Joseph Johann Ludwig Uphues (23 May 1850,

Sassenberg Sassenberg() is a town in the district of Warendorf, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated approximately 6 km north-east of Warendorf and 30 km east of Münster Münster (; ) is an independent city#Germany, independent ...

– 2 January 1911,

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

) was a German sculptor.

Life

After an apprenticeship as a carpenter, he embarked on a two-year tour of Belgium and the Netherlands. From 1870 to 1871, he learned

stone masonry Stonemasonry or stonecraft is the creation of buildings, structures, and sculpture using stone as the primary material. Stonemasonry is the craft of shaping and arranging stones, often together with mortar and even the ancient lime mortar ...

in Wiedenbrück. He worked there until 1878, when he entered the

Prussian Academy of Arts The Prussian Academy of Arts () was a state arts academy first established in 1694 by prince-elector Frederick III of Electorate of Brandenburg, Brandenburg in Berlin, in personal union Duke Frederick I of Prussia, and later king in Kingdom of ...

, studying sculpture under

Reinhold Begas Reinhold Begas (15 July 1831 – 3 August 1911) was a German sculptor. Biography Begas was born in Berlin, son of the painter Carl Joseph Begas. He received his early education (1846–1851) studying under Christian Daniel Rauch and Ludwig Wi ...

and

Fritz Schaper Fritz (Friedrich) Schaper (31 July 1841, Alsleben – 29 November 1919, Berlin) was a German sculptor. Life He was orphaned at an early age, and was sent to Halle (Saale), Halle to receive instruction at the Francke Foundations. After being ap ...

. In 1882 he was enrolled in Begas' Master Student class and worked as his assistant until 1891, opening his own studio in 1892. He became a Professor at the Academy and joined the

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 Wilhelm II, German Emperor, Kaiser Wilhelm II, 65 artist ...

in 1899.

The Siegesallee (Victory Avenue)

He was one of the sculptors commissioned to produce statues for the

Siegesallee The Siegesallee (, ''Victory Avenue'') was a broad boulevard in Berlin, Germany. In 1895, Kaiser Wilhelm II ordered and financed the expansion of an existing avenue, to be adorned with a variety of marble statues. Work was completed in 1901. A ...

, a monumental project conceived by Kaiser

Wilhelm II Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 18594 June 1941) was the last German Emperor and King of Prussia from 1888 until Abdication of Wilhelm II, his abdication in 1918, which marked the end of the German Empire as well as th ...

as his gift to the people of Berlin. Uphues produced two sets of figures, dedicated in 1899: * Group 3, with

Otto II, Margrave of Brandenburg Otto II (after 1147 – July 4, 1205), called ''The Generous'' (), was the third Margrave of Brandenburg from 1184 until his death. Life Otto II was born into the House of Ascania as the eldest son of Otto I and Judith, a daughter of the Pias ...

as the centerpiece, flanked by Johann Gans Edler Herr zu Putlitz (founder of the Marienfließ Monastery in

Prignitz Prignitz () is a ''Kreis'' (district) in northwestern Brandenburg, in northeastern Germany. Neighboring districts, clockwise from the north, are Ludwigslust-Parchim (in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania), Ostprignitz-Ruppin (Brandenburg), Stendal (dist ...

) and Heinrich von Antwerpen (

Provost Provost may refer to: Officials Ecclesiastic * Provost (religion), a high-ranking church official * Prince-provost, a high-ranking church official Government * Provost (civil), an officer of local government, including the equivalent ...

of Brandenburg). * Group 28, featuring

Frederick the Great Frederick II (; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was the monarch of Prussia from 1740 until his death in 1786. He was the last Hohenzollern monarch titled ''King in Prussia'', declaring himself ''King of Prussia'' after annexing Royal Prussia ...

with side figures of Graf

Kurt Christoph von Schwerin Kurt Christoph Graf von Schwerin (26 October 1684 – 6 May 1757) was a Prussian ''Generalfeldmarschall'', one of the leading commanders under Frederick the Great. Biography He was born in Löwitz, Swedish Pomerania, and at an early age ente ...

and

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (German: Help:IPA/Standard German, �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque music, Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety ...

. As is the case with virtually all of the Siegesallee statues, his were damaged during World War II and are currently displayed at the

Spandau Citadel The Spandau Citadel () is a fortress in Berlin, Germany, one of the best-preserved Renaissance military structures of Europe. Built from 1559–94 atop a medieval fort on an island near the meeting of the Havel and the Spree, it was design ...

. The Bach figure has disappeared.

Other selected major works

Berlin *

Equestrian statue An equestrian statue is a statue of a rider mounted on a horse, from the Latin ''eques'', meaning 'knight', deriving from ''equus'', meaning 'horse'. A statue of a riderless horse is strictly an equine statue. A full-sized equestrian statue is a ...

of Kaiser

Friedrich III Frederick III may refer to: * Frederick III, Duke of Upper Lorraine (died 1033) * Frederick III, Duke of Swabia (1122–1190) * Friedrich III, Burgrave of Nuremberg (1220–1297) * Frederick III, Duke of Lorraine (1240–1302) * Frederick III o ...

, Luisenplatz (1905). Uphues also produced statues of him for

Düren Düren (; Ripuarian language, Ripuarian: Düre) is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, between Aachen and Cologne, on the river Rur (river), Rur. History Roman era The area of Düren was part of Gallia Belgica, more specifically the ter ...

(1889),

Bad Homburg vor der Höhe Bad Homburg vor der Höhe (, ) is the district town of the Hochtaunuskreis, Hesse, Germany, on the southern slope of the Taunus mountains. Bad Homburg is part of the Frankfurt Rhein-Main urban area. The town's official name is ''Bad Homburg ...

(1890) and

Wiesbaden Wiesbaden (; ) is the capital of the German state of Hesse, and the second-largest Hessian city after Frankfurt am Main. With around 283,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 24th-largest city. Wiesbaden form ...

(1897). * Statue of Helmuth von Moltke the Elder, which Uphues titled ''Der große Schweiger'' (roughly, "The Man of Few Words"), in the Königsplatz (1905). Uphues produced several Moltke memorials, including the ones in Düren (1902) and

Mannheim Mannheim (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (), is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, second-largest city in Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, the States of Ger ...

(1902). Düren * Bismarck Memorial (1890) Koblenz *

Johannes Peter Müller Johannes Peter Müller (14 July 1801 – 28 April 1858) was a German physiologist, comparative anatomist, ichthyologist, and herpetologist, known not only for his discoveries but also for his ability to synthesize knowledge. The paramesonephri ...

Memorial on the Jesuitenplatz (1899) Wiesbaden *

Friedrich Schiller Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (, short: ; 10 November 17599 May 1805) was a German playwright, poet, philosopher and historian. Schiller is considered by most Germans to be Germany's most important classical playwright. He was born i ...

Memorial (1905) File:Moltke Berlin Grosser Stern.jpg, Statue of Helmuth von Moltke the Elder in the Tiergarten File:Schillerdenkmal in Wiesbaden 20080406.jpg, Schiller Memorial in Wiesbaden File:Koblenz 2012-04-11-6422.jpg, Johannes Müller Memorial, close-up

Sources and further reading

* Brigitte Kaul: ''Joseph Johann Ludwig Uphues (1850–1911).'' Dissertation,

Freie Universität Berlin The Free University of Berlin (, often abbreviated as FU Berlin or simply FU) is a public university, public research university in Berlin, Germany. It was founded in West Berlin in 1948 with American support during the early Cold War period a ...

, 1982. * Joseph Uphues. In:

Thieme-Becker Thieme-Becker is a German biographical dictionary of artists. Thieme-Becker The dictionary was begun under the editorship of Ulrich Thieme (1865–1922) (volumes one to fifteen) and Felix Becker (1864–1928) (volumes one to four). It was compl ...

: ''Allgemeines Lexikon der Bildenden Künstler von der Antike bis zur Gegenwart''. Vol. 33, E. A. Seemann, Leipzig 1939, pg.586. * Peter Bloch: ''Ethos und Pathos. Die Berliner Bildhauerschule 1786–1914.'' Catalog from the exhibition at the Sculpture Gallery of the Staatlichen Museen Preußischer Kulturbesitz from 19 May to 29 July 1990, , Vol. 1, pg. 570.

External links

*
Wiesbaden website: Kaiser Friedrich Monument
{{DEFAULTSORT:Uphues, Joseph 1850 births 1911 deaths Prussian Academy of Arts alumni 20th-century German sculptors 20th-century German male artists 19th-century German sculptors German male sculptors People from Warendorf (district)