| Revision as of 06:29, 21 July 2021 editGreenC bot (talk | contribs)Bots2,547,813 edits Rescued 1 archive link. Wayback Medic 2.5← Previous edit | Revision as of 03:29, 27 July 2021 edit undoYngvadottir (talk | contribs)Autopatrolled, Extended confirmed users50,625 edits Rewrote section on horses, adding info incl. on creation and size, added German and one English refs. Didn't cite Arthur Brand, "Hitler's Horses"; no Google preview, unsure of reliability. Added some biography & Personal life from City of Salzburg; ample sources found for needed separate Works section. This edit intended to improve the encyclopaedia is not an endorsement of the WMF.Next edit → | ||
| Line 5: | Line 5: | ||
| ], Germany.]] | ], Germany.]] | ||
| '''Josef Thorak''' (7 February 1889 in ], ] – 26 February 1952 in ], ]) was an Austrian-German sculptor. He was well known for his "grandiose monuments".<ref>Rhodes, |
'''Josef Thorak''' (7 February 1889 in ], ] – 26 February 1952 in ], ]) was an Austrian-German sculptor. He was well known for his "grandiose monuments".<ref>Anthony Rhodes, ''Propaganda: The Art of Persuasion: World War II'', New York: Chelsea House, 1976, p. 28.</ref> | ||
| ==Life and career== | ==Life and career== | ||
| Thorak was born out of wedlock in Vienna. His father, also Josef Thorak, was from ]; his mother was from Salzburg, where she returned soon after his birth and the couple married in 1896. That year he was placed in a religious boarding school for neglected children, but his schooling ended after he set fire to his bed in late 1898 and was injured by a nun ] him, which led to a dispute in the press and the courts. In 1903 he began an apprenticeship as a ] in ]; after completion of this and of ] years in Austria and Germany, he started work at a factory in Vienna and took classes from the sculptor ]. From 1911 to 1915 he studied sculpture at the ], interrupted by two periods of service in the ] and a study trip to ] and ]. ], Director of the ], recommended him and he secured a studio under ] at the ] in ]; he joined the ] in 1917.<ref name=Salzburg>, City of Salzburg, retrieved 27 July 2021 {{In lang|de}}.</ref> | |||
| Thorak's reputation was established in 1922 when he created ''Der sterbende Krieger'' (The Dying Warrior), a statue memorializing the dead of ] in ]. | Thorak's reputation was established in 1922 when he created ''Der sterbende Krieger'' (The Dying Warrior), a statue memorializing the dead of ] in ]. | ||
| In 1933, Thorak joined ] as one of the two "official sculptors" of the ].<ref> |
In 1933, Thorak joined ] as one of the two "official sculptors" of the ].<ref name=Time>, '']'', 31 July 1950, archived from on 31 January 2011.</ref> In his government-approved studio outside ], Thorak worked on statues intended to represent the folk-life of Germany under ] leadership; these works tended to be heroic in scale, up to 20 metres (65 feet) in height. His official works from this period included a number of sculptures at the ] of 1936. His work was also part of the ] in the ] at the ].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/920735 |title=Josef Thorak |work=Olympedia |accessdate=8 August 2020}}</ref> | ||
| ⚫ | ] referred to Thorak as "more or less ''my'' sculptor, who frequently designed statues and reliefs for my buildings" and "who created the group of figures for the German pavilion at the ]".<ref>Albert Speer, ''Spandau: the Secret Diaries'', New York: Macmillan, 1976, p. 261.</ref> His statue ''Comradeship'' stood outside the pavilion, depicting two enormous nude males, clasping hands and standing defiantly side by side, in a pose of racial camaraderie.<ref name="overy260">], ''The Dictators: Hitler's Germany, Stalin's Russia'', p260 {{ISBN|0-393-02030-4}}</ref> Because of his preference for muscular neo-classical nude sculpture, Thorak was nicknamed "Professor Thorax".<ref>F.K.M. Hillenbrand, ''Underground Humour in Nazi Germany'' (Routledge 1995), p. 105 {{ISBN|0-415-09785-1}}</ref> Some ] influences can be noticed in his generally ] style. | ||
| After the ], Thorak was pronounced legally ] and permitted to hold a final exhibition in Salzburg in July 1950, which was poorly received.<ref name=Time/><ref name=Salzburg/> His Austrian citizenship was restored in 1951. In February 1952, he died at Schloss Hartmannsberg in Bavaria, which he had purchased in 1937.<ref name=Salzburg/> | |||
| ⚫ | ] referred to Thorak as "more or less ''my'' sculptor, who frequently designed statues and reliefs for my buildings" and "who created the group of figures for the German pavilion at the ].<ref>Speer, |
||
| ==Personal life== | |||
| Because of his preference for muscular neo-classical nude sculpture, Thorak was nicknamed "Professor Thorax".<ref>F.K.M. Hillenbrand, ''Underground Humour in Nazi Germany'' (Routledge 1995), p. 105 {{ISBN|0-415-09785-1}}</ref> Some ] influences can be noticed in his generally ] style. | |||
| Thorak married three times. In 1918 he married Hertha Kroll; they had two sons, the older born before their marriage, in January 1917. The couple divorced in 1926 but continued to live together until her death in 1928. The following year he married Hilda Lubowski, with whom he had a third son, but after the Nazis ] in 1933, the couple agreed to divorce because of her Jewish ancestry. She emigrated in 1939 to France and subsequently to England. In 1946, Thorak married Erna Hoenig, an American who had been living at Schloss Hartmannsberg since 1944; their son was born in 1949.<ref name=Salzburg/> | |||
| ==Reich Chancellery |
==Reich Chancellery striding horses== | ||
| ] | ] | ||
| ] | ] | ||
| Thorak sculpted three oversize horses ({{convert|3|m|ft}} high) for the ] at ].<ref name=SZ>, '']'', 23 August 2015 {{In lang|de}}.</ref> Two of these, which had been placed in 1939 outside the ] built by ], were discovered along with other Nazi art in a ] on a storehouse in ], ], in May 2015. The two horses had been removed in 1989 from a barracks ground in ], northeast of Berlin, at the time in ], where they had sat since sometime after the ].<ref> '']'', 20 May 2015 {{In lang|de}}.</ref><ref>, '']'', 14 December 2015 {{In lang|de}}.</ref><ref name=DW>Gabriel Borrud, , '']'', 12 August 2015.</ref> | |||
| The |
The third Thorak horse was displayed in the ] in Munich as part of the ''Große Deutsche Kunstausstellung'' (Great German Art Exhibition) in 1939, then stood outside Thorak's studio. In August 2015, it was rediscovered on the grounds of a boarding school in ], Bavaria, {{ill|Landschulheim Schloss Ising|de}}, having been donated to the school by Thorak's widow in 1961 in lieu of tuition fees for her son.<ref name=SZ/><ref name=DW/> | ||
| ==See also== | ==See also== | ||
Revision as of 03:29, 27 July 2021
Austrian-German sculptor
 | You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in German. (May 2014) Click for important translation instructions.
|
Josef Thorak (7 February 1889 in Vienna, Austria – 26 February 1952 in Hartmannsberg, Bavaria) was an Austrian-German sculptor. He was well known for his "grandiose monuments".
Life and career
Thorak was born out of wedlock in Vienna. His father, also Josef Thorak, was from East Prussia; his mother was from Salzburg, where she returned soon after his birth and the couple married in 1896. That year he was placed in a religious boarding school for neglected children, but his schooling ended after he set fire to his bed in late 1898 and was injured by a nun disciplining him, which led to a dispute in the press and the courts. In 1903 he began an apprenticeship as a potter in Slovakia; after completion of this and of journeyman years in Austria and Germany, he started work at a factory in Vienna and took classes from the sculptor Anton Hanak. From 1911 to 1915 he studied sculpture at the Academy of Fine Arts, interrupted by two periods of service in the First World War and a study trip to Bulgaria and Romania. Julius von Schlosser, Director of the Kunsthistorisches Museum, recommended him and he secured a studio under Ludwig Manzel at the Prussian Academy of Arts in Berlin; he joined the Berlin Secession in 1917.
Thorak's reputation was established in 1922 when he created Der sterbende Krieger (The Dying Warrior), a statue memorializing the dead of World War I in Stolpmünde.
In 1933, Thorak joined Arno Breker as one of the two "official sculptors" of the Third Reich. In his government-approved studio outside Munich, Thorak worked on statues intended to represent the folk-life of Germany under Nazi leadership; these works tended to be heroic in scale, up to 20 metres (65 feet) in height. His official works from this period included a number of sculptures at the Berlin Olympic Stadium of 1936. His work was also part of the sculpture event in the art competition at the 1932 Summer Olympics.
Albert Speer referred to Thorak as "more or less my sculptor, who frequently designed statues and reliefs for my buildings" and "who created the group of figures for the German pavilion at the Paris World's Fair". His statue Comradeship stood outside the pavilion, depicting two enormous nude males, clasping hands and standing defiantly side by side, in a pose of racial camaraderie. Because of his preference for muscular neo-classical nude sculpture, Thorak was nicknamed "Professor Thorax". Some expressionist influences can be noticed in his generally neoclassical style.
After the Second World War, Thorak was pronounced legally denazified and permitted to hold a final exhibition in Salzburg in July 1950, which was poorly received. His Austrian citizenship was restored in 1951. In February 1952, he died at Schloss Hartmannsberg in Bavaria, which he had purchased in 1937.
Personal life
Thorak married three times. In 1918 he married Hertha Kroll; they had two sons, the older born before their marriage, in January 1917. The couple divorced in 1926 but continued to live together until her death in 1928. The following year he married Hilda Lubowski, with whom he had a third son, but after the Nazis came to power in 1933, the couple agreed to divorce because of her Jewish ancestry. She emigrated in 1939 to France and subsequently to England. In 1946, Thorak married Erna Hoenig, an American who had been living at Schloss Hartmannsberg since 1944; their son was born in 1949.
Reich Chancellery striding horses
_Thorak_cropped.jpg)
Thorak sculpted three oversize horses (3 metres (9.8 ft) high) for the Nazi party rally grounds at Nuremberg. Two of these, which had been placed in 1939 outside the Reich Chancellery built by Albert Speer, were discovered along with other Nazi art in a police raid on a storehouse in Bad Dürkheim, Rhineland-Palatinate, in May 2015. The two horses had been removed in 1989 from a barracks ground in Eberswalde, northeast of Berlin, at the time in East Germany, where they had sat since sometime after the Second World War.
The third Thorak horse was displayed in the Haus der Deutschen Kunst in Munich as part of the Große Deutsche Kunstausstellung (Great German Art Exhibition) in 1939, then stood outside Thorak's studio. In August 2015, it was rediscovered on the grounds of a boarding school in Ising, Bavaria, Landschulheim Schloss Ising [de], having been donated to the school by Thorak's widow in 1961 in lieu of tuition fees for her son.
See also
References
- Anthony Rhodes, Propaganda: The Art of Persuasion: World War II, New York: Chelsea House, 1976, p. 28.
- ^ "NS-Strassennamen: Josef Thorak", City of Salzburg, retrieved 27 July 2021 (in German).
- ^ "Art: Bigger Than Life", Time, 31 July 1950, archived from the original on 31 January 2011.
- "Josef Thorak". Olympedia. Retrieved 8 August 2020.
- Albert Speer, Spandau: the Secret Diaries, New York: Macmillan, 1976, p. 261.
- Richard Overy, The Dictators: Hitler's Germany, Stalin's Russia, p260 ISBN 0-393-02030-4
- F.K.M. Hillenbrand, Underground Humour in Nazi Germany (Routledge 1995), p. 105 ISBN 0-415-09785-1
- ^ "Putzkraft gesucht, halbtags", Süddeutsche Zeitung, 23 August 2015 (in German).
- "Verschollene Nazi-Kunst entdeckt" Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 20 May 2015 (in German).
- "Rechtsstreit um Hitlers Bronzepferde", Der Tagesspiegel, 14 December 2015 (in German).
- ^ Gabriel Borrud, "Nazi propaganda horse winds up at German school", Deutsche Welle, 12 August 2015.
External links
Media related to Josef Thorak at Wikimedia Commons