Otto Lessing (24 February 1846 – 22 November 1912) was a prominent German

Historicist 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 ...

sculptor whose work largely shaped the appearance of Berlin in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He was the son of history and landscape painter Carl Friedrich Lessing and the great great nephew of poet

Gotthold Ephraim Lessing Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (; ; 22 January 1729 – 15 February 1781) was a German philosopher, dramatist, publicist and art critic, and a representative of the Enlightenment era. His plays and theoretical writings substantially influenced the dev ...

.Jörg Kuhn: ''Otto Lessing 1846–1912'' (Berlin: Freie Universität, 1994
Online summary
Lessing created sculpture and decorative architectural elements on the façades and interiors of many important buildings in Germany, such as the Reichstag,

Berlin Cathedral Berlin Cathedral (), also known as the Evangelical Supreme Parish and Collegiate Church, is a monumental Protestant Church in Germany, German Protestant church and dynastic tomb (House of Hohenzollern) at the Lustgarten on the Museum Island ...

and the

Reichsgericht The (, ) was the supreme criminal and civil court of Germany from 1879 to 1945, encompassing the periods of the German Empire, the Weimar Republic and Nazi Germany. It was based in Leipzig. The began its work on 1 October 1879, the date on w ...

(Supreme Court) in

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

. In addition to large public contracts, he also designed commercial buildings and residential villas. At the height of his career in 1911, Lessing was appointed to the Senate of 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 ...

and awarded the

Pour le Mérite The (; , ), also informally known as the ''Blue Max'' () after German WWI flying ace Max Immelmann, is an order of merit established in 1740 by King Frederick II of Prussia. Separated into two classes, each with their own designs, the was ...

in Science and Arts (), Germany's highest civilian decoration.Pour le Mérite für Wissenschaft und Künste
Official Website retrieved 29 February 2012.

Life

Otto Lessing was born in

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants, seventh-largest city ...

. His artistic education began with his father, who instructed him in painting. He then studied sculpture from 1863 to 1865 under Carl Johann Steinhäuser at the Kunstschule Karlsruhe and then from 1865 to 1868 with Albert Wolff in Berlin. After these years of training Lessing returned to

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 ...

, where he worked at Steinhäuser's studio until 1872.Biography of Otto Lessing at Berlin Editions Luisenstadt
retrieved 29 February 2012. Lessing married Sigrid Gude, daughter of Hans Gude in Christiania in 1875. At the founding of the German Empire, with the choice of Berlin as imperial capital, Lessing hoped for a busy career and in the autumn of 1872 moved to Berlin. There he opened a studio for decorative sculpture at Wartburgstraße 14 in

Schöneberg Schöneberg () is a locality of Berlin, Germany. Until Berlin's 2001 administrative reform it was a separate borough including the locality of Friedenau. Together with the former borough of Tempelhof it is now part of the new borough of Te ...

. The then unknown sculptor benefited from recommendations of his uncle Robert Carl Lessing, principal owner of the ''

Vossische Zeitung The (''Voss's Newspaper'') was a nationally known Berlin newspaper that represented the interests of the liberal middle class. It was also generally regarded as Germany's national newspaper of record. In the Berlin press it held a special role d ...

'' with contacts with influential politicians and artists. Lessing's father also moved to Berlin in 1880 and bought himself a prestigious residence in the Tiergarten district. Lessing's reputation and success grew continuously in the late 19th century. In 1890, he was accepted into the Society of Berlin Architects and became their favored sculptor. From this association he received commissions for sculptures and reliefs on the façades of many prominent buildings, such as the Reichstag, the Berlin City Palace and the cathedral. In addition to large public commissions, Lessing also designed sculptures for commercial buildings and many of the villas of the new middle class in the capitol. Lessing also designed monumental standalone sculptures. Between 1886 and 1890 he created a monument to his great-great uncle,

, on the Lennéstraße in the Tiergarten. During its inauguration on 14 October 1890, Lessing was awarded the title of a professor and a short time later took a teaching position at the Institute of the Museum of Decorative Arts in Berlin. He moved to Wangenheimstraße 10 in the new neighborhood of Berlin Grunewald, where he built a large studio. He died on 22 November 1912 and is buried in the Friedhof Halensee-Grunewald, in a tomb he designed himself.

Painting and sculpture

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Otto Lessing's sculpture and architectural decoration adorns many historic government buildings in Germany, such as the

Prussian House of Lords The Prussian House of Lords () in Berlin was the upper house of the Landtag of Prussia (), the parliament of Prussia from 1850 to 1918. Together with the lower house, the House of Representatives (), it formed the Prussian bicameral legislature ...

, Reichstag (German Imperial Parliament), the Neuer Marstall (Imperial Stables), and the

(Supreme Court in Leipzig). His interior work includes the bronze doors in the Hall of Honor at the

Zeughaus The Zeughaus (, ''Arsenal'') is a listed building and the oldest structure on Unter den Linden boulevard in the Mitte (locality), historic centre of Berlin. Erected from 1695 to 1706 according to plans by Johann Arnold Nering, Martin Grünberg, ...

(Berlin Armory) and striking glass mosaics inside the

Martin-Gropius-Bau Martin-Gropius-Bau, commonly known as Gropius Bau, is an important exhibition space in Berlin, Germany. Originally a museum of applied arts, the building has been a listed historical monument since 1966. It is located at 7 Niederkirchnerstraße ...

. Lessing's religious works include the three main doors and interior reliefs at the Berliner Dom, portals and interiors of the Deutscher Dom, the Emperor's entrance to Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtniskirche and the interior of St. Michaelis Church, Hamburg. The Borsig Palace is an example of his work for private residences. The

Berlin State Library The Berlin State Library (; officially abbreviated as ''SBB'', colloquially ''Stabi'') is a universal library in Berlin, Germany, and a property of the German public cultural organization the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation (). Founded in ...

and

Konzerthaus Berlin The Konzerthaus Berlin is a concert hall in Berlin, the home of the Konzerthausorchester Berlin. Situated on the Gendarmenmarkt square in the central Mitte district of the city, it was originally built as a theater. It initially operated from 1 ...

are also decorated by Lessing. Among his most important outdoor monuments are the '' Lessing Monument'' (1890) in the Tiergarten, the ''Hercules Fountain'' in the Lützowplatz (1910), and statues in the Siegesallee. His statue of

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state (Germany), German state of Thuringia, in Central Germany (cultural area), Central Germany between Erfurt to the west and Jena to the east, southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together w ...

is a German icon of the author, as one critic put it, "seated and staring into the distance with a bemused and thoughtful look".Stephen Kinzer, "Shakespeare, Icon in Germany" ''New York Times'', 30 December 1995 Many buildings with his works were severely damaged in World War II and several were later demolished, such as former British Embassy Palais Strousberg, the Reich Chancellory and

Berlin City Palace The Berlin Palace (), formerly known as the Royal Palace (), is a large building adjacent to Berlin Cathedral and the Museum Island in the Mitte (Berlin), Mitte area of Berlin. It was the main Official residence, residence of the Margraviate of ...

Writings

Lessing's published writings include: * ''Ausgefuehrte Bauornamente der Neuzeit. Sammlung hervorragender Ornamentausfuehrungen.'' Berlin: Wasmuth, 1880. * ''Bauornamente der Neuzeit.'' Berlin: Wasmuth, 1881. * ''Bauornamente Berlins. 100 Tafeln.'' (2 editions) Berlin: Wasmuth, 1890. * ''Schloss Ansbach: Barock- und Roccoco-Dekorationen aus dem XVIII. Jahrhundert'' Berlin: Wasmuth, 1892.

Gallery

Examples of Lessing's architectural and decorative sculpture: File:Reichstag right.jpg, Exterior facade of the Reichstag, Berlin File:2006-09-10 Marstall02.jpg, Gable and sculpture ''The Horse Tamers'', Neuer Marstall, Berlin File:Salonwagen Kaiser Wilhelm II ZfB.jpg, The interior of the Salon railway car of 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 ...

File:Dom Berlin Miniatur 063.jpg, Belltower of the Berliner Dom

References

External links

Literature by and about Otto Lessing
in the Catalog of the

German National Library The German National Library (DNB; ) is the central archival library and national bibliographic centre for the Federal Republic of Germany. It is one of the largest libraries in the world. Its task is to collect, permanently archive, comprehens ...

Biography of Otto Lessing at Edition Luisenstadt

* ttp://www.historismus.findbuch.net/php/main.php?ar_id=3264&action=open&kind=k&id=7040&be_id=2&source=linker List of Works and Photo Gallery (historismus.net-Datenbank)
''Bauornamente der Neuzeit'' (Vol. 1 of 3, 1881)
Kenneth Franzheim II Rare Books Room, William R. Jenkins Architecture and Art Library, University of Houston Digital Library. {{DEFAULTSORT:Lessing, Otto 1846 births 1912 deaths Artists from Düsseldorf 20th-century German sculptors 20th-century German male artists 19th-century German sculptors German male sculptors German architectural sculptors Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (civil class)