Statues - Hither & Thither

Description

The 'Opernhaus', built 1873-1880 after designs of Architect Lucae (d. 1877), shows a extensive program of sculptures, allegorical figures as well as statues and portraits of composers and poets.

Front façade:

1. Tympan, sculpted by Kaupert.
   In the center are the Three Graces, Euphrosyne (cheerfulness), Aglaia (splendor) and Thalia (good luck). To the left a representation of comedy: two putti leading a reluctant panther to Bacchus, who reaches a drinking bowl to his favorite animal. Bacchus sits next to Jocus as representative of the joke. The left corner is filled with cymbals and Thyrsus staffs, the devices of the Bacchus cult. On the right side of the pediment the tragedy is depicted by the genius of death with lowered torch and at his feet a tragedy mask. Next to the genius sits a depressed looking woman, a symbol of guilt, in whose lap a young woman has thrown herself, and fury lurking. In the corner is a Sphinx, a symbol of mystery.

   On the tympanum is a bronze sculpture of Pegasus, who is also called the horse of the muses or poets, reconstruction by Georg Hüter of the lost sculpture by Brunow and two groups of three dancing genii around a candelabra, reconstructed after the originals sculpted by Hundrieser (in total, there are six identical groups). There were on the originals gas torch burners, which were lit on festive occasions.

   Pegasus

   Three genii around a candelabra

   
   Three Graces with Comedy and Tragedy

2. Four statues in niches, see below.
3. Loggia
   • Tympan: the coat of arms of Frankfurt flanked by the river gods Rhine and Main, sculpted by Hundrieser
   • on top a Erato in a quadriga with panthers, sculpted in 1899 by Franz Krüger. This quadriga was made for the Frankfurt Theater and stood on this building from 1902 to 1962. The Opera had a Apollo figure in a carriage, which was destroyed in 1944. In 1981 Krüger's Erato took the place of Apollo.
   • On the sides are two statues:
     1. Recha, from Lessing's Nathan.
        sculpted by Herold.
     2. Isabella, from Schiller's Braut von Messina.
        sculpted by Herold.

   Recha

   Erato in a quadriga with panthers

   Isabella

   
   Rhine and Main

4. The balcony of the loggia is flanked by two statues, added after the opening donated by Consul General Hermann Mumm von Schwarzenstein:
   1. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (Frankfurt am Main 1749-Weimar 1832), German writer and polymath; considered by many to be the most important writer in the German language and one of the most important thinkers in Western culture (Wikipedia).
      sculpted by Herold.
   2. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Salzburg 1756-Wien 1791), prolific and influential composer of the Classical era (Wikipedia)..
      sculpted by Hundrieser.

   Goethe

   Mozart

Back façade

Tympan with a relief showing the fate of mankind, sculpted by Rumpf.
In the center are the three Roman goddesses of fate, Lachesis, Clotho and Atropo. To the left and right are the different stages of human life depicted: Love, represented by Cupid and Psyche, Childhood, Adolescence, and to the right of the Fates: Manhood, and Death.

On top of the tympanum is a group showing Poetry teaching a genius, sculpted by Schierholz.

Poetry teaching a genius

The fate of mankind

16 statues in niches:

South:
1. Poesie / Poetry, woman with lyra, sculpted by Gustav Herold.
2. Tanz / Dance, woman with tambourin, sculpted by Gustav Herold.
3. Komödie / Comedy, woman with mask, sculpted by Gustav Herold.
4. Tragödie / Tragedy, woman with mask and club, sculpted by Gustav Herold.

   1

   2

   3

   4

   East:

5. Geschichte / History, woman with book, sculpted by Petry.
6. Sage, woman with scroll and eagle, sculpted by Petry.
7. Volkslied / Folk song, woman with mandoline, sculpted by Schwindt.
8. Märchen / Fairy tale, woman with cat, sculpted by Schierholz.

   5

   6

   7

   8

   West:

9. Wahrheit / Truth, nude woman, sculpted by Herold.
10. Eitelkeit / Vanity, woman with right hand at her head, sculpted by Petry.
11. Frohsinn / Cheerfulness, woman with staff, sculpted by Petry.
12. Ehre / Honour, woman with laurel wreath, sculpted by Petry.

    9

    10

    11

    12

    North:

13. ??, woman with sword.
14. Terpsichore, muse of dance, woman with tambourin, sculpted by Schwindt.
15. Musik / Music, woman with flute, sculpted by Eckhardt.
16. Rache / Revenge, woman without attribute, sculpted by Schwindt.

    13

    14

    15

    16

24 Portrait medaillons of componists and poets

South
1. Schiller - Friedrich von Schiller (Marbach am Neckar 1759 - Weimar 1805), German poet, philosopher, historian, and playwright (Wikipedia).
2. Beethoven - Ludwig van Beethoven (Bonn 1770 - Wien 1827), German composer and pianist, (Wikipedia)..
   emblem
3. Goethe - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (Frankfurt am Main 1749-Weimar 1832), German writer and polymath; considered by many to be the most important writer in the German language and one of the most important thinkers in Western culture (Wikipedia).
4. Lessing - Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (Kamenz 1729 - Braunschweig 1781), German writer, philosopher, dramatist, publicist, and art critic (Wikipedia).

   1

   2

   3

   4

   Southeast

5. Gluck - Christoph Willibald Ritter von Gluck (Erasbach bei Berching, Oberpfalz) 1714-Wien 1787), opera composer of the early classical period (Wikipedia).
6. Meyerbeer - Giacomo Meyerbeer, , born as Jakob Liebmann Beer (Tasdorf (now a part of Rüdersdorf), 1791 - Paris 1864), German opera composer (Wikipedia).
7. Wagner - Richard Wagner (Leipzig 1813 - Venezia 1883), German composer, conductor, theatre director and polemicist primarily known for his operas (Wikipedia).

   5

   6

   7

   Southwest

8. Grillparzer - Franz Grillparzer (Wien 1791 - Wien 1872), Austrian writer who is chiefly known for his dramas (Wikipedia).
9. Kleist - Heinrich von Kleist (Frankfurt an der Oder 1777 - Berlin 1811), German poet, dramatist, novelist and short story writer (Wikipedia).
10. Shakespeare - William Shakespeare (Stratford-upon-Avon 1564 - id. 1616), English poet and playwright (Wikipedia)..

    8

    9

    10

    East

11. Cherubini - Luigi Cherubini (Firenze 1760 - Paris 1842), Italian composer who spent most of his working life in France (Wikipedia).
12. Spontini - Gaspare Spontini (Maiolati, Ancona, 1774 - Maiolati 1851) was an Italian opera composer and conductor (Wikipedia).
13. Liszt - Franz Liszt (Salzburg 1756-Wien 1791)
    Hungarian prolific and influential composer of the Classical era (Wikipedia)..
14. äschylos - Aeschylus (c. 524/525 - 455/456 BC), he first of the three ancient Greek tragedians whose plays can still be read or performed (Wikipedia).
15. sophokles - Sophocles (c. 497/6 - 406/5 BC), one of three ancient Greek tragedians whose plays have survived (Wikipedia).
16. euripides - Euripides (c. 480 – 406 BC), one of the three great tragedians of classical Athens (Wikipedia).

    11	12	13
    14	15	16

    West

17. Auber - Daniel Auber (Caen 1782 - Paris 1871) French composer (Wikipedia).
18. Boieldieu - François-Adrien Boieldieu (Rouen 1775 - Varennes-Jarcy, Essonne, 1834), French composer (Wikipedia).
19. Mehul - Étienne Méhul (1763 - 1817), French composer, "the most important opera composer in France during the Revolution" (Wikipedia).
20. Corneille - Pierre Corneille (1606 - 1684), French tragedian (Wikipedia).
21. Moliere - Molière stage name of Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (Paris 1622 - id. 1673), French playwright and actor (Wikipedia)..
22. [Racine] - Jean Racine (La Ferté-Milon 1639 - Paris 1699) French dramatist, one of the three great playwrights of 17th-century France (Wikipedia).

    17	18	19
    20	21	22

    North

23. Lope de Vega - Félix Lope de Vega y Carpio (Madrid 1562 - Madrid 1635), Spanish playwright and poet (Wikipedia).
    emblem
24. Calderon - Pedro Calderón de la Barca y Barreda González de Henao Ruiz de Blasco y Riaño (Madrid 1600 - Madrid 1681), Spanish dramatist, poet and writer (Wikipedia).

    23

    24

• Herold: Goethe, Mozart, the allegories of tragedy, music, comedy, anger, and moderation and the Bride of Messina.
• Krüger: the allegories of truth and poetry, and art and nature
• Schierholz: the allegories of poetry and genius, of the fairy tale and an other depiction of Mozart

Sculptors

• Rudolph Eckhardt, German sculptor.
  
• Gustav Herold (Liestal, Switzerland 1839 - Frankfurt am Main 1928), German sculptor (Wikipedia).
  
• Emil Hundrieser (Königsberg 1846 - Berlin 1911), German sculptor (Wikipedia).
  
• Georg Hüter (Seligenstadt 1948), German sculptor (Website).
  
• Gustav Kaupert (Kassel 1819 - Kassel 1897), German artist from Cologne (Wikipedia).
  
• Franz Krüger (Berlin 1849 - Frankfurt am Main 1912), German sculptor (Wikipedia).
  
• Heinrich Petry (Frankfurt am Main 1832 - Frankfurt am Main 1904), German sculptor (Wikipedia).
  
• Anton Karl Rumpf (Frankfurt am Main 1838 - Frankfurt am Main 1911), German sculptor (Wikipedia).
  
• Friedrich Schierholz (Frankfurt am Main 1840 - Frankfurt am Main 1894), German sculptor (Wikipedia).
  
• Georg Wilhelm Schwindt (Goldstein bei Frankfurt 1853 - Frankfurt am Main 1906), German sculptor.

Sources & Information

• Wikipedia, Alte Oper.
• Albert Richard Mohr, Das Frankfurter Opernhaus 1880-1980: Ein Beitrag zur Frankfurter Theatergeschichte (Frankfurt am Main: Waldemar Kramer, 1980).
• Willi Stubenvoll, 'Das Frankfurter Rathaus 1896-1901', p. 415-451 in Ekkehard Mai et al., Das Rathaus im Kaiserreich: Kunstpolitische Aspekte einer Bauaufgabe des 19. Jahrhunderts (Berlin, 1982).

Tags

Locatie (N 50°6'57" - E 8°40'18") (Satellite view: Google Maps)

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