A sculpture class was only established at the art academy in Königsberg in 1882, a good 30 years after its foundation. The first director was Friedrich Reusch (1843-1906). He was followed by Stanislaus Cauer (1867-1943) and from 1932 Hans Wissel (1897-1948) until 1945, all of whom were represented with public art in Königsberg and East Prussia. Their works express the dominant style of their time, with Reusch it was historicism, with Cauer neoclassicism and with Wissel New Objectivity.
Other important sculptors of East Prussia had mostly been students of the art academy or the arts and crafts school. Hermann Brachert (1890-1972) stands out especially. He created architectural statuary and freestanding sculptures for the modern buildings of the period after 1920 and was also responsible for the designs of the state amber manufactory. Some of his students continued the tradition of East Prussian sculpture after 1945.
Illustration:
Stanislaus Cauers – statue of Friedrich Schiller in front of the theatre in Königsberg (today Kaliningrad), bronze sculpture from 1910
Photo: A. Savin, FAL