See this bronze boy? He’s the Knabe mit Tintenfisch. He’s more than just a pretty fountain. He’s a survivor a story in bronze.
This sculpture the Knabe mit Tintenfisch is quite extraordinary. Created by Eduardo Rossi sometime around the end of the 19th century or near 1900 he depicts a boy around twelve years old. The boy sits on a rock. He’s almost naked except for a small piece of fur covering his lower body. His face shows pain. A large octopus clings to his right arm. He struggles to remove it with his left hand. Notice his teeth? They’re bared in a grimace a starkly realistic detail unusual for German bronze sculptures of that period. It’s a feature more common in Italian or French works.
The Knabe mit Tintenfisch’s journey is almost as captivating as the sculpture itself. In 1985 this little bronze boy was found. He was part of a bankrupt Berlin company’s assets in Wittenau. The Tempelhof district acquired him. He arrived with another sculpture Flora an 1956 nude figure by Karl Bobeck. Flora was later stolen in 1999 from a garden.
The Knabe mit Tintenfisch’s past before 1985 is mysterious. Some believe he might have been in Sinzig am Rhein before 1942. He may have graced the private park of Theodor Francke in Tempelhof. This park was created in 1876.
In 1987 the Knabe mit Tintenfisch was given a new life. He became the centerpiece of a redesigned fountain in Franckepark.
The model for this amazing sculpture was likely exhibited first in 1894. Rossi’s work Pescatore di polpi or Octopus Fisherman debuted at the Barcelona General Fine Arts Exhibition. It was purchased by the Municipal Museum of Fine Arts in Barcelona. Versions of the statue traveled widely. It appeared in Venice Rome Berlin Munich Turin St Petersburg London Milan and Paris. This Knabe mit Tintenfisch was even in Paris at the 1900 World’s Fair.
Even today the Knabe mit Tintenfisch remains a captivating work. He’s a testament to Rossi’s skill. He also shows the enduring power of art to transcend time and circumstance. He reminds us that even a small bronze boy can have a big story to tell. So next time you see him remember the journey this little bronze boy has taken to arrive here in Berlin.