Schiller, (sculpture).

Schiller, (sculpture).

Matzen, Herman N., 1861-1938, sculptor.

H. Gladenbeck & Sohn, founder.

Schiller, (sculpture).

Johann Friedrich von Schiller, (sculpture).

Schiller Monument, (sculpture).

Designed 1906. Dedicated May 11, 1908.

Digital Reference:

Figure: bronze; Upper base: granite; Lower base: concrete.

Figure: approx. 6 x 4 x 8 ft.; Upper base: approx. 5 ft. 7 in. x 4 ft. x 8 ft.; Lower base: approx. 5 in. x 4 ft. x 8 ft.

(On figure, incised:) HERMANN N. MATZEN. 1907. AKT-GES (illegible) H. GLADENBECK & SOHN/GERMANY, BERLIN-FRIEDRICHSHAGEN (On front of base, incised:) SCHILLER/ERECTED-BY-CITIZENS-OF-GERMAN/DESCENT/DETROIT-MICH./1907 (On proper left side of base, incised:) "WIR-WOLLEN-SEIN-EIN-EINZIG-VOLK-VON-BRUDERN./IN-KEINER-NOT-UNS-TRENNEN-UND-GEFAHR."/(WILHELM TELL.) (On base, incised:) (transcription illegible...)ENN-AUS-DER-KRAFTE-SCHON-VEREINTEM-STREBEN./ERHEBT-SICH.-WIRKEND.-ERST-DAS-WAHRE-LEBEN."/(DIE-HULDIGUNG-DER-KUNSTE) signed Founder's mark appears.

Seated portrait of Johann Friedrich von Schiller holding a closed book, using his index finger to mark his place. He is dressed in the clothes of a gentleman, and has a lap blanket covering his legs. His proper right leg is extended so that his shoe protrudes from underneath the blanket. Two quotations in German from Schiller's work are inscribed on the sides of the base.

Portrait male -- Schiller, Johann Christoph Friedrich von -- Full length

Occupation -- Writer -- Poet

Occupation -- Writer -- Dramatist

Occupation -- Writer -- Critic

Occupation -- Education -- Philosopher

Occupation -- Education -- Historian

Ethnic -- German

Outdoor Sculpture -- Michigan -- Detroit

Administered by City of Detroit, Parks and Recreation Department, Landscape Division, 2008 Water Board Building, 735 Randolph Street, Detroit, Michigan 48226

Located Belle Isle, Central & Vista Avenues, Detroit, Michigan

Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (1759-1805) was a German poet, dramatist, critic, philosopher, and historian. A plaque, now missing from the back of the base, listed the names of the memorial's executive committee. The sculpture cost approximately $12,000, which came from numerous small subscriptions from citizens of German descent.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Michigan survey, 1993.

Index of American Sculpture, University of Delaware, 1985.

Detroit Institute of Arts, 1976.

Nawrocki, Dennis Alan, "Art in Detroit Public Places," Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1980.

National Park Service, American Monuments and Outdoor Sculpture Database, MI0016, 1989.

Monumental News (July 1908): pg. 502.

Detroit Historical Museum, City of Detroit Monuments, 2004.

Monumental News (July 1908): pg. 501.

The information provided about this artwork was compiled as part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture database, designed to provide descriptive and location information on artworks by American artists in public and private collections worldwide.

Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture, Smithsonian American Art Museum, P.O. Box 37012, MRC 970, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012

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