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]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2b/Berlin_Siegess%C3%A4ule_8245.jpg/175px-Berlin_Siegess%C3%A4ule_8245.jpg)
History
editThe 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 its 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 theThree 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 early 1920s, art deco master Ferdinand Preiss employed Gladenbeck to cast many of his bronze and chryselephantine sculptures.[7]
Foundry mark and seal
edit. .
Bankruptcy
editThe foundry went out of business in 1926 when it declared bankruptcy.[3]
Other Gladenbeck works
edit- Statue of Alexander von Humboldt (Chicago)
- 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
edit-
A Gladenbeck casting of Hermann Haase-Ilsenburg's "Farewell of the Amazon" (c. 1902)
-
Berlin Victory Column
-
Josefa Ortiz de Dominguez Monument in Queretaro, Mexico
References
edit- ^ a b c d e "Oscar Gladenbeck (1850-1921)". ISSUU.com. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
- ^ Schmetzke, A. (1999/2008), Hugo Rheinhold ... and his Philosophizing Monkey: Gladenbeck. Archived 2012-10-17 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved June 17, 2015.
- ^ a b c "Gladenbeck". uwsp.edu. Archived from the original on 17 October 2012. 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)". Tobogan Antiques. Archived from the original on 18 June 2015. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
Bibliography
edit- "Hermann Gladenbeck Bronze Sculptures". art-bronze-sculptures.com. Retrieved 16 August 2024.