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Description
‘Diana’
Commisioned by the Siemens family, and placed in 1912 in Villa Siemens (Villa Apuana) in Forte dei Marmi, Italy.
Bronze, height 145 cm, created in 1912.
Villa Siemens/ Villa Apuana
Theodor Georgii, ‘Diana’, created in 1912. Height 145 cm.
Theodor Georgii created this bronze during a summer holiday in Forte die Marmi, Italy. The sculpture was bought in 1912 by the Siemens family and placed in their ‘Villa Siemens’ (‘Villa Apuana’) in Forte die Marmi, Italy. The Villa Siemens was designed in 1899 by the German architect Carl Sattler (the brother-in-law of Georgii), who was commissioned by Herta Harries von Siemens. The enormous villa built in neoclassical style, measures 850 square meters, and has a garden of 4,500 square meters. Adolf von Hildebrand (father in law of Georgii) created frescos in the villa, which was supposedly sold for 20 million euros in 2012. In the first decades of the 20th century, Forte die Marmi was a very popular place for wealthy German families and German artists (the famous German painter Böcklin used to live there in the summer holidays). The villa was a place frequently visited by numerous politicians, statesmen and top artists.
Left: ‘Diana’ by Georgii, depicted in ‘Die Stuttgarter Kunst der Gegenwart’, 1913. The accompanying text reads: ‘…1912 eine bronzene Diana, die bei Professor Harries in Forte dei Marmi Aufstellung findet’ (Professor Harries: maried to Hertha von Siemens, the youngest daughter of Werner von Siemens).
Right: ‘Diana’, depicted in the book ‘Theodor Georgii’, by Hubert Klees, 1930. Described as: ‘DIANA, 1912, 145 cm, Bronze. Villa Apuana, Forte die Marmi’.
Theodor Georgii, ‘Diana’. Depicted in ‘Die Kunst für alle’ in 1913/14 and again in 1920/21.
Left: Diana depicted in ‘Kunst für alle’, 1913/14. The text below the photo reads: ‘Theodor Georgii Mezzotinto Bruckmann’.
Right: Diana depicted in ‘Kunst für alle’, 1920/21. The text below the photo reads: ‘Theodor Georgii Diana Bronze’.
Theodor Georgii, ‘Diana’, depicted in the 800-page dissertation ‘Der Bildhauer Theodor Georgii’, by Regine Stefani, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Munich, 2013.
| – condition | : II |
| – size | : height 145 cm |
| – signed | : at the foot |
| – type | : bronze, created in 1912 |
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BIOGRAPHY: THEODOR GEORGII
Theodor Georgii, ‘Schreitende Jüngling‘ (‘Walking Young Man‘), 1914. Bronze , 150 cm high. Located in the garden-pavillion of Villa Boveri, Baden (Switzerland). Bought in 1915 by the Boveri family for 14.000 Mark.
Left: the ‘Steinwerfer auf den Wasserpferd’ (‘Stone Thrower on Sea-Horse’), part of the Wittelsbacher Brunnen.
Right: Wittelsbacher Brunnen, Lenbachplatz, Munich, created by Adolf von Hildebrand in 1895. Commissioned by the city of Munich, Theodor Georgii restored it from 1951 to 1952. Photos: 2017.
The Wittelsbach family is a European royal family and a German dynasty from Bavaria. The family reigned as kings of Bavaria until 1918. On 12 November 1918 Ludwig III issued the Anif declaration at Anif Palace, Austria, in which he released his soldiers and officials from their oath of loyalty to him and ended the 738-year rule of the House of Wittelsbach in Bavaria. The republican movement thereupon declared a republic.
Wittelsbacher Brunnen, Theodor Georgii restoring in 1951/52 the ‘Steinwerfer auf den Wasserpferd’ (‘Stone Thrower on Sea-Horse’).
Left: Theodor Georgii and Adolf von Hildebrand, ‘Reiterdenkmal für Luitpold von Bayern’ (‘Memorial for Luitpold von Bayern’), 1913. Located in front of the Bavarian Nationalmuseum, Prinzregentenstraße 3. Munich (horse created by Georgii).
Right: Theodor Georgii, marble relief displayed at the ‘Internationale Austellung der Münchener Secession’, 1910. Dipicted in ‘Die Kunst für alle’, 1910.
Left: Theodor Georgii, ‘Wasserbock’ (Waterbuck), life-size, Bremen, 1912.
Right: Theodor Georgii, ‘Edelhirsch’ (‘Stag’), life-size, Bremen. 1912.
Left: Theodor Georgii, ‘Hirsch’ (‘Deer‘), life-size, Bavariapark, Munich.
Right: Theodor Georgii, ‘Bildnis Lisl Grimm’ (‘Potrait of Lisl Grimm’). Displayed at the Grosse Münchener Kunstausstellung’, 1935, Neue Pinakothek. Depicted in the official exhibition catalogue as well as in ‘Das Bild’, September 1935.
Adolf von Hildebrand and Theodor Georgii, ‘Bismarck Denkmal’ (‘Bismarck Memorial’), 1910, Bremen (horse created by Georgii).
Left: Theodor Georgii, ‘Grave of Eduard Arnhold’, 1927, Graveyard Wannsee, Berlin.
Right: Theodor Georgii, ‘Grave of M. E. von Simson’, 1928, Graveyard Berlin-Dahlheim.
Both stones are depicted in the book ‘Theodor Georgii’ by Hubert Klees, 1930.
Left: Theodor Georgii, ‘Speerwerfer’ (‘Javelin Thrower’). GDK 1938, room 31. Depicted in ‘Die Kunst für alle’, 1937/38.
Right: ‘Speerwerfer’, depicted at ‘Zeit Online’, 2011.
Theodor Georgii, ‘Jünglingsbüste’ (‘Bust of Young Man’). GDK 1939, room 37. Depicted in ‘Die Kunst im Deutschen Reich’, 1939.
Left: Theodor Georgii, ‘Madonna’. Displayed at the Münchener Kunstausstellung in the Glaspalast, 1923. Terracotta. Depicted in the ‘Kunst für alle’, 1923.
Right: Theodor Georgii, ‘Pietà’. Displayed at the Münchener Kunstausstellung, Glaspalast, 1922. Untersberger Marble. Depicted in the official exhibition catalogue.
Theodor Georgii, ‘Kentaur’ (‘Centaur’). In 1919 Georgii created the impressive ‘Kentaur’, which was placed before the tower of the ‘Deutsches Museum’ in Munich.
Left: Theodor Georgii, ‘Kronprinz Rupprecht’ (‘Crown Prince of Bavaria’), 1925, depicted in the book ‘Theodor Georgii’ by Hubert Klees, 1930.
Right: Bust of ‘Kronprinze Rupprecht’ by Theodor Georgii sold by Sotheby’s London in 2015. A recast from the original (‘den Guss in Wachs nachgf.’) created in 1959. Height 44 cm.
In 1959, commemorating his 90th birthday, a bust of Crown Prince Rupprecht was placed in the ‘Bayerischen Akademie der Wissenschaften’ in Munich.
Left: Theodor Georgii, ‘Netzträger’ (‘Man Carrying Net’), 1909/12, marble, height 150 cm. It was placed in Villa Boveri, Baden, Schweiz. Hildebrand was so impressed by Georgii’s first prominent marble figure ‘Netzträger’ that he wrote a letter about it to Crown Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria (these personal contacts with the Bavarian royal family were later taken over by Georgii). Depicted in the book ‘Theodor Georgii’ by Hubert Klees, 1930, as well as in ‘Die Kunst für Alle’, 1920/21.
Right: the same sculpture depicted under the name ‘Fischer’ (‘Fisher’) in ‘Die Stuttgarter Kunst der Gegenwart’, 1913.
Theodor Georgii, ‘Grablegung Christi’ (‘The Burial of Christ’). Depicted in ‘Die Stuttgarter Kunst der Gegenwart’, 1913.
Several animal-themed stone sculptures by Georgii were displayed in the park of the ‘Ausstellung München 1908’, at the Theresienhöhe. Depicted in ‘Dekoratieve Kunst’, July 1908.
Theodor Georgii, ‘Bust of Konrad Adenauer‘, bronze. Created in 1929. Displayed at the ‘Ausstellung Konrad der Grösse, die Adenauerzeit in Köln 1917 – 1933‘, Kölnische Stadtmuseum, 2020.
Theodor Georgii, ‘Bust of Justus Freiherr von Liebig’. In 1917 Georgii was commissioned by the Crown Prince to create a bust of Professor Justus Freiherr von Liebig, which was placed in the Regensburger Walhalla in 1925.
Left: the ‘Bust of Justus Freiherr von Liebig’ by Georgii photographed in the Walhalla, 2017.
Right: the bust depicted in ‘Das Bild’, 1942.
Theodor Georgii, ‘Selfportrait’, 1929, bronze.
Theodor Georgii
Theodor Georgii (1883–1963), descendent of an old Württembergische family, was born in Borowitschi (Russia) where his father worked as an engineer. He studied from 1902 to 1903 at the Stuttgart Art Academy under Robert Poetzelberger. In 1903 he went to the Art Academy in Brussels, where he studied under Julien Dillens, Jules Lagae and Charles van der Stappen. For Lagae, Georgii created the young man at the Quadriga of Brabant, which was placed on top of the triumphal arch in Parc du Cinquantenaire in Brussels, a monument commemorating the 50th anniversary of the independent state of Belgium.
In 1905 Georgii went to Munich where he started to work for Adolf Hildebrand, whose daughter he married two years later. Hildebrand was at that time one of the greatest German sculptors; just before World War I he had executed so many works (e.g. for the royal Bavarian family) that he had become one of the view millionaires in Bavaria.
Later in 1905 Hildebrand asked for Georgii’s assistance with the creation of the horse of the ‘Prinzregenten-denkmal’ in Munich. Three years later, several animal-themed stone sculptures by Georgii were displayed in the park of the ‘Ausstellung München 1908’, at the Theresienhöhe. Also in 1908, his bronze ‘Grosse Hirsch’ (‘Large Deer’) was placed in the Bavaria Park, near Munich. At the same time, Hildebrand asked him to create the horse of the ‘Bismarck-Reiterstandbild’ in Bremen. Hildebrand was so impressed by ‘Netzträger’ (‘Man Carrying Net’), Georgii’s first prominent marble figure in 1908, that he wrote a letter about it to Crown Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria (these personal contacts with the Bavarian royal family were later taken over by Georgii).
Georgii, member of the Münchener Secession, displayed his works in the Munich Glaspalast for the first time in 1909; many other exhibitions in the Glaspalast and in other German cities would follow. Around 1911, Georgii became an independent artist and installed his own atelier in the Hildebrandhaus, although he kept assisting Hildebrand from time to time until his death in 1921.
In 1912, during a summer holiday in Forte dei Marmi, Italy, Georgii created the bronze ‘Diana’. The sculpture was bought by the Siemens family and placed in their ‘Villa Siemens’ (‘Villa Apuana’) in Forte die Marmi. This enormous villa in neoclassical style was designed in 1899 by the German architect Carl Sattler (the brother-in-law of Georgii), who was commissioned by Herta Harries von Siemens.
During World War I, Georgii served as an ambulance driver, transporting wounded soldiers away from the battlefields (e.g. from the Russia front). In 1917 he was commissioned by the Crown Prince to create a bust of professor Justus Freiherr von Liebig, which was placed in the Regensburger Walhalla in 1925. A year later, at the birthday of King Ludwig III of Bavaria, he was awarded the title ‘Royal Professor’. In 1919 Georgii created the impressive ‘Kentaur’, which was placed before the tower of the ‘Deutsches Museum’ in Munich. After Georgii converted to Catholicism in 1922, he was commissioned several works by the Catholic Church; amongst others he sculpted ‘Nuntius Pacelli’, ‘Pope Pius XI’ and ‘Kardinal Faulhaber’.
After the death of Adolf von Hildebrand in 1921, Georgii got numerous orders from the former clients of Hildebrand, such as the city of Munich, Crown Prince Rupprecht, the University of Munich, the politician Konrad Adenauer and from many institutions. For numerous prominent, wealthy families in Germany, including Boveri, Karl, von Zumbusch, Fischer, Arnhold, von Simson, Wolf, Ludwig, etc., Georgii created memorial stones.
Georgii was represented at the XIV Biennale Venice 1924 with his work ‘Toro Bavarese’ (‘Bavarian Bull’). In 1929 he created for the city of Munich a marble bust of professor Max von Pettenkofer, after a model by Hildebrand from 1899; in 1936 a marble bust of Werner von Siemens followed, also after a model from 1892 by Hildebrand.
Georgii lost two displayed sculptures when the Glaspalast burned down in 1931; however, his bronze busts ‘Geheimrat Sommerfeld’ and ‘Wilhelm Furtwängler’ were saved from the fire. Due to financial difficulties as a result of the economic crises, the heirs of Hildebrand had to sell the Hildebrandhaus in 1934. As a result of the anti-Nazi attitude of the Hildebrand family, Georgii no longer received any state-commissioned works, but at the same time he did not get a ‘Berufsverbot’ (employment ban). Later in 1934, Georgii went to Vienna where he taught sculpturing at the ‘Kunstgewerbeschule’, until he returned to Munich in 1938.
As an artist, Georgii did not play a role in the Third Reich, although he did have two sculptures in the GDK: ‘Speerwerfer’ (GDK 1938, room 3), a life-size bronze javelin thrower; and ‘Jünglingsbüste’ (GDK 1939, room 37), a bust of young German man. The Speerwerfer was depicted in ‘Die Kunst für alle’, 1938, and Jünglingsbüste in ‘Die Kunst im Dritten Reich’, 1939.
After 1945, Georgii, who had always stayed politically neutral, was found to be innocent (‘Unbedenklich’). From 1946 to 1952 Georgii taught sculpturing at the Munich Art Academy. Assigned by the city of Munich, Georgii restored from 1951 to 1952 the ‘Wittelsbacher Brunnen’, a work created by Hildebrand in 1895 (The Wittelsbach family reigned as kings of Bavaria in 1918). In 1953 Georgii was awarded honourable membership to the ‘Akademie der Bildende Künste’ in Munich. In 1963 he was awarded the Catholic ‘Gregorius Magnus Kompturkreuz’ and the ‘München leuchtet-medal’ from the city of Munich.
The Munich sculptor, who created more than 500 works in his life, died in 1963 in Esslingen am Necker. The public works by Georgii which are still in place are all in Munich, including: ‘Kentaur‘ (Deutsches Museum, Munich), ‘Hirsch’ (Bavaria Park), ‘Wasserbock’ (Tierpark Hellabrunn), ‘das Epitaph für Kardinal Faulhaber’ (Münchner Frauenkirche), ‘Reiterdenkmal für Luitpold von Bayern’ and ‘Steinwerfer‘ (part of Hildebrand’s Wittelsbacher Brunnen). In Bremen the ‘Waterbuck’ and ‘Stag’ of 1912 can still be seen, as well as the Bismarck Memorial. A bust of Paul Wolters and a cast of Wasserbock are in the possession of the Bavarische Staatsgemäldesammlungen.