Aktien-Gesellschaft Gladenbeck
Aktien-Gesellschaft Gladenbeck was a foundry located in Berlin, Germany, that operated from 1851 until 1926. During the 75-year period when the foundry was in operation it was one of the most important foundries in Germany and was known for producing high quality bronze castings.[1]
History
The Aktien-Gesellschaft Gladenbeck foundry opened for business in 1851[2] in Berlin, Germany, under the leadership of its founder, Carl Gustav Hermann Gladenbeck.[3] It was one of the most important foundries in Germany, known for high quality bronze castings.[1] Some of the first bronze sculptures that emerged from the foundry were marked "Gladenbeck" with subsequent castings over the years being marked "Gladenbeck und Sohn", "Akt-Ges v.H. Gladenbeck", "Akt-Ges Gladenbeck Berlin" or "Aktien-Gesellschaft Gladenbeck".[3]
The foundry cast many of the best known bronze sculptures created by German artists in the mid-to-late 19th century and early 20th century.[1] In addition to serving the usually modest casting requirements of German sculptors,[1] the foundry was also capable of casting large-scale bronze statues. In 1913 the Gladenbeck foundry cast the monumental Confederate Memorial in Arlington National Cemetery.[4][5]
In 1910, Gladenbeck cast the "Three Dancing Maidens" Untermyer fountain by sculptor Walter Schott. The fountain is located in Conservatory Garden, Central Park, New York. The sculpture – situated on a limestone plinth – depicts three young ladies holding hands in a circle "whose dresses cling to their wet bodies as if they were perpetually in the fountain's spray". The fountain includes three jets, two on the oval pool's sides and a larger one in the center of the sculpture.[6]
In the 1920s, art deco master Ferdinand Preiss employed Gladenbeck to cast many of his bronze and chryselephantine sculptures.[7]
Foundry mark and seal
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Bankruptcy
The foundry went out of business in 1926 when it declared bankruptcy.[3]
Other Gladenbeck works
- Neptunbrunnen (by Reinhold Begas)
- Victoria of the Berlin Victory Column (by Friedrich Drake)[1][8]
- Oriental Water (by Ferdinand Preiss)
- Friedrich Wilhelm IV (by Alexander Calandrelli, 1886)
- The Leapfrog (by Wilhelm Haverkamp, 1891)
- Otto von Bismarck
- Princess Louise of Prussia
- Emperor Wilhelm I
- Emperor Wilhelm II
Gallery
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A Gladenbeck casting of Hermann Haase-Ilsenburg's "Farewell of the Amazon" (c. 1902)
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Berlin Victory Column
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 "Oscar Gladenbeck (1850-1921)". ISSUU.com. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
- ↑ Schmetzke, A. (1999/2008), Hugo Rheinhold ... and his Philosophizing Monkey: Gladenbeck. Retrieved June 17, 2015.
- 1 2 3 "Gladenbeck". uwsp.edu. Retrieved 17 June 2015.
- ↑ Cox, "The Confederate Monument at Arlington...", p. 157.
- ↑ "Confederate Memorial (sculpture)." Art Inventories Catalog. Control Number: IAS 76005910. Smithsonian American Art Museum. 2012. Accessed 2015-6-17.
- ↑ "Untermyer Fountain". Central Park Conservancy. Retrieved June 17, 2015.
- ↑ Shayo, Alberto: Ferdinand Preiss: Art Deco Sculptor--The Fire and the Flame ISBN 1851494820
- ↑ "Biography: Hermann Gladenbeck (1827-1918)". toboganantiques.com. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
Bibliography
- "Kunst & Ambiente -- Hermann Gladenbeck". art-bronze-sculptures.com. Retrieved 17 June 2015.