Diana mit Windhunden Sculpture

Leaping from the past, the Diana mit Windhunden sculpture commands attention. Here in Volkspark Humboldthain, she embodies the spirit of the hunt. Diana mit Windhunden, also known as the Hunting Nymph, was created by Walter Schott. He toiled for years, starting in the 1890s, perfecting the dynamic pose. Schott struggled to capture the mid-leap moment, a fleeting instant he felt but couldn’t fully visualize. The addition of the two hounds added another layer of complexity. He needed to balance their motion with Diana’s, ensuring neither element overshadowed the other. Countless sketches and models later, a triumphant Schott finally achieved his vision. In 1926, the city of Berlin commissioned the final piece. The Diana mit Windhunden sculpture was cast in bronze at the Hermann Noack foundry in Berlin-Friedenau. Initially displayed near the French Embassy on Pariser Platz in 1929, she found her permanent home in Humboldthain a year later. She was placed on a travertine base along Gustav-Meyer-Allee. The sculpture remained there until 1936. In 1953, following a redesign of the park, she was moved to the Rosengarten, now resting on a sandstone pedestal. Diana mit Windhunden underwent restoration in 1994 at the same foundry where she was born, nearly seventy years prior. More recently, in 2013, the sculpture underwent cleaning and conservation. She stands approximately 2.5 meters tall without the pedestal, a dynamic bronze goddess forever frozen in her pursuit. Interestingly, Schott himself always referred to his work as the “Hunting Nymph.” The association with Diana, the Roman goddess of the hunt, came later. As you gaze at Diana mit Windhunden, remember the dedication of her creator, Walter Schott. His relentless pursuit of perfection resulted in this powerful, enduring image of the chase.