Look at this sculpture. It embodies a powerful story from a turbulent era. The Heim Sculpture crafted by Josef Thorak in 1928 stands here in Charlottenburg.
Josef Thorak was a prominent Austrian-German sculptor. He was born in Vienna in 1889. Thorak became known for oversize monumental sculptures. He became one of the most prominent sculptors of the Third Reich.
Thorak’s early life was marked by challenges. He was born out of wedlock. His early schooling ended after an incident at a religious boarding school. He later apprenticed as a potter. From 1911 to 1915 he studied sculpture at the Academy of Fine Arts.
In the 1920s in Berlin, Thorak designed cemetery monuments for soldiers. He also assisted wealthy friends with design work. Wilhelm von Bode, an art museum director, supported Thorak. He even wrote a monograph about him in 1929.
After the Nazis came to power in 1933, Thorak used friendships with prominent party members. He sculpted busts of Joseph Goebbels and Ernst Hanfstaengl. He also created likenesses of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and Józef Piłsudski. After Hindenburg’s death in 1934, Thorak sculpted his death mask.
With Arno Breker, Thorak became one of the Third Reich’s official sculptors. In 1937, he became a professor of sculpture at the Munich Academy of Fine Arts. Hitler ordered his Nazi Party membership backdated to 1933. Goebbels called him “our greatest sculptural talent”.
Thorak’s style was often neoclassical with muscular figures. He was nicknamed “Professor Thorax”. In the late 1930s, he temporarily lost favor. Later, he regained it by producing female statues expressing pathos.
After World War II, Thorak initially focused on decorative ceramics. Later, he concentrated on religious sculpture. He was legally denazified in 1948. His Austrian citizenship was restored in 1951. He died in 1952 and was buried in Salzburg.
One notable work is the Heim Sculpture. It stands as a testament to Thorak’s artistic skill. It also shows the complex history of the era in which he lived. The Heim Sculpture shows a family embracing. It is simple and timeless.
Thorak’s other works include “The Dying Warrior” and “Boxer”. “Boxer” was modeled on Max Schmeling. He also created “Familie” and “Kameradschaft”.
Thorak sculpted three oversize horses for the Nuremberg rally grounds in 1939. Two of these stood outside the Reich Chancellery. These horses were found in a storehouse in 2015. The third horse was rediscovered on the grounds of a boarding school.
Thorak received the grand prize of the Prussian Academy of Arts in 1928. He received a golden Papal medal in 1934. A street was named after him in Salzburg in 1963.
The Heim Sculpture is a reminder of the past. It also allows us to reflect on art and its role in history. What do you think of when you see it?