Louis Hippach Family Chapel, (sculpture).

Louis Hippach Family Chapel, (sculpture).

Bock, Richard W., 1865-1949, sculptor.

Waltersdorf, Arthur, architect.

Louis Hippach Family Chapel, (sculpture).

Dedictated Sept. 15, 1928.

Urn: bronze; Reliefs: Colorado white marble.

On the exterior, the sides of the Gothic chapel are adorned with eight relief panels showing man from the cradle to the grave. Above the arches that separate these relief panels is a row of portrait heads of the world's great philosophers and religious prophets. At the base of the chapel's tower is a five and a half foot tall bronze memorial urn adorned with relief figures representing the important world events of the 1920s. Below the urn are three basins from which water flows in cascades from one to another representing the River of Life. Halfway up the sides of the tower are three five by six foot relief panels --the relief on the front depicts a young female figure leading a young male figure to the mysteries of the Beyond --and the two side reliefs contain a decorative motif. Higher up the tower is adorned on each side with a relief depicting an angel's head with the suggestion of wings behind it. On each corner at the top of the tower is an over life-sized figure leaning over the edge --one depicting a bearded male philosopher, one a hooded female figure, one a shepherd, and one a young maiden.

On the interior, the exposed black walnut beams of the chapel terminate in corbels, four on each side, which are carved with figures holding shields to represent different ages. The ceiling and the wall over the altar are adorned with murals. Flanking the altar mural are bronze tablets depicting kneeling angels holding wreaths. At the rear of the chapel are the graves of Louis Hippach's parents adorned at the foot with a figure of Hermes, shaped in an obelisk, with the suggestion of wings and other symbolic designs representing life.

Allegory -- Life

Religion -- Angel

Mythology -- Classical -- Hermes

Outdoor Sculpture -- Illinois -- Villa Park

Chapel Hill Gardens, Hippach Chapel, Villa Park, Illinois

Index of American Sculpture, University of Delaware, 1985.

Pierre, Dorathi Bock, ed., "Memoirs of an American Artist, Sculptor Richard W. Bock," Los Angeles, CA: C.C. Publishing Co., c1989, 1991, pg. 109-112.

Pierre, Dorathi Bock, ed., "Memoirs of an American Artist, Sculptor Richard W. Bock," Los Angeles, CA: C.C. Publishing Co., c1989, 1991, pg. 110-111.

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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