"Lorelei" after Wilhelm Engelhard (German, 1813-1902)

"Lorelei" a Bronzed Spelter Sculpture

Signed and Dated in the Cast: "1852"

Height: 20"

Wilhelm Englehard trained as a sculptor first in Paris and then in London, In 1839 he became a pupil of Thorwaldsen in Copenhagen and in 1841 a pupil of Schwanthaler in Munich.

Englehard is known for his sculptures of mythological groups, single figures and genre pieces, most often in limestone. Some of his works are the statues of “Odin,” “Thor,” and the “Valkyries.” In 1851 he began on his masterwork, the “Edda Frieze” which depicts scenes from Norse mythology. He produced contour drawings of the frieze for the Great Exhibition in London of that year which helped him to win some acclaim. In 1855 he traveled to Rome where he executed several life-size marble statues including a “Lorelei.” At the request of King George V of Hanover, Englehard sculpted his Edda Frieze in plaster in the entry hall of the Marienburg Palace. It was 112 feet long and 3 feet high.

Englehard became a member of the Hanover Artist Association in 1850 and in 1869 he became a professor at the Polytechnic School in Hanover.

Sources:
Hermanowski, Paul, “Die Deutsche Götterlehre und ihre Verwertung in Kunst und Dichtung”
Thieme-Becker, ed. “Allgemeines Lexikon der bildenden Künstler vonder Antike bis zu Gegenwart”