Statues - Hither & Thither

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Berlin
(Bezirk Mitte)
Stadt Berlin
Land Berlin

Unter den Linden
(Prinzessinnengarten)

Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher

Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher, Fürst von Wahlstatt
Rostock 1742-Krieblowitz (Krobielowice) 1819
Prussian Generalfeldmarschall (field marshal)
(Wikipedia)

Christian Daniel Rauch
1826

Description

Bronze statue of Blücher with his sword in his hand and his foot resting on a gun.

The pedestal is completely covered with bronze reliefs, in three levels.

Upper section

1. front

2. right

3. back

4. left

Victory holding a cartouche with the name BLÜCHER
center: triumphal entrance?
Blücher, armed for battle, receives the sword from the hands of Nemesis, while the goddess of victory, with palm branch and laurel wreath, is already walking ahead from him, in the background the goddess of happiness. Below this scene the personifications of the Katzbach and Loire rivers between which the angel of death with lowered torch sits on a group of grave monuments, referring to the whole sequence of battles.
Pax, the goddess of Peace with olive branch standing on armour.
Blücher receives after completion of the battles winner's laurel wreath from the hand of the enthroned Borussia, while Victoria erects a trophy. Below this scene the muse of history writing the deeds of the heroes on a shield, flanked on both sides by kneeling genii adorning candelabers.

Central section

Front

The entry of Prussian troops into conquered Paris. The sitters are Blücher, Gneisenau, Yorck, Bülow, Kleist, Prince Wilhelm (1783-1751) and Prince August of Prussia. The Quadriga from the Brandenburg gate, which was brought to Paris by Emperor Napoleon I, is lifted to be returned. Rauch shows himself as if he was present rolling back the Quadriga. On a wall to the right a civilian are looking to an affiche on the wall saying acte d'abdication de l'empereur napoleon

Right

The people rise to the call of their king to fight, a boy holdin a paper with the text "Der König an sein Volk". The oath to the flag, the distribution of the arms, the parting of the family are represented on the left field. A troop of horsemen rides through a gate, which is designated by the coat of arms as the gate of Breslau (Wroclaw).

Back

March of the army, at the fountain a country girl offers the passing soldiers a refreshing drink.

Left

The crossing over the French border - i indicated by the tree entwined with vine. A group of horsemen is attacking, an another group is resting at a bivouac-fire. The seriousness of the struggle is signified by a dying person, represented by the poet Theodor Körner (1791-1813), who died in battle. The staff officer is Gneisenau, the civilian next to him Wilhelm von Humboldt, and the one leaning to a horse is the architect Schinkel.

Lower section

1. front

2. right

3. back

4. left

Coat of arms of Blücher
Walking lion
Laurel wreath with the years mdcccxiii mdcccxxiv mdcccxv
Sleeping lion

Blücher, Gneisenau, Yorck, Bülow, Kleist, Prince Wilhelm (1783-1751) and Prince August of Prussia

Gneisenau and Wilhelm von Humboldt

Körner

Schinkel

Rauch

Signature

c. rauch fec. 1823

Annotation

Unveiled 18 June 1826.

Feldherrendenkmäler

Five statues of generals in the Prinzessinnengarten (Princess' Garden) at Unter den Linden:

DIE FELDHERRENDENKMÄLER
UNTER DEN LINDEN IN BERLIN

1822-2002

Die Standorte der von Christian Daniel Rauch zwischen 1822 und
1855 geschaffenen fünf Feldherrendenkmäler wurden im Laufe der
letzen 50 Jahre mehrfach verändert.

Bis 1950 standen Yorck von Wartenburg, Blücher und Gneisenau
an dieser Stelle, Bülow und Scharnhorst hingegen auf der anderen
Straßenseite vor der Neue Wache. Im Mai 1950 wurden alle Stand-
bilder entfernt.

1961 wurden vier der Denkmäler hier im Prinzessinnengarten wieder
aufgestellt: Scharnhorst am jetzigen Standort, York, Blücher und
Gneisenau im rückwärtigen Bereich des Gartens.

Das Scharnhorstdenkmal wurde ab 1990 restauriert und 2002 zusam-
men mit dem seit 1950 magazinierten Standbild Bülows wieder aufgestellt.

Because of a large construction sites around the Prinzessinnengarten it was impossible to make good photos of the first two statues, and you see the construction works also on the other photos.

Information:

Helmut Koch, Denkmalrücken Unter den Linden.

Sculptor

Christian Daniel Rauch (Arolsen, Hessen, 1777-Dresden 1857), one of the most important sculptors of the German classicism ((his bust in Bad Arolsen) (RKDArtists – Wikipedia).

Sources & Information

Das Rauch-museum, eine sammlung von modellen des verstorbenen hofbildhauers (Berlin, 1865), no. 36, 37, 40 and 41.
Bildhauerei in Berlin, Skulpturen in Mitte.

Locatie (N 52°30'59" - E 13°23'44") (Satellite view: Google Maps)

Item Code: debe015; Photograph: 9 August 2013
Of each statue we made photos from various angles and also detail photos of the various texts.
If you want to use photos, please contact us via the contact form (in Dutch, English or German).
© Website and photos: René & Peter van der Krogt

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