Ernst Julius Hähnel

Ernst Julius Hähnel (9 March 1811 – 22 May 1891) was a German sculptor and Professor at the Dresden Academy of Fine Arts.

Ernst Hähnel, photograph by Franz Hanfstaengl
Maenad and the Panther by Ernst Julius Hähnel 1886, Albertinum, Dres
Replacement gravestone for Ernst Hähnel in the Old Catholic Cemetery in Dresden

He is especially remembered for his public statuary. His works of art can be admired throughout Germany.

Life

He was born in Dresden on 9 March 1811.

He originally studied architecture at the Dresden Academy then, in 1826, went to the Academy of Fine Arts, Munich, where he remained until 1831 and later switched to sculpture after taking classes with Ernst Rietschel and Ludwig Schwanthaler. He took a study trip to Rome and Florence and returned to Munich, living there from 1835 to 1838, when he was appointed to the Dresden Academy.

Upon arriving there, Gottfried Semper entrusted him with the preparation of some sculptures for the new Semperoper (Opera House). In 1845, he created the Beethoven Monument in Bonn, the work which made him famous. He became a full Professor at the Dresden Academy in 1848.[1] Johannes Schilling and Christian Behrens were among his best-known students.

In 1859, he received an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Leipzig and, in 1883, became an Honorary citizen of Dresden.

He died on 22 May 1891 and is buried in the Old Catholic Cemetery in south Dresden.[2] The original grave was removed due to the German practice of requiring ongoing payments by relatives not being paid, but was replaced by a new grave in April 2016.

Selected works

Other notable works

References
  1. Hähnel, Ernst Julius. In Volker Klimpel: Berühmte Dresdner. Hellerau-Verlag, Dresden 2002, ISBN 3-910184-85-5, p. 61.
  2. Gertraude Stahl-Heimann: Dresdner Friedhöfe und ihre Besonderheiten. Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung, Heidelberg 1996, S. 53.
  3. Kunst im öffentlichen Raum. Informationsbroschüre der Landeshauptstadt Dresden, Dezember 1996.

Further reading
  • Berndorfer Metallwarenfabrik: Die Monumental-Arbeiten der k.k. Kunst-Erzgiesserei in Wien, Vienna (1901), pg. 21.
  • Hähnel, Ernst. In: Ulrich Thieme, Felix Becker et al.: Allgemeines Lexikon der Bildenden Künstler von der Antike bis zur Gegenwart. Vol. 15, E. A. Seemann, Leipzig (1922), pgs.427–428.
  • Ilse Krumpöck: Die Bildwerke im Heeresgeschichtlichen Museum, Vienna (2004), pg.65.

Media related to Ernst Hähnel at Wikimedia Commons

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