Aktien-Gesellschaft Gladenbeck

Aktien-Gesellschaft Gladenbeck was a foundry located in Berlin, Germany, that operated from 1851 until 1926. During the 75-year period when the foundry was in operation it was one of the most important foundries in Germany and was known for producing high quality bronze castings.[1]

A Gladenbeck foundry casting of Victoria on top of the Berlin Victory Column

History

The Aktien-Gesellschaft Gladenbeck foundry opened for business in 1851[2] in Berlin, Germany, under the leadership of its founder, Carl Gustav Hermann Gladenbeck.[3] It was one of the most important foundries in Germany, known for high quality bronze castings.[1] Some of the first bronze sculptures that emerged from the foundry were marked "Gladenbeck" with subsequent castings over the years being marked "Gladenbeck und Sohn", "Akt-Ges v.H. Gladenbeck", "Akt-Ges Gladenbeck Berlin" or "Aktien-Gesellschaft Gladenbeck".[3]

The foundry cast many of the best known bronze sculptures created by German artists in the mid-to-late 19th century and early 20th century.[1] In addition to serving the usually modest casting requirements of German sculptors,[1] the foundry was also capable of casting large-scale bronze statues. In 1913 the Gladenbeck foundry cast the monumental Confederate Memorial in Arlington National Cemetery.[4][5]

In 1910, Gladenbeck cast theThree Dancing Maidens Untermyer fountain by sculptor Walter Schott. The fountain is located in Conservatory Garden, Central Park, New York. The sculpture – situated on a limestone plinth – depicts three young ladies holding hands in a circle "whose dresses cling to their wet bodies as if they were perpetually in the fountain's spray". The fountain includes three jets, two on the oval pool's sides and a larger one in the center of the sculpture.[6]

In the early 1920s, art deco master Ferdinand Preiss employed Gladenbeck to cast many of his bronze and chryselephantine sculptures.[7]

Foundry mark and seal
Aktien-Gesellschaft Gladenbeck foundry mark, c. 1902

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Bankruptcy

The foundry went out of business in 1926 when it declared bankruptcy.[3]

Other Gladenbeck works
  • A Gladenbeck casting of Hermann Haase-Ilsenburg's "Farewell of the Amazon" (c. 1902)
  • Berlin Victory Column
  • Josefa Ortiz de Dominguez Monument in Queretaro, Mexico

References
  1. "Oscar Gladenbeck (1850-1921)". ISSUU.com. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
  2. Schmetzke, A. (1999/2008), Hugo Rheinhold ... and his Philosophizing Monkey: Gladenbeck. Archived 2012-10-17 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved June 17, 2015.
  3. "Gladenbeck". uwsp.edu. Archived from the original on 17 October 2012. Retrieved 17 June 2015.
  4. Cox, "The Confederate Monument at Arlington...", p. 157.
  5. "Confederate Memorial (sculpture)." Art Inventories Catalog. Control Number: IAS 76005910. Smithsonian American Art Museum. 2012. Accessed 2015-6-17.
  6. "Untermyer Fountain". Central Park Conservancy. Retrieved June 17, 2015.
  7. Shayo, Alberto: Ferdinand Preiss: Art Deco Sculptor--The Fire and the Flame ISBN 1851494820
  8. "Biography: Hermann Gladenbeck (1827-1918)". toboganantiques.com. Archived from the original on 18 June 2015. Retrieved 18 June 2015.

Bibliography
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