Bach in Arts - Bach Statues, Monuments, Memorials & Plaques

Art-1958

Type:

Bach Bust

Title:

The Entrance: Bust of J.S. Bach by Carl Ludwig

Location:

Bach Museum Leipzig, Thomaskirchhof 15/16, 04109 Leipzig, Saxony, Germany

Description:

The marble bust in the museum’s foyer is of J.S. Bach as he looked at about the age of 60. It was created in 1897 by Carl Ludwig Seffner who, along with Max Klinger, was Leipzig’s leading sculptor of the time.
The bust was created as part of a monument project. A new Bach monument in Leipzig had been planned for a long time. The project was given fresh impetus when the probable site of J.S. Bach’s grave was rediscovered in St. John’s Cemetery in 1894. Carl Seffner was present when renowned anatomist Wilhelm His identified the bones. Seffner modelled J.S. Bach’s face from casts he’d made of the skull and by comparing them to various picture portraits of J.S. Bach. He created a number of busts from this model, including the marble one you’re looking at here. His Bach monument which was dedicated in St. Thomas’s Square in 1908 was also based on this model. See: Memo-1208.
Only a few steps from St. Thomas’ Square, in the direction of the main ring road, you’ll find the oldest monument to J.S. Bach. This was created on the initiative of Gewandhaus capellmeister Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, and was unveiled in the presence of Bach’s grandson Wilhelm Friedrich Ernst. See: Memo-1209.

Measures:

Material: Marble

Creator:

Sculptor: Carl Seffner
Year: 1897

Buy item at:

See Source/Links below.

Comments:

Photo 01 from Journey Around The Globe Website; Photo 03: by Jens Volz from Bach Museum Leipzig Website; Photo 04: from Dirty River Blog
See: Guide to Bach Tour: Leipzig

Sources/Links:
Tour of our permanent exhibition (Bach Museum Leipzig)
Bach's Birthplace – Leipzig, Germany (Journey Around The Globe)
Dirty River: Bach Museum Leipzig

Contributors: Aryeh Oron (October 2016)