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Description
‘Herabsteigende’ (‘Descending’)
Displayed at the GDK 1944, room 30.
Single unique cast (with the core still inside), see X-ray photos below.
According to the archive of Haus der Kunst, the sculpture was bought at the GDK by Dr. Luise Dolezalek, the first SS-Director of the Settlement Research Unit (‘Siedlungswissenschaftliches Referat’).
This unit -set up in 1941 by the SS-Officer in charge of the resettlement program in the Warthegau, Wilhelm Koppe- was part of the Posen office of the RKF, the ‘Reichskommissar für die Festigung deutschen Volkstums’ (‘Reichs Commisioner for the Strengthening of Germandom’), headed by Heinrich Himmler. Dr. Luise Dolezalek (Luise Fick), completed in 1939 her doctorate ‘Die deutsche Jugendbewegung’ at the University of Jena. She was married with SS-Hauptsturmführer Alexander Dolezalek. Alexander Dolezalek was the Head of the Planning Department in the RKF Headquarters in Posen.
Richard Scheibe, ‘Herabsteigende’. Depicted in the official catalogue of the Grosse Deutsche Kunstausstellung 1944.
Direct Lost-Wax Casting – the Single Unique Cast
In the direct lost-wax casting process (also named ‘cire perdue’), the sculptor begins by building a roughly modelled clay-core over a metal armature. The clay-core is baked to harden it and drive off moisture, and then a relatively thin layer of wax is applied that receives the detailing of anatomy, texture, facial features and signature. A mold is formed around the wax-model, when the mold is heated the wax melts and creates a space into which molten bronze is poured. Once the bronze is cast, the clay-core and armature can be removed to lessen the weight of the finished sculpture. Occasionally the core and armature rods are -in whole or in part- left inside the bronze. On sculptures meant to be placed outdoors, the clay-core and iron-armature are generally removed in order to avoid damage from absorption of water.
The direct lost wax technique allows the artist to cast directly off of the original model, and is ideal for wax models with complex surface textures as well as large and complex compositions. This casting method produces a Single Unique Cast from a Single Model (as opposed to one that is cast from a mold of an existing model). The original master model is lost in the casting process: producing more copies of the master model is impossible.
When X-ray photos show iron armature or internal frame inside the bronze, it is evident that the direct lost wax casting technique was used and that we have to do with the original cast/model.
X-ray photos of ‘Herabsteigende’. Clearly visible are the iron wires from the core inside.
Left: Richard Scheibe, art-print, ‘Herabsteigende’. This is another iron cast created in 1945 (one from five), depicted in ‘Richard Scheibe’, Rembrandt-Verlag, Berlin, 1955. The base is different then the base from the model displayed at the GDK, just like a third cast, which was sold at auctionhouse Hauswedell & Nolte in 2011 (photo right). Both casts -which must be copies from the original cast- were located in the Berlin-Hamburg area.
| – condition | : III restored breaks in feet and lower legs (professional restored) |
| – size | : height 65 cm |
| – signed | : at the foot |
| – type | : zinc, 1944, war cast |
| – misc. | : provenance: bought in the Munich-region |
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BIOGRAPHY: RICHARD SCHEIBE
Left: Richard Scheibe, art print*, ‘Zehnkämpfer’ (‘Decathlete’), 1936. Bronze, height 2 meters. GDK 1937, room 2. In the possession of the Städel Museum, Frankfurt. Zehnkämpfer appears like a twin brother of a life-size second version from 1939 of the ‘Thinker’, likewise a muscular nude male, which differs merely in terms of a slight inclination of the head. Also displayed at the ‘Zweite Jubiläums-Ausstellung, des Anlas des 150-jährigen Bestehens der Akademischen Ausstellungen’, Preussische Akademie der Künste, Berlin, 1936 (depicted in the exhibition catalog).
Middle: Richard Scheibe, ‘Zehnkämpfer’ displayed at the exhibition ‘Degenerate Art, The Attack on Modern Art in Nazi Germany’, the Neue Galerie, New York, 2014 (right: ‘Die Vier Elemente’ by Adolf Ziegler).
Right: Richard Scheibe, Zehnkämpfer was also displayed at the exhibition ‘Taking Positions’ (‘Untergang einer Tradition Figürliche Bildhauerei und das Dritte Reich‘). The exhibition was held in 2001 – 2002 at the Georg Kolbe Museum in Berlin, at the Gerhard-Marcks-Haus in Bremen and at the Henry Moore Institut in Leeds.
‘Zehnkämpfer’ by Scheibe, 1936. Located in the Städelmuseum, Frankfurt am Main (1. Obergeschoss, Saal 15).
‘La Saar Liberata’
Left: Richard Scheibe, postcard, ‘Saarbefreiungsdenkmal‘ (‘Symbol of the reunification of the Saarland’), I.G. Farben-industrie A.G., Höchst, 1936. Displayed at the XX Venice Biennale, 1936 (‘La Saar Liberata’). Also displayed at the ‘Herbst-Ausstelllung Preussische Akademie der Künste zu Berlin’, 1935; depicted in the exhibition catalogue. Also depicted in ‘Westermanns Monatshefte’, 80. Jahrgang, 1935/36.
Middle: Richard Scheibe, ‘Befreiung der Saar’ (‘Liberation of the Saar’), displayed in 2015 in the German Historical Museum, Berlin.
Right: ‘Die Saar’, depicted in ‘Nationalsozialistische Monatshefte’, 1942, heft 143/144.
Left: Richard Scheibe, postcard, ‘Hockende‘ (‘Seated Nude‘), 1932. Bronze, height 20 cm.
Right: ‘Seated Nude’ by Scheibe, 1932, in the possession of the ‘Detroite Institute of Arts’. Height 24,1 cm.
‘Fanciulla in Piedi’
Left: Richard Scheibe, ‘Stehendes Mädchen’ (‘Fanciulla in Piedi’), bronze. Displayed at the ‘XIX Esposizione Biennale Internationale d’arte 1934, Venice. Depicted in the official exhibition catalogue of the Venice Biennale. This sculpture was on loan from the German Ministery of Culture, Berlin. Three other casts (heights 93,5 and 129 cm) are in the possession of the ‘Kunstsammlungen Chemnitz’, the Ashmolean Museum Oxford and the Museum Ludwig, Cologne. Also depicted in ‘Das Bild’, 1934.
Right: ‘Stehendes Mädchen’ by Scheibe, displayed in 1977 at the Exhibition ‘Deutschland 1930-1939, Verbot, Anpassung, Exil’ in Kunsthaus Zürich, Switzerland: Der Archivar – Nazi-Kunst – ist das Kunst oder muss das weg? – Kultur – SRF
Left: Richard Scheibe, art-print, ‘Höchster Ehrenmal‘ (‘Cenotaph of Höchst‘), 1937. Cenotaph of the districts Höchst and Nied in Frankfurt (destroyed after WWII). Height: 2 meters.
Right: Richard Scheibe, door-relief. Displayed at the ‘Frühjahrsausstellung der Preussischen Akademie’, 1934. Depicted in the ‘Kunst für alle’, 1933.
Left: Richard Scheibe, art print, ‘Flehende‘ (‘Pleading‘). GDK 1940, room 28. Bronze, height 60 cm.
Right: ‘Flehende, depicted on the cover of ‘Die Kunst’, December, 1942.
Left: Richard Scheibe, art print, ‘Sinnbild unsere Flugwaffen-Bereitschaft’ (‘Symbol for the readiness of our Aircraf‘). Located at ‘Aircrafcompound N’, 1937. Height: 2 meters. Displayed at the exhibition ‘Deutsche Plastik der Gegenwart´, 1938, Warschau. Depicted in ´Die Kunst im Dritten Reich´, 1938.
Right: the same sculpture depicted under the name ‘Bogenschütze’ (‘Archer’) in the book ‘Architektur und Bauplastik der Gegenwart’, 1938: ‘Bogenschütze, Bronzeplastik in einem Standort der Luftwaffe in der Mark’ (‘located at an Aircraftcompound in the Gau Mark Brandenburg’).
‘Rhine Sculpture Impressive’
The Rochester (New York) newspaper ‘Democrat & Chronicle’ writes at 13 March 1938 about the Exibition ‘Modern Sculpture in Germany’ in the Germanic Museum, Harvard University, USA. ‘Works from the six foremost sculptors of Germany’, Georg Kolbe, Wilhelm Lehmbruck, Ernst Barlach, Richard Scheibe, Gerhard Marcks and Rene Sintenis are displayed. ‘Richard Scheibe…..in whom one detects element of both Kolbe and Lehmbruck, is a comparative newcomer, but his work easily puts him among the most distinguished leaders of present-day sculpture’.
Left: Richard Scheibe, art print, ‘Kämpfender Krieger’ (‘Fighting Warrior’), Heeresbau Magdeburg, 1938. Sandstone, height 1 meter. Depicted in ‘Zucht und Sitte‘, Folge III, 1943.
Right: ‘Kämpfender Krieger’, depicted on the cover of the magazin ‘Frauen Warte’, March 1944. The text below the photo reads: ‘Wo wir stehen, steht die Treu’, which is the first line of a popular Hitler Youth Song.
Richard Scheibe, ‘Kopf eines Kriegers’ (‘Head of a Warrior’). GDK 1940, room 28. Depicted in ‘Die Kunst im Deutschen Reich’, 1940.
Left: Richard Scheibe, postcard, ‘Ehrenmahl in Frankfurt-Sindlingen’ (‘Cenotaph in Frankfurt-Sindlingen’), 1932. Height 3 meters, shell-limestone. Depicted in ‘ Westermanns Monatshefte’, 1938, and in ‘Deutsche Bildhhauer der Gegenwart’, 1934.
Right: Richard Scheibe, postcard, ‘Aufsteigende’ (‘Ascending’). GDK 1940, room 28. Depicted in ‘Die Kunst’, December, 1942.
Richard Scheibe, ‘Sinnende’ (‘Day Dreaming’). Bronze, height 1,5 meters. GDK 1940, room 28. Depicted in ‘Die Kunst im Deutschen Reich’, 1940.
Richard Scheibe, art print, ‘Hoheitszeichen‘, 1939. Aluminium, 5,3 meters wide. Photo made in the atelier of the artist.
Richard Scheibe, ‘Flora’, located in the atelier Richard Scheibe in Berlin. Also depicted in ‘Die Kunst’, December, 1942. Displayed at the ‘Herbst-Ausstellung Preussische Akademie der Künste’, 1941; depicted in the exhibition catalogue.
Richard Scheibe, ‘Bidlniskopf’, 1931. Bronze, height 38 cm. Displayed at the exhibition ‘100 Jahre Verein Berliner Künstler‘, Berlin, May/June 1941. Depicted in the exhibition catalogue.
Left: Richard Scheibe, ‘die Morgenröte’ (‘Daybreak’), 1937. Located in the ‘Skulpturengarten’, City of Mannheim. Bronze.
Middle: Richard Scheibe, ‘Eos’, 1937, height 95 cm. Located in the ‘Gruga-park’, City of Essen. Photo: 2015. Same model as ‘die Morgenröte’.
Right: Richard Schiebe, ‘Morgenröte’, 1938, located in the ‘Galerie Buchholz’, Berlin.
A cast of ‘die Morgenröte’ was displayed under the name ‘Jutrzenka’ at the exhibition ‘Deutsche Bildhauer der Gegegwart’, 1938, Krakow. Depicted in the exhibition catalogue.
Left: Richard Scheibe, postcard, ‘Ebert-Denkmal an der Frankfurter Paulskirche’ (‘Ebert Memorial’), 1926. Removed by the Nazi regime in 1933. The cast of Friedrich Ebert (1871-1925), first president of the Weimar Republic, is currently displayed in the permanent exhibition of the ‘Historische Museum Frankfurt’.
Right: the original ‘Ebert’-cast by Scheibe in the Historische Museum Frankfurt. Height 370 cm. Weight 460 kilogram.
The ‘Ebert Denkmal an der Frankfurter Paulskirche’, restored in 1950 (Scheibe created a new sculpture). Photo taken in 2017.
Left: Richard Scheibe, ‘Schreitender’ (‘Going’), 1935. Located at ‘Am Karlsbad’, Berlin-Tiergarten. Signed at the base ‘R. Sch.’
Right: Richard Scheibe, ‘Schreitende’, created in 1952. Placed in the Rheinpark in Cologne.
Richard Scheibe, ‘Ehrenmal der Opfer des 20. Juli 1944 im Hof des Bendlerblocks’, Berlin, 1953. After the failed plot to kill Hitler at 20. Juli 1944 the Gestapo killed almost 5.000 people. Scheibe claimed to have been linked with thoses responsible for the assasination attampt on Hitler.
Left: Richard Scheibe, ‘Ehrenmal für die Gefallenen der I.G. Farben-Industrie, 1924, Höchst (‘World war I Memorial for the fallen employee’s of I.G. Farben-Industrie in Höchst).
Right: ‘Ehrenmal Höchster Farbwerke’, depicted in a catalog of ‘Bildgiesserei Noack, Zum dreissig Jährigen Bestehen der bronzegiesserei Noack in Berlin-Friedenau im Jahre 1927’.
Richard Scheibe, ‘Büste des gefallenen Ritterkreuzträger Friedrich von Homeyer’ (‘Bust of the fallen Friedrich von Homeyer, Bearer of the Night’s Cross‘). Zinc cast, silver patinated. Depicted in ‘Die Kunst im Deutschen Reich‘, 1944.
Left: Richard Scheibe, ‘Siegesgöttin‘ (‘Goddess of Victory‘). Design for the Staatliche Porzellanmanifaktur, 1941. Depicted in ‘Die Kunst im Deutschen Reich‘, 1944.
Right: Richard Scheibe, ‘Entwurf für eine Figur vor der Universität Posen‘, 1942 (‘Design for a Sculpture in front of the University of Posen‘. Depicted in ‘Die Kunst im Deutschen Reich‘, 1944.
Left: Richard Scheibe, ‘Fortuna‘, 1956. Bronze, height 1,61 meter. In the possession of the ‘Oldenburger Landesmuseum für Kunst und Kulturgeschichte‘.
Right: ‘Fortuna’ by Scheibe, displayed at the exhibition ‘Die Liste der Gottbegnadeten. Künstler des Nationalsozialismus in der Bundesrepublik’ (‘Divinely Gifted. National Socialism’s Favoured Artists in the Federal Republic’), August-December 2021, German Historical Museum, Berlin.
Richard Scheibe, ‘Fortuna‘, 1956. Height 4,5 meter, created in gold-plated sheet-copper (‘vergolden Kupferblech’). Placed on the tower of Schloss Charlottenburg in Berlin.
Richard Scheine in his atelier creating Fortuna, 1955.
Left: Richard Scheibe, ‘Flora’, stamp of the Deutsche Bundespost. Isued 1981 as part of the series: ‘Skulptures of the 20th century.’
Right: Richard Scheibe, ‘Ehrenmal der Opfer des 20. Juli 1944 im Hof des Bendlerblocks’. 20-Pfennig stamp of the Deutsche Bundespost. Issued in 1954, commemorating the 10th anniversary of the assassination attempt on Adolf Hitler.
Left: Richard Scheibe, postcard, ‘Schwestern‘ (‘Sisters‘), 1935. Bronze, height 1,2 meter.
Right: Richard Scheibe in his atelier with ‘Zwei Schwestern’ (‘Two Sisters), plaster model, 1948. Scheibe created at least three different versions of ‘Zwei Schwestern’. A bronze cast from 1930 is (likely) still in the possession of the Städel-Museum in Frankfurt.
‘Zwei Schwestern’, displayed at an exhibition organised by the ‘NS.-Gemeinschaft Kraft durch Freude’. Location: Council Chamber of the Dresdner Bank in Berlin. Date unknown.
Selfportrait given to sculptor Anton Grauel
Richard Scheibe, ‘Selfportrait‘, plaque created in bronze, diameter 9,5 cm. The text at the back reads: ‘1948 Seinen Freunden Als Zeichen‘ (‘1948 As Sign of Friendship’). According to the Dissertation ‘Der Bildhauer Richard Scheibe‘ by Magdalena George, Leipzig 1961, page 84 (unpublished) one cast of ‘Selfportrait’ is in the possession of the ‘Staatlichen Museen Berlin, Nationalgalerie’.
The selfportrait-plaque depicted here is the one that Richard Scheibe gave to his friend Anton Grauel. Grauel emigrated in 1951 to the USA, but both friends kept writing each other.
Left: Richard Scheibe, 1949.
Right: Richard Scheibe in ‘Die Deutsche Wochenschau’, 4 Mai 1944, Nr. 709 https://archive.org/details/1944-04-05-Die-Deutsche-Wochenschau-709 (at 00.11)
Richard Scheibe, ‘one of the six foremost sculptors of Germany’
Richard Scheibe (1879 – 1964), born in Chemnitz as the son of an officer, was a German artist primarily remembered as a sculptor. He studied a period at the Dredsner Academy under Leon Pohle. In 1900, during a trip to Italy, he met Georg Kolbe, who became his life-long friend. In 1901 he completed his training at the Munich Academy where he attended painting courses from Heinrich Knirr and F. Fehr. A few years later he decided to turn to sculpture, a field in which he acquired training by teaching himself. In 1914 Scheibe became a member of the Berliner Sezession, and a year earlier he displayed his works for the first time. Scheibe, who was influenced by Rodin and Maillol, would mainly create animal and -especially- men and women portraits. From 1914 to 1917 Scheibe was mobilized and sent to the front as lieutenant of the field artillery. After WWI he began working for porcelain manufacturers and did a number of animal sculptures. In 1924 he created a war memorial for the fallen workers for the display hall of Höchst, commissioned by Peter Behrens, the architect of I.G. Farbenindustrie AG in Frankfurt. From 1925 to 1933 Scheibe was the head of the Städelsche Kunstinstitut in Frankfurt. When Reichspräsident Friedrich Ebert died in 1925, Scheibe was commissioned the order for a monument. The more than life-size nude was placed at the façade of the Frankfurter Pauls-church in 1926. In 1933 the national socialists removed the monument and Scheibe lost his position at the Städelsche Kunstinstitut. However, a year later Scheibe was reinstated (the monument is now in the courtyard of the Historical Museum in Frankfurt). In 1950 Scheibe created a new version of the Monument, which was placed again at the façade of the Pauls-church. The original cast of Friedrich Ebert is currently displayed in the permanent exhibition of the ‘Historische Museum’ in Frankfurt.
In 1932 Scheibe created the three-meter-high ‘Sindlingen War Memorial’ in Frankfurt-Sindlingen. Many more war memorials would follow, including the impressive ‘Höchster Ehrenmal’ at the Wörthspitze, Frankfurt, in 1937. In 1934 he left Frankfurt and started teaching at the Hochschule für bildende Künste in Berlin. In the same year he was represented at the XIX Venice Biennale 1934 with ‘Stehendes Mädchen’ (‘Fanciulla in Piedi’, this sculpture was on loan from the German Ministery of Culture, Berlin). In 1936 Scheibe became a member of the Preußischen Akademie der Künste. Also in 1936, he created the famous ‘Die befreite Saar’ (commissioned by IG Farben), a sculpture inspired by the reunification of the Saarland with Germany. Later that year he took part in the XX Venice Biennale 1936, were four of his works were displayed, inlcluding ‘La Saar liberata’. In 1937 he was appointed professor. In the same year he was represented with 5 works at the exhibition ‘NS.-Gemeinschaft KRAFT DURCH FREUDE’, Kunsthalle Hamburg, 1938, organized in co-operation with Amt Rosenberg. In 1938 Scheibe participated in the exhibition ‘Modern Sculpture in Germany’ in the Germanic Museum, Harvard University, USA. The Rochester (New York) newspaper ‘Democrat & Chronicle’ wrote at 13 March 1938 about the Exibition: ‘Works from the six foremost sculptors of Germany’, Georg Kolbe, Wilhelm Lehmbruck, Ernst Barlach, Richard Scheibe, Gerhard Marcks and Rene Sintenis are displayed’…’Richard Scheibe in whom one detects element of both Kolbe and Lehmbruck, is a comparative newcomer, but his work easily puts him among the most distinguished leaders of present-day sculpture’.
In 1939 Scheibe succeeded Fritz Klimsch as the head of the Meisterklasse of the Prussian Academy of Arts, a position which he held until 1945. Two years later he participated in the exhibition ‘100 Jahre Verein Berliner Künstler‘, Berlin, May/June 1941. Throughout the Third Reich period, Scheibe produced a very large number of sculptures with considerable success. At the Great German Art Exhibitions he was represented with 11 works including ‘Der Denker’, ‘Aufsteigende’, ‘Zehnkämpfer’ and ‘Sinnende’. Two of his works were bought by Hitler and Goering for prices of up to 10,000 RM. In 1944 Scheibe was awarded the Goethe-Medaille für Kunst und Wissenschaft; in the same year Hitler put his name on the Gottbegnadeten-Liste of the most important sculptors.
After the war Scheibe remains in Berlin, where he claims to have been linked with those responsible for the assassination attempt on Hitler, on July, 20 1944. He was appointed professor at the new Berlin College of Art. In 1949 he became freeman of his native city of Chemnitz; in the same year he held an exhibition in Berlin. In 1950 he became Doctor h.c. of the Free University of Berlin, in 1951 he was awarded with the Bundesverdienstkreuz and in 1952 with the Berlin Art Prize. He was awarded in 1954 with the Großen Verdienstkreuz der Bundesrepublik Deutschland and in the same year with the Goethe-Plakette der Stadt Frankfurt am Main. At 80 he was appointed honorary senator of the Berlin College for Fine Arts.
The ‘Ehrenmal der Opfer des 20. Juli 1944’ created by Scheibe was placed in 1953 in Berlin. In 1956 he created ‘Fortuna‘ (height 4,5 meter, created in gold-plated sheet-copper), which sculpture was placed on the tower of Schloss Charlottenburg in Berlin. At the very end of his life he produced a memorial relief for the assassinated President Kennedy.
Richard Scheibe died in 1964.
Works of Richard Scheibe are in the possession of the Georg Kolbe Museum, Berlin, Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen (‘Herkules’) and in numerous other museums in Chemnitz, Dresden, Essen, Leipzig, etc. A cast of ‘Der Denker ‘ is displayed in the permanent exhibition of Kunstmuseum Moritzburg, Halle. ‘Fortuna‘, a bronze by Scheibe (height 1,61 meter) is in the possession of the ‘Oldenburger Landesmuseum für Kunst und Kulturgeschichte‘. A cast of ‘Seated Nude’ by Scheibe, 1932, is in the possession of the ‘Detroite Institute of Arts’.
Discovery of 4 Third Reich-sculptures in Berlin, November 2016
In November 2016, German Art Gallery discovered 4 life size Third Reich-sculptures in the garden of the headquarters of the Ministery Finance, Wilhelmstrasse 97, Berlin. The bronzes were incorrectly described and/or described as ‘work by unidentified artist’ in the files of the German Bundesfinanzminsterium.
On initiative of German Art Gallery, Bild Newspaper published at 2 November 2016 the discovery of the sculptures, -by Joseph Wackerle, Richard Scheibe, Hermann Joachim Pagels and Heinrich Faltermeier. ‘Jüngling, Erde’ by Joseph Wackerle, comes from the Old Chancellery. The other three sculptures could come from the New Chancellery, but there is no hard evidence for that. They were definitely bought by Hitler at the GDK-1938, but they are not on the so-called ‘144-List’ of the 1938-New Chancellery purchases (the list, not exhaustive, is in our possession).
For more details, please check: Newsletter, November 2016
* As also stated in our General Terms and Conditions, German Art Gallery offers the depicted postcards and art prints for sale. Allmost all of the postcards are ‘Haus der Deutschen Kunst’ editions. Prices on request.