

: Our Lady, the Archangel St. Michael, St. John the Baptist, St. Stephen and St. Bernard of Clairvaux (1856) * The tomb of

Clemens Maria Hofbauer Clement Mary Hofbauer (; ) (26 December 1751 – 15 March 1820) was a Moravian hermit and later a priest of the Redemptorist congregation. He established his congregation, founded in Italy, north of the Alps. For this he is considered a co-found ...

, patron saint of Vienna, at the Maria am Gestade (1862) * Exterior figures for the Palais Archduke Ludwig Viktor, on the Ringstrasse (1866) * Statues of Maximilian I,

, and Leopold of Habsburg for the Museum of the

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

(1870) * A sculptural program for the Votive Church, Vienna: the Coronation of Mary, the group of the

Trinity The Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the Christian doctrine concerning the nature of God, which defines one God existing in three, , consubstantial divine persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit, thr ...

, a figure of Christ the Redeemer, statues for the high and side altars, nine angels, and the tympany reliefs tor the three main portals (c. 1873) The new international encyclopædia, Volume 8 edited by Daniel Coit Gilman, Harry Thurston Peck, Frank Moore Colby, page 478 * Seven reliefs for the Kaiserhalle, Speyer * The marble statue of Rudolf IV on the Elizabeth bridge over the Danube Canal, Vienna, one of the eight statues now relocated to the grounds of the Rathaus, Vienna * Busts and religious figures for St. Stephen's Cathedral, Vienna * Marble figures of the Seven

Liberal Arts Liberal arts education () is a traditional academic course in Western higher education. ''Liberal arts'' takes the term ''skill, art'' in the sense of a learned skill rather than specifically the fine arts. ''Liberal arts education'' can refe ...

in the staircase of the

Vienna State Opera The Vienna State Opera (, ) is a historic opera house and opera company based in Vienna, Austria. The 1,709-seat Renaissance Revival venue was the first major building on the Vienna Ring Road. It was built from 1861 to 1869 following plans by ...

* Twenty-four figures for St. Stephen's Cathedral, Vienna * The relief of Duke Rudolf IV for the New Townhall * The "Prometheus" and the "Genevieve" for the Court Theatre * A number of statues for the Altlerchenfelder Church * Busts of

Herodotus Herodotus (; BC) was a Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus (now Bodrum, Turkey), under Persian control in the 5th century BC, and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria, Italy. He wrote the '' Histori ...

and Aristarchus for the university * Portraits of

Maximilian I of Mexico Maximilian I (; ; 6 July 1832 – 19 June 1867) was an Austrian Empire, Austrian archduke who became Emperor of Mexico, emperor of the Second Mexican Empire from 10 April 1864 until his execution by the Restored Republic (Mexico), Mexican Republ ...

and his wife the Empress Charlotte * A bust of the Emperor

Franz Joseph I Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I ( ; ; 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the ruler of the Grand title of the emperor of Austria, other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 1848 until his death ...

for the

Hôtel de Ville, Paris The (, ''City hall (administration), City Hall'') is the city hall of Paris, France, standing on the in the 4th arrondissement of Paris, 4th arrondissement. The south wing was originally constructed by Francis I of France, Francis I beginning ...

* Sculptures for the

New Cathedral, Linz The New Cathedral (), also known as the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception (), is a Roman Catholic cathedral located in Linz, Austria. The neo-Gothic church is the largest church building in Austria. History Construction plans were starte ...

* Exterior figures along the cornice of the

Deutschmeister-Palais Erzherzog wilhelm palais

The Deutschmeister-Palais or Palais E ...

References

External links

Biographical data, works and other information
@ Osttiroler Höhenwege {{DEFAULTSORT:Gasser, J 1816 births 1900 deaths Architectural sculptors Sculptors from Austria-Hungary Sculptors from the Austrian Empire

Life and work

Selected sculptures

References

Further reading

External links