DOI Heft:
Nr. 170 (May 1907)
DOI Artikel:Stoessl, Otto: An Austrian sculptor: Franz Metzner
DOI Seite / Zitierlink: https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.20774#0316
Franz Metzner, Sculptor
DESIGN FOR A MAUSOLEUM AT BERLIN BY FRANZ METZNER
seated with dignity and ease on a simple armchair,
stands out impressively amid the surrounding archi-
tecture with its harmony of line. One of the
designs, however—namely that which received a
prize—is richer in detail than the other; there is
more feeling in the treatment of the composer’s figure,
which harmonises admirably with the figures on
the sub-structure, while in the other scheme this
amplification is absent, and the central figure con-
sequently stands out bolder, and at once more re-
poseful and impressive. Especially distinctive of
Wagner’s masterful nature is the characteristic erect
bearing of the upper part of the body, to which
the sculptor has given a half turn; and the model-
ling of the head and face, with its clear, far-reaching
gaze, is again very fine.
An even greater simplification of treatment, deter-
mined by the heroic character of the subject in
conjunction with the nature of the material, marks
the sculptor’s colossal presentation of Bismarck,
intensifying on a huge scale, yet without undue
exaggeration, the characteristic features of that
wonderful head with its prominent orbital curves,
its boldly curved chin, and massive, beautifully-
shaped cranium.
In contrast to this there is Metzner’s design for a
memorial to the Empress Elizabeth at Vienna,
which also earned a prize in a competition, and
deservedly so, for it was a most worthy achievement.
In this the sculptor has given eloquent expression
294
to the personality of his illustrious subject, a woman
of deep feeling and a contemplative turn of mind.
The entire scheme of this work is dominated by a
remarkable delicacy and fluidity of treatment; it is
instinct with life and motion, and the figure of the
Empress is notable for its impressive idealisation.
' In addition to the works named, the outcome of
given conditions, Metzner’s talent has found exercise
in the creation of a numerous series of independent
works, all permeated by deep earnestness and dis-
tinguished by a strict recognition of the limitations
imposed by the material worked upon—limitations
which while restricting the possibilities of plastic
expression, at the same time afford scope for deeper
characterisation. There seems to be a tendency
just now in European sculpture at large—inspired
apparently by a desire to emulate the example of men
like Rodin in overstepping the formal limitations of
plastic art—to give up any attempt at individual
expression and to lapse into mere imitativeness.
Metzner, on the other hand, has followed his own
interpretation of form, never at variance with nature,
and has preserved his independence of conception
and utterance, which manifests itself in a marked
rigidity of style. It is this truly personal note and this
independence of spirit which impress one in Metzner’s
work, with its fundamental conception of plastic
art as complementary to architecture. Each one
of his designs has been thought out, not as a mere
isolated effect, but with especial reference to an
DESIGN FOR A MAUSOLEUM AT BERLIN BY FRANZ METZNER
seated with dignity and ease on a simple armchair,
stands out impressively amid the surrounding archi-
tecture with its harmony of line. One of the
designs, however—namely that which received a
prize—is richer in detail than the other; there is
more feeling in the treatment of the composer’s figure,
which harmonises admirably with the figures on
the sub-structure, while in the other scheme this
amplification is absent, and the central figure con-
sequently stands out bolder, and at once more re-
poseful and impressive. Especially distinctive of
Wagner’s masterful nature is the characteristic erect
bearing of the upper part of the body, to which
the sculptor has given a half turn; and the model-
ling of the head and face, with its clear, far-reaching
gaze, is again very fine.
An even greater simplification of treatment, deter-
mined by the heroic character of the subject in
conjunction with the nature of the material, marks
the sculptor’s colossal presentation of Bismarck,
intensifying on a huge scale, yet without undue
exaggeration, the characteristic features of that
wonderful head with its prominent orbital curves,
its boldly curved chin, and massive, beautifully-
shaped cranium.
In contrast to this there is Metzner’s design for a
memorial to the Empress Elizabeth at Vienna,
which also earned a prize in a competition, and
deservedly so, for it was a most worthy achievement.
In this the sculptor has given eloquent expression
294
to the personality of his illustrious subject, a woman
of deep feeling and a contemplative turn of mind.
The entire scheme of this work is dominated by a
remarkable delicacy and fluidity of treatment; it is
instinct with life and motion, and the figure of the
Empress is notable for its impressive idealisation.
' In addition to the works named, the outcome of
given conditions, Metzner’s talent has found exercise
in the creation of a numerous series of independent
works, all permeated by deep earnestness and dis-
tinguished by a strict recognition of the limitations
imposed by the material worked upon—limitations
which while restricting the possibilities of plastic
expression, at the same time afford scope for deeper
characterisation. There seems to be a tendency
just now in European sculpture at large—inspired
apparently by a desire to emulate the example of men
like Rodin in overstepping the formal limitations of
plastic art—to give up any attempt at individual
expression and to lapse into mere imitativeness.
Metzner, on the other hand, has followed his own
interpretation of form, never at variance with nature,
and has preserved his independence of conception
and utterance, which manifests itself in a marked
rigidity of style. It is this truly personal note and this
independence of spirit which impress one in Metzner’s
work, with its fundamental conception of plastic
art as complementary to architecture. Each one
of his designs has been thought out, not as a mere
isolated effect, but with especial reference to an