Statues - Hither & Thither

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Dresden
Stadt Dresden
Sachsen

Theaterplatz
(Semper Oper)

Fassadenstatuen an der Semperoper

Façade Statues on the Semper Opera

Ernst Rietschel & Ernst Hähnel
1841

Dresden / Fassadenstatuen an der Semperoper

Description

The front façade of the Semper Oper has several statues.

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Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Relief on the pedestal of the Goethe statue

Friedrich von Schiller

Relief on the pedestal of the Schiller statue

To the left and right of the entrance, sitting figures made by Rietschel, both with a relief on the front side of the pedestal. They depict:

(left) Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (Frankfurt am Main 1749-Weimar 1832), German writer and polymath; considered by many to be the most important writer in the German language and one of the most important thinkers in Western culture (Wikipedia)
(right) Friedrich von Schiller (Marbach am Neckar 1759 - Weimar 1805), German poet, philosopher, historian, and playwright (Wikipedia)
The socle relief shows Zeus.

William Shakespeare

Sophocles

Molière

Euripides

On the sides, in niches above each other, statues of a sitting (lower niche) and standing (upper niche) figure, by Hähnel. The sitting figures are:

(left) William Shakespeare (Stratford-upon-Avon 1564 - id. 1616), English poet and playwright (Wikipedia).
(right) Molière stage name of Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (Paris 1622 - id. 1673), French playwright and actor (Wikipedia).

The standing figures are:

(left) sophokles - Sophocles (Σοφοκλῆς, Sophoklēs), Greek tragedian (Wikipedia).
(right) euripides - Euripides (Εὐριπίδης), Greek tradian (Wikipedia).

These six statues were all made for the first Semper Oper, built 1841.

Above the entrance is the Panther-Quadriga by Johann Schilling and the 16 statues on the ledges (8 on each side), some of which had to be newly made at the reconstruction in 1985, they show among others Faust, Mephistopheles, Don Juan, Oberon and Titania.

Inscription(s)

The Goethe statue is signed E.R. 1841

Sculptors

Ernst Julius Hähnel (Dresden 1811 - id. 1891), German sculptor, his portrait is on the Fürstenzug (Wikipedia).
Ernst Rietschel (Pulsnitz 1804 - Dresden 1861), German sculptor - see also his memorial in Dresden (Wikipedia).

Sources & Information

Stadt- und Reiseführer für Dresden und Umland, Landeshauptstadt Dresden.

Locatie (N 51°3'15" - E 13°44'7") (Satellite view: Google Maps)

Item Code: desn030; Photograph: 22 January 2011
Of each statue we made photos from various angles and also detail photos of the various texts.
If you want to use photos, please contact us via the contact form (in Dutch, English or German).
© Website and photos: René & Peter van der Krogt

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