Hildebrand, Adolph von
Hildebrand, Adolph von
(1847–1921).
German sculptor. Born in Marburg, Hildebrand studied in Nuremberg and, in 1866, under the Munich sculptor Kasper Zumbusch whom he accompanied to Italy in 1867. In Rome he met the philosopher Konrad Fiedler and the painter Hans von Marées. Hildebrand returned to Italy in 1872 and remained there for much of his career. He assisted Marées with the frescoes at the Naples Aquarium (begun 1873), designing the frieze and executing busts of the scientists Darwin and von Baer (Naples, Aquarium). The influence of Marées's paintings of naked Neapolitan fishermen on Hildebrand's sculpture may be seen in The Net Carrier (1886; Munich, Neue Pin.) which also owes a debt to Michelangelo. In his time he was considered a leading exponent of sculpture in the classical tradition, opposed to the realist tendencies which soon prevailed, his finest work being the allegorical equestrian groups of the Wittelsbach Fountain in Munich (1891–5; partly destr.) which brought him further public commissions. His treatise Das Problem der Form in den bildenden Kunst (1893), influenced by Fiedler, with its credo of ‘pure form’, was influential in promoting a move against surface naturalism in sculpture.
Haas, A., Adolph von Hildebrand: das plastiche Portrait (1984).Find this resource:
