Extremely significant, unique & monumental masterpiece, Alexander Calandrelli

Extremely significant, unique & monumental masterpiece

Alexander Calandrelli

Berlin 1834 - 1903 Lankwitz

Museum sculpture of the Nymph

Around 1885

White marble

Signed on the base "A. Calandrelli”

Height 163 cm



Alexander Calandrelli, a German sculptor of the 19. century, created several important monuments in Berlin, for example an ensemble of an equestrian statue with four plinth figures in front of the Alte Nationalgalerie. This life-size sculpture of a nymph is a sensational rediscovery of a second, previously unknown version of the marble figure by Alexander Calandrelli, which was thought to have been lost during the World War. It was made of marble by Calandrelli in 1885 and bore the inscription "A. Calandrelli 1885" on the base. It was subsequently placed in the Nymph Fountain of the park of the Villa von der Heydt in Berlin, framed by a rock cliff with naturalistically depicted water plants and animals such as frogs and turtles. However, the villa as well as the installation was severely damaged during the war. After the building was restored, a modern bronze casting - but without a plinth - was placed in the garden in 1982 in place of the lost marble figure. Today, the building is the official residence of the President of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation. For example, there is also a bronze replica of the nymph, disturbed during bathing, in the Bad Wildungen spa gardens, executed by the Gladenbeck company. It is possible that the marble figure is the original sculpture, after which numerous casts were made.



The idealised nymph is depicted in the type of the so-called Venus Pudica. The nymph is surprised while bathing and quickly pulls the long, flowing cloth over her pubic area; her hand is brought in front of her naked breast in a shy manner, her posture slightly bent forward. The ponderous stance with closed legs emphasises the brief moment of surprise. Her softness of step - especially of the left foot, which only touches the plinth lightly with the toes - shows the young nymph's closeness to nature. The tall reed plant is placed as a support behind the figure and in a way also serves as a protective screen. Small flowers are woven into her long hair, parts of which are loosely pinned up and some strands cascading down. Her gaze is suddenly turned to the left, her lips slightly parted, and her eyes wide open as she looks at the viewer. This masterly figure in a superb state of preservation is a version designed for an interior, which was previously unknown.



Further reading:

Mueller-Bohn, Hermann: Die Denkmaeler Berlins in Wort und Bild, Berlin, 1905, S. 111. Abb. Nr. 11 (Nymphe vom Herkulesufer)

Bloch, Peter: Die Berliner Bildhauerschule im neunzehnten Jahrhundert: das klassische Berlin, Berlin, 1994, S. 175.

Kiesshauer, Inge: Bronzenes fuer Berlin. Auf den Spuren von Denkmaelern und Skulpturen, Berlin, 2001, S. 159-160.

Brehm, Knut: Stiftung Stadtmuseum Berlin: Katalog der Bildwerke; 1780 - 1920, Koeln, 2003, S. 93. Nr. 57.