Karl Albiker (16 September 1878 – 26 February 1961) was a German sculptor,

lithographer Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by the German ...

and teacher of

fine arts In European academic traditions, fine art (or, fine arts) is made primarily for aesthetics or creativity, creative expression, distinguishing it from popular art, decorative art or applied art, which also either serve some practical function ...

. Albiker studied with

Auguste Rodin François Auguste René Rodin (; ; 12 November 184017 November 1917) was a French sculptor generally considered the founder of modern sculpture. He was schooled traditionally and took a craftsman-like approach to his work. Rodin possessed a u ...

in Paris. From 1919 to 1945 he was a professor at the

Dresden Academy of Fine Arts The Dresden Academy of Fine Arts (German language, German ''Hochschule für Bildende Künste Dresden''), often abbreviated HfBK Dresden or simply HfBK, is a vocational university of visual arts located in Dresden, Germany. The present institutio ...

. His monumental statues, like those of

Georg Kolbe Georg Kolbe (15 April 1877 – 20 November 1947) was a German sculptor. He was the leading German figure sculptor of his generation, in a vigorous, modern, simplified classical style similar to Aristide Maillol of France. Early life and educa ...

, reflected National Socialist heroic realism. Albiker created the relay racers for

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 ...

's Reich Sports Field and various war monuments, including those in

Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( ; ; ; South Franconian German, South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, third-largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, after its capital Stuttgart a ...

Freiburg im Breisgau Freiburg im Breisgau or simply Freiburg is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fourth-largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, Mannheim and Karlsruhe. Its built-up area has a population of abou ...

, and

Greiz Greiz ( ; ) is a town in the state of Thuringia, Germany, and is the capital of the Greiz (district), district of Greiz. Greiz is situated in eastern Thuringia, east of the state capital Erfurt, on the White Elster river. Greiz has a large park ...

Biography

Albiker was born in

Ühlingen-Birkendorf Ühlingen-Birkendorf is a municipality in the district of Waldshut in Baden-Württemberg in Germany. Notable people *Karl Albiker (1878–1961), sculptor See also * List of cities and towns in Germany This is a complete list of the 2,05 ...

and studied at the

Academy of Fine Arts, Karlsruhe The State Academy of Fine Arts Karlsruhe or is an academy of arts in Karlsruhe, in Baden-Württemberg in south-western Germany. History The Academy was founded in 1854 by Frederick I, Grand Duke of Baden, with the landscape painter Johann ...

; after college he was a friend of, among others, the expressionist painter

Karl Hofer Karl Christian Ludwig Hofer or ''Carl Hofer'' (11 October 1878 – 3 April 1955) was a German expressionist painter. He was director of the Berlin Academy of Fine Arts. One of the most prominent painters of expressionism, he never was a me ...

. During the years 1899 and 1900 he attended the

Académie Julian The () was a private art school for painting and sculpture founded in Paris, France, in 1867 by French painter and teacher Rodolphe Julian (1839–1907). The school was active from 1868 through 1968. It remained famous for the number and qual ...

in Paris and the studio of

Antoine Bourdelle Antoine Bourdelle (; 30 October 1861 – 1 October 1929), born Émile Antoine Bordelles, was an influential and prolific French sculptor and teacher. He was a student of Auguste Rodin, a teacher of Giacometti and Henri Matisse, and an important ...

. In Paris he met his admired sculptor

, who became his teacher with time. Later Karl Albiker lived for a time 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 ...

(1900–1903), and then took a study trip to Rome (1903–1905). In 1905 he moved into a home studio in

Ettlingen Ettlingen (; South Franconian German, South Franconian: ''Eddlinge'') is a town in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, about south of the city of Karlsruhe and approximately from the German-French border, border with Lauterbourg, in France's Bas-Rhin, ...

. The award of the Villa Romana prize in 1910 allowed him to stay in

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

, where he met the philosopher Leopold Ziegler, who dedicated to Albiker his work on art entitled ''Florentinische Introduktion'' (1911). In 1919 the artist Albiker was a professor at the

and was hired by the local art school. He was one of the important teachers of these schools, and in 1927 he founded both the Secession of Baden and the New Munich Secession. The

National Socialist Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During Hitler's rise to power, it was frequen ...

government, attracted by their involvement in architectural projects, used sculptors such as Karl Albiker,

Richard Scheibe Richard Scheibe (19 April 1879, Chemnitz – 6 October 1964, Berlin) was a German artist primarily remembered as a sculptor. He trained as a painter, and taught himself to sculpt beginning in 1906. From 1925-1933 he taught at the Städelsches Ku ...

and

Joseph Wackerle Joseph Wackerle (15 May 1880, Partenkirchen – 20 March 1959, Partenkirchen) was a German sculptor. His work was also part of the art competitions at the 1928 Summer Olympics and the 1932 Summer Olympics. Life Wackerle's grandfather was a woo ...

, who had already made names for themselves in the 1920s, during the creation of large sculptures for the public and for administrative buildings, including the reconstruction project of the Berlin Forum on Sport, the Reichssportfeld. Albiker was commissioned to design the sculptural program collectively, under the supervision of the architect

Werner March Werner Julius March (17 January 1894 – 11 January 1976) was a German architect, son of Otto March (1845–1913), and brother of Walter March, both also well-known German architects. Werner March designed Germany's 1936 Olympic sta ...

, who was in charge of the overall design. Albiker in the 1930s formed part of the jury of "German art". During the bombing of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, his house and studio were destroyed. In 1947 he returned to his home region of Baden, and established the Karl Albiker Foundation, through which, his own works and those of his private art collection, including more than 80 works by

, were passed into the possession of the Museum of the City of Ettlingen. Karl Albiker died in 1961 at the age of 82 in

. His son, Carl Albiker (1905–1996), was an art historian and photographer.

Works

In addition to his sculptures for public spaces, Karl Albiker made models for the manufacture of

majolica In different periods of time and in different countries, the term ''majolica'' has been used for two distinct types of pottery. Firstly, from the mid-15th century onwards, ''maiolica'' was a type of pottery reaching Italy from Spain, Majorca a ...

pieces from

(

Meissen porcelain Meissen porcelain or Meissen china was the first Europe, European hard-paste porcelain. Early experiments were done in 1708 by Ehrenfried Walther von Tschirnhaus. After his death that October, Johann Friedrich Böttger continued von Tschirnhaus's ...

). He also designed medals, medallions and lithographs. His works are included in the Gallery of the City of

, Ettlingen Castle, and the Municipal Museum of

Zwickau Zwickau (; ) is the fourth-largest city of Saxony, Germany, after Leipzig, Dresden and Chemnitz, with around 88,000 inhabitants,. The West Saxon city is situated in the valley of the Zwickau Mulde (German: ''Zwickauer Mulde''; progression: ), ...

, among others. Among his most outstanding works are the following: *''The Lament (Die Klage)'' also known as ''The Mourner (Die Trauernde)'' (bronze, height: 137 cm),

Hagen Hagen () is a city in the States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia, in western Germany, on the southeastern edge of the Ruhr area, 15 km south of Dortmund, where the rivers Lenne and Volme meet the Ruhr (river), Ruhr. In 2023, the ...

Karl Ernst Osthaus-Museum The Karl Ernst Osthaus-Museum is an art museum in Hagen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The center of the museum is a building whose interior was designed by Henry van de Velde to house Karl Ernst Osthaus' art collection, open to the public a ...

*1925: ''Pallas

Athena Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretism, syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarde ...

– Pallas Athene'', monument to those killed in the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, at the

University of Karlsruhe The Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT; ) is both a German public university, public research university in Karlsruhe, Baden-Württemberg, and a research center of the Helmholtz Association. KIT was created in 2009 when the University of Ka ...

, Technical School File:Universitaet Karlsruhe Ehrenhof 1.jpg, Athena File:Universitaet Karlsruhe Fridericiana.jpg, Athena (side view) *1926: ''Christ Figure – Christusfigur'', sandstone, above the main entrance of the Church of the Redeemer (

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 ...

) File:Heilandkirche dresden, main entrance.jpg File:Heilandkirche dresden.jpg *1926: ''Fallen Soldier – Gefallener Soldat'', plastic, monumental sculpture,

, Greiz Park, Rotunda File:Denkmal in der Rotunde Greiz.JPG File:Rotunde Greizer Park.JPG * 1929/31: ''Hygiene – Hygieia'', Dresden,

German Hygiene Museum The German Hygiene Museum () is a medical museum in Dresden, Germany. It conceives itself today as a "forum for science, culture and society". It is a popular venue for events and exhibitions, and is among the most visited museums in Dresden, wit ...

, restored in 1992 by the Dresden sculptor Wilhelm Landgraf (badly damaged by the

bombing of Dresden The bombing of Dresden was a joint British and American 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 bombers of the Ro ...

in 1945, the remains were cast in 1952). * 1931: ''Minerva'',

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

Heidelberg University Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg (; ), is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Founded in 1386 on instruction of Pope Urban VI, Heidelberg is Germany's oldest unive ...

File:Dem lebendigen Geist (cropped).jpg File:Dem lebendigen Geist.jpg * 1935/37: ''The Discus Throwers – Die Diskuswerfer'',

, Olympic Park, the former Reich Sports Field File:Discus Werfer - geo.hlipp.de - 1753.jpg * 1935/37: ''The Relay Runners – Die Staffelläufer'', Berlin, Olympic Park, the former Reich Sports Field File:Staffettenlaufer (2) - geo.hlipp.de - 1755.jpg File:Staffettenlaufer (3) - geo.hlipp.de - 1794.jpg File:Staffettenlaufer - geo.hlipp.de - 1754.jpg * 1938: ''The Genius of Flight – Fliegender Genius'',

frieze In classical architecture, the frieze is the wide central section of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic order, Ionic or Corinthian order, Corinthian orders, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Patera (architecture), Paterae are also ...

, Dresden, on the old building Luftgaukommando IV File:Dresden-LGK4-Hof.jpg File:Dresden-LGK5-Fries.jpg

Awards

*1910: Villa Romana prize *1925: Doctor's Honorable Cause (

) *1953: Hans Thoma PrizeSee Hans-Thoma-Preis on the German wikipedia *1957: Grand Cross 1st Class (

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (, or , BVO) is the highest state decoration, federal decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany. It may be awarded for any field of endeavor. It was created by the first List of president ...

)

Exhibitions

* 1923: ''Badische Bildhauer'' (sculptor of

Baden Baden (; ) is a historical territory in southern Germany. In earlier times it was considered to be on both sides of the Upper Rhine, but since the Napoleonic Wars, it has been considered only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Ba ...

), Mannheim * 1929:

Deutscher Werkbund The Deutscher Werkbund (; ) is a German association of artists, architects, designers and industrialists established in 1907. The ''Werkbund'' became an important element in the development of modern architecture and industrial design, parti ...

exhibition at Breslau * 7 April–17 May 1937: ''Deutsche Baukunst und Deutsche Plastik'' (German Architecture and Sculpture). Group exhibition * February–March 1943 in the

Vienna Künstlerhaus The Künstlerhaus in Vienna's 1st district has accommodated the Künstlerhaus Vereinigung since 1868. It is located in the Ringstrassenzone in between Akademiestraße, Bösendorferstraße and Musikvereinsplatz. The building was erected betwee ...

, Greater German Reich (part of a Gesamtausst.) * 1996/97: Karl Albiker, Georgenbau in the Dresden Palace

Students

Walter Becker Walter Carl Becker (February 20, 1950 – September 3, 2017) was an American musician, songwriter, and record producer. He was the co-founder, guitarist, bassist, and co-songwriter of the jazz rock band Steely Dan.Russonello, Giovanni,Listen to ...

(1893–1984) * Friedrich Büschelberger (1904–1990) * Hedwig Haller-Braus (1900–1989) * Joseph Krautwald (1914–2003) *

Magdalene Kreßner Magdalene Kreßner (3 October 1899 - 18 May 1975) was a German Sculpture, sculptor. She is known, in particular, for her Relief, mural reliefs. Life Magdalene "Ebbi" Kreßner was born in :de:Mohsdorf, Schweizerthal (now part of Burgstädt) i ...

(1899–1975) * Hermann Rosa (1911–1981) * Walter Schelenz (1903–1987) * Kurt Schmitt (born 1903) * Herbert Volwahsen (1906–1988) * Wilhelm Landgraf (1913–1998)

References

Bibliography

*Christian Zentner, Friedemann Bedürftig (1991). ''

The Encyclopedia of the Third Reich ''The Encyclopedia of the Third Reich'' is a two-volume text edited by and , first published in German in 1985. ''The Encyclopedia of the Third Reich'' is leading source material for information about Nazi Germany and the reign of Adolf Hitler a ...

''. Macmillan, New York. * Beate Eckstein: ''Im öffentlichen Auftrag: Architektur- und Denkmalsplastik der 1920er bis 1950er Jahre im Werk von Karl Albiker, Richard Scheibe und Josef Wackerle'', Schriften zur Kunstgeschichte, Bd. 10, Hamburg 2005, :''In Public: Monumental architecture and sculpture from the 1920s to 1950s by Karl Albiker,

and

'', Writings on art history, Vol. 10, Hamburg 2005, * Sigrid Walther: ''Karl Albiker 1878–1961. Plastik, Zeichnungen.'' Katalog zur Ausstellung vom 9. November 1996–5. Januar 1997 im Georgenbau des Dresdner Schlosses. Neuer Sächsischer Kunstverein e.V., Deutsches Hygiene-Museum, Dresden 1996 :''Karl Albiker 1878–1961. Sculptures, Drawings''. Catalog for the exhibition from 9 November 1996 to 5 January 1997 at Georgenbau at the

Dresden Castle Dresden Castle or Royal Palace ( or ) is one of the oldest buildings in Dresden, Germany. For almost 400 years, it was the residence of the electors (1547–1806) and List of rulers of Saxony, kings (1806–1918) of Kingdom of Saxony, Saxony from ...

. New Saxon Art Association, Org.,

, Dresden 1996 * Sigrid Walther: ''Eine Göttin für den „Tempel der Gesundheit“. Die Plastik „Hygiena“ von Karl Albiker im Deutschen Hygiene-Museum“, Deutsches Hygiene-Museum, DZA Verlag für Kultur und Wissenschaft GmbH, 1996 :A Goddess for the "Temple of Health". The sculpture "Hygiene" by Karl Albiker in the

, German Hygiene Museum, DZA Publishing House for Culture and Science, Ltd., 1996 * Karl Albiker. En: Ulrich Thieme, Felix Becker y a.: ''

Allgemeines Lexikon der Bildenden Künstler von der Antike bis zur Gegenwart 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 comple ...

'' :''General Encyclopedia of Artists from Antiquity to the Present'', Vol. 1, Wilhelm Engelmann, Leipzig 1907, p. 227 * ''Reichshandbuch der Deutschen Gesellschaft – Das Handbuch der Persönlichkeiten in Wort und Bild'', Erster Band, Deutscher Wirtschaftsverlag, Berlin 1930, S. 14, :''Manual of the German Reich – A manual of the personalities in word and image'', first volume, Deutscher Wirtschaftsverlag, Berlin 1930, p. 14, * Wilhelm Rüdiger Hg.: ''Junge Kunst im Deutschen Reich.'' i. A. des Reichsstatthalters & Reichsleiters

Baldur von Schirach Baldur Benedikt von Schirach (; 9 May 1907 – 8 August 1974) was a German politician who was the leader of the Hitler Youth from 1931 to 1940. From 1940 to 1945, he was the '' Gauleiter'' (district leader) and '' Reichsstatthalter'' (Reich gov ...

. Ausst. Februar – März 1943 im Künstlerhaus Wien. Ehrlich & Schmidt, Wien 1943 :Wilhelm Rüdiger ed.: ''Young Art of the German Reich''. A. of

Reichsstatthalter The ''Reichsstatthalter'' (, ''Reich lieutenant'') was a title used in the German Empire and later in Nazi Germany. ''Statthalter des Reiches'' (1879–1918) The office of ''Statthalter des Reiches'' (otherwise known as ''Reichsstatthalter'' ...

s &

Reichsleiter (, ) was the second-highest political rank in the Nazi Party (NSDAP), subordinate only to the office of . also functioned as a paramilitary rank within the NSDAP and was the highest rank attainable in any Nazi organisation. Each reported d ...

. Exhibit. February–March 1943 in the

. Ehrlich & Schmidt, Vienna 1943

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Albiker, Karl 1878 births 1961 deaths People from Waldshut (district) People from the Grand Duchy of Baden Nazi Party members German male sculptors 20th-century German sculptors 20th-century German male artists Academic staff of the Dresden Academy of Fine Arts Académie Julian alumni Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany