Sculpture Park Engelbrecht
The Sculpture Park Erich Engelbrecht is located at the Château des Fougis, 03220 Thionne, department of Allier, France, and displays monumental massive steel sculptures of the German artist Erich Engelbrecht.
 The Blacksmith, I (Der Schmied, I) | |
  Location within France | |
| Established | between 2002-2011 |
|---|---|
| Location | Château des Fougis, 03220 Thionne, France |
| Coordinates | 46.427000°N 3.564566°E |
| Collections | Monumental massive steel sculptures by Erich Engelbrecht & a private exhibition with previous works by the same |
| Director | Waltraud Engelbrecht |
| Website | www.engelbrecht.art or www.engelbrecht.fr |
In 2001, Erich Engelbrecht bought the property with the intent of installing his Sculpture Park throughout the gardens and former farming and hunting fields of Château des Fougis
On loan from a private collection, the artist - and his wife - mounted also a second exhibition in the main wing of the castle, presenting some previous works like large-format tapestries, oil paintings, small steel figures and graphics.
The open air exhibition at the Sculpture Park is open to public viewing. The indoor exhibition can only be visited following a previous private appointment.
Les Fougis (the site)
“In the 15th century, according to tradition, Les Fougis were the hunting grounds of the Bourbons. In 1495 records exist of financial payments between Duke Charles the 3rd and Hughes le Long, Lord of Fougis and provost of the Duke’s Hunting. Earlier still, there’s a reference to the Lord of Fougis in an inventory written in 1410 by Pierre Bodet for Guichard Dauphin, Lord of Jaligny. In fact, the family le Long were the registered holders of les Fougis from 1461 onwards, through squire Hugonin le Long, who was also provost of the Hunting of Pierre the 2nd. The Le Longs retained the ownership of Les Fougis until 1727, the date on which the territory was bequeathed to a nephew, Jean Berthier de Bizy. Their descendants retained it until the French Revolution. In 1802 it was bought by Antoine Clayeux, whose family owns the site to the present day.
Rebuilt at the end of the 16th century (a doorway in classic style is dated 1593) the Fougis have walls pierced with more decorative openings. A description from Nicolas de Nicolay in 1569 states ‘fort chasteau, terre et seigneurie…’ (strong castle, land and lordship...)
The château is composed of a main rectangular building, flanked by two square towers on its southwest and northeast corners, and a round tower to the southeast. A second perpendicular wing to the north is also flanked by another square tower on its east corner. The walls are made of red and dark brown brickwork, paired to form lozenge patterns. The openings are framed with white limestone. The north façade and some windows to the other sides were modified throughout the end of the 19th century.”[1]
At the turn of the 19th to the 20th centuries, the house was completely renovated and remodelled. The main courtyard received arcades on both wings, one of them with a glazed loggia. The north wing became an extra floor for the extended family and services. The interiors present a language typical for the period.
After acquiring the property, Erich Engelbrecht undertook a multitude of renovation and building works on the fields and buildings to adapt Les Fougis for these exhibitions.
Some of his family members settled in Fougis, where they presently live and work.
Erich Engelbrecht (the artist)
Erich Engelbrecht (Bielefeld, 27 October 1928 - Vichy, France, 21 July 2011) was a German artist who left a multitude of works in the fields of painting, graphics, tapestry, sculpture, architecture and poetry.
Here is a selection of dates on Erich Engelbrecht's bio:
| 1928 | Born on 27 October in Bielefeld, Germany. |
|---|---|
| 1949-54 | Studied Electrical Technology and different subjects in the field of Mechanical Engineering and Economics at the Technical University of Hannover. |
| Contact with the Kestnergesellschaft in Hannover. | |
| 1954-64 | Worked intermittently as Industrial Consultant. |
| 1957 | Degree as Doctor of Engineering at the Technical University of Hannover. |
| 1958-60 | Studies in Philosophy and the History of Art at the University of Munich. |
| Gets acquainted with the research and analytic of CG Jung. | |
| 1959 | Marriage – four daughters. |
| 1960 | First works of art using machine parts and rubber. |
| 1961 | Rents a house in Holterdorf near Melle (Lower Saxony) as workshop, which he later buys and adapts to his home and workshop. |
| During the same time, creation of the first, some very large oil paintings on canvas or wood panels. | |
| Among the paintings are also some wooden figures (oil on plywood, hanging in front of the walls.) | |
| 1963-65 | Winter sojourns in a second workshop in Locarno. |
| 1965 | Establishment of the tapestry-weaving workshop in Holterdorf and manufacture of the first tapestries. |
| 1969 | Engages with graphic work, first serigraphy, later lithography and etching. Set up of an adjoining yarn dyeing workshop. |
| 1969 | First individual exhibition in the Kunsthalle Bielefeld. |
| 1972 | Commission and construction of the first open air steel polychrom plastic in Bielefeld. |
| 1976 | Creation of large coloured ceramic sculptures, wall mounted or inserted into the bottom of a pool. |
| 1982-84 | Architecture project: Design and implementation of a house in Werther in the Teutoburg Forest. |
| 1984-... | Design and construction of further large steel sculptures for the exterior as well smaller ones for the interior. |
| 1987 | Large individual exhibition in the Gallery Bernheim-Jeune in Paris. |
| 1996 | Installation of large steel sculpture "Die Lektion, I" in Melle-Neuenkirchen (Lower Saxony). Sale arrangements already in 1992. |
| 1997 | Temporary exhibition of the sculptures "The dancing Berserkers" on the so-called "Altona balcony" overlooking the river banks of the Elbe in Hamburg. |
| 2001-11 | Planning and installation of a Sculpture Park on the gardens of the Château des Fougis in the Bourbonnais, France. |
| 2011 | Erich Engelbrecht dies on 21 July in Vichy. |
| He rests on the Park of the Château of Fougis. | |
Construction
The first sculptures arrived in 2002 and until his death in 2011 he managed to create an open exhibition of 29 large monumental and (mostly) coloured sculptures. The last sculpture - the smallest - arrived just after his death.
All sculptures were produced in Germany and transported by road to Fougis, where they were finally assembled.
Two sculptures positioned at the entrance of the park were created in 1984 and came to the present place after originally guarding the entrance of his property in Germany for nearly a decade and being exhibited in Hamburg-Altona (Altonaer Balkon) for nearly another decade. Belonging to a private collection, theses two sculptures are displayed on loan to the sculpture park.
Some sculptures are distributed around the Château des Fougis, others follow a path designed by the artist.
The indoor exhibition, a selection of large-format tapestries, oil paintings, small steel figures and graphics of Erich Engelbrecht, all on loan from a private collection, was imagined and installed between 2004 and 2010 by the artist himself and his wife Mrs Waltraud Engelbrecht. It is displayed throughout the galleries and the two main reception rooms of the Château des Fougis, which where specially renovated to receive these works.
List of Sculptures
List of Sculptures in the park with catalogue reference, original work and its date, date of arrival each sculpture in Fougis, dimensions (height, width, thickness & weight) and finishing
| # | Catal. | Name | O | Date | FR | H | W | T | Weight | Finishing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 010.0320 | The Blacksmith, I | D | 1985 | 2002 | 10.0 | 9.2 | 0.33 | 112.00 | raw steel |
| 2 | 011.0321 | He Puffs up his Chest | D | 1992 | 2002 | 7.0 | 3.2 | 0.25 | 13.75 | raw steel |
| 3 | 012.0322 | The Bird and the Son of the Bird | D S | 1973 | 2003 | 6.3 | 4.2 x 3.7 | 0.055 | 12.00 | polychrome |
| 4 | 013.0323 | Falling over | D | 1986 | 2004 | 7.0 | 5.5 | 0.23 | 27.26 | black |
| 5 | 014.0324 | The Circumspect | D | 1992 | 2004 | 12.0 | 3.8 | 0.35 | 45.90 | white |
| 6 | 015.0325 | Icarus | D | 1992 | 2004 | 9.0 | 9.9 | 0.30 | 61.45 | white |
| 7 | 016.0326 | Chieftain Sharp Tongue, II | D | 1990 | 2004 | 7.0 | 5.4 | 0.23 | 29.52 | white |
| 8 | 017.0327 | Mundalin's Return | D | 1990 | 2005 | 9.0 | 6.4 | 0.30 | 56.64 | white |
| 9 | 018.0328 | Elvira (red) | P | 1961 | 2006 | 7.8 | 1.7 | 0.23 | 15.57 | polychrome |
| 10 | 019.0329 | The Pistol and the Victim | W | 1964 | 2005 | 5.3 | 7.0 x 3.3 | 0.055 | 9.73 | polychrome |
| 11 | 020.0330 | The Invoker, I | D | 1989 | 2005 | 7.0 | 4.2 | 0.23 | 24.16 | white |
| 12 | 021.0331 | The Ordeal, IV | D | 1990 | 2006 | 7.0 | 6.4 | 0.23 | 31.12 | white |
| 13 | 022.0332 | The Accuser, I | D | 1986 | 2006 | 5.0 | 2.8 | 0.16 | 6.32 | white |
| 14 | 023.0333 | The Lesson, I | D | 1985 | 2006 | 8.0 | 5.4 | 0.26 | 37.32 | black |
| 15 | 024.0334 | The Scribe | D | 1986 | 2006 | 7.1 | 2.5 | 0.23 | 9.18 | white |
| 16 | 025.0335 | The Gesticulator | D | 1992 | 2006 | 7.8 | 5.6 | 0.24 | 15.38 | white |
| 17 | 026.0336 | The Lying Dragon | P | 1963 | 2006 | 2.9 | 9.1 | 0.28 | 23.99 | polychrome |
| 18 | 027.0337 | Flying is difficult ! | D | 1992 | 2006 | 7.5 | 5.4 | 0.23 | 12.98 | black |
| 19 | 028.0338 | The Horse-Necked King, IV | D | 1989 | 2006 | 7.0 | 4.9 | 0.23 | 27.73 | blue |
| 20 | 029.0339 | What a Lucky Swine ! | D | 1992 | 2006 | 7.5 | 4.0 | 0.23 | 21.84 | yellow |
| 21 | 030.0340 | The Knight with the Duck | D | 1992 | 2009 | 7.0 | 4.7 | 0.23 | 25.64 | blue |
| 22 | 031.0341 | The Annihilation of the Elephant, II | D | 1990 | 2009 | 7.0 | 5.0 | 0.23 | 28.11 | black |
| 23 | 032.0342 | The Princess and the Dragon, III | D | 1991 | 2007 | 11.6 | 9.9 | 0.32 | 92.40 | beige |
| 24 | 034.0344 | Dancing Berserker, The Doppelgänger | D | 1984 | 2007 | 7.6 | 5.2 | 0.23 | 28.11 | raw steel |
| 25 | 033.0343 | Dancing Berserker, The Night Walker, II | D | 1984 | 2007 | 7.5 | 5.9 | 0.23 | 27.98 | raw steel |
| 26 | 035.0345 | Elvira (blue) | P | 1961 | 2009 | 11.0 | 2.3 | 0.30 | 40.36 | polychrome |
| 27 | 036.0346 | Rumpelstilskin | D | 1986 | 2011 | 2.2 | 0.97 | 0.07 | 0.42 | black |
| 28 | 004.0314 | Dancing Berserker, The Doppelgänger | D | 1984 | 2006 | 4.5 | 3.1 | 0.14 | 6.41 | raw steel |
| 29 | 003.0313 | Dancing Berserker, The Night Walker | D | 1984 | 2006 | 4.4 | 3.5 | 0.14 | 6.41 | raw steel |
- Units for dimensions: Height, Width (sculpture) and Thickness (steel platte) are in meters, the Weight (including plinth) in metric tonnes.
- All sculptures were cut from massive steel plates.
- The 7 digits reference in the present inventory for the catalogue : the first group with 3 digits report to the numbering within a type of works, the second group with 4 digits to the global work by the artist.
- Column "O" (for "Originalwerk", Original Work): D - Drawing (25); P - Painting (3); S - Steel Sculpture (based on a previous wooden sculpture) (1); W - Wooden Sculpture (1).
- Column "Date" indicates the year of the Original Work as drawing, painting or sculpture.
- Column "FR" indicates the year of arrival in Fougis. Sculptures #28 & #29 were produced in 1984 and stood previously in Melle and Hamburg, before arriving 2006 in Fougis.
Literature
Two books on Erich Engelbrecht and the Sculpture Park are being prepared for publication at Edition Axel Menges.
- ISBN 978-3-932565-84-7 - A book/catalogue about the Sculpture Park on the series OPUS (in English and French), with contributions from Dr. Gottfried Knapp and Arch. João J. de Abreu Vares.
- ISBN 978-3-86905-014-0 - A Monograph Erich Engelbrecht (in German and English), with written contributions from Waltraud Engelbrecht, Renate Vogt, Dr, Gottfried Knapp and an interview with Hans-Jürgen Vogt, a longtime friend and patron Erich Engelbrecht. It will also include a first catalogue/listing on the works of the artist.
Sources
- Erich Engelbrecht (artist website)
- Château des Fougis (park website)
- Auvergne-Tourism.info: Monumental Sculptures Erich Engelbrecht (in English)
- Lamontagne.fr Erich Engelbrecht... sculptures (in French)
- LaMontagne 17.08.2014 (in French)
- Mein Frankreich (in German)
- Benedikt Pictures - "The woman and the dragon" (a short documentary) (in English)
- Mon Bourbonnais - Château des Fougis (in French)
- Axel Menges - catalogue Fall 2018 (in English)[2]
References
- Germain, René; et al. (2004). Châteaux, fiefs, mottes, maisons fortes et manoirs en Bourbonnais. Romagnat: Éditions De Borée. pp. 539–540. ISBN 2-84494-199-0.
- KNAPP, Gottfried (2018). Erich Engelbrecht - Introspektive Bilder (in German and English). ENGELBRECHT, Waltraut, VOGT, Renate, de ABREU VARES, Joao J. (1. Auflage ed.). Fellbach, Württemberg: Edition Axel Menges GmbH. ISBN 9783869050140. OCLC 1034617360.