| Johann Halbig | |
|---|---|
Johann von Halbig |
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| Birth name | Johann Halbig |
| Born | 13 July 1814 Donnersdorf, Lower Franconia, Germany |
| Died | 29 August 1882 (aged 68) München, |
| Nationality | German, Bavarian |
| Field | Sculpting |
| Movement | Classicism |
| Influenced by | Ernst Mayer |
Johann Halbig, (also Johann von Halbig) (July 13, 1814 – August 29, 1882) was a German sculptor of Classicism. He was born at Donnersdorf in Lower Franconia and was educated at the Polytechnical School and at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich. After the early death of his teacher and employer Ernst Mayer he became his successor as professor of sculpture at the Polytechnic School in Munich, where most of his works can be found.
His most notable production was the colossal group of a quadriga and lions on the triumphal arch (1847). He also carved the lions of the Pinakothek and statues of Roma and Minerva in the palace gardens. He created 18 colossal statues representing the leading German provinces for the Befreiungshalle at Kehlheim; 60 busts for the Pinakothek (Munich); a statue of King Maximilian II for Lindau (1854); a monument of Count Platen at Ansbach (1858); the monument of Marshal Cachahiba d'Argolo in Bahía, Brazil; a statue of King Ludwig I of Bavaria for Kehlheim. Among his later works are a statue of Fraunhofer in Munich (1866); an equestrian statue of King William I of Württemberg for Cannstatt (1876); the "Emancipation" group of sculpture in New York (1867-1868|68); and the "Passion" group at Oberammergau (1875). His work is characterized by its decorative quality.
Johann Halbig died in Munich and was buried in the Alter Südfriedhof.
This article incorporates text from an edition of the New International Encyclopedia that is in the public domain. http://museum.research.missouri.edu/objects/euroam/80-218EurVonHalbigNymphs.html==Picture Gallery of major works==
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Johann von Halbig (German, 1814-1882) Bathing Nymphs 1867 Carrara marble (80.218) Gift of the Unrestricted Development Fund University of Missouri
At the age of seventeen Johann von Halbig became a student of Johann Ernst Mayers at the Polytechnikum in Munich where he became professor in 1846. During his lifetime he received many commissions for portrait busts, architectural decorations, and funerary monuments, most notably that of Maximilian II in 1856. Ludwig I of Bavaria invited him to do various decorative work. Examples of van Halbig's architectural decorations can be found on the portal of the Alte Pinakothek (1835), the north gate of the Munich Hofgarten (1840), the entrance to the Hermitage in St. Petersburg (1841-1843), and the main portal of the Wittelsbach Palace (1848), to name a few.
A prolific sculptor, von Halbig created almost one thousand naturalistic portrait busts. Some were commissioned for the Hall of Fame at Walhalla, for the Maximilianeum in Munich, and for the Hall of Liberation near Kelheim. Although von Halbig created many public monuments with allegorical figures in marble and bronze, his commissions for private individuals were few.
Bathing Nymphs is a late manifestation of the Neoclassical style promulgated in Germany by Schadow, Rauch, and Schwanthaler. It was sent to an American patron.