Alfred Marzolff 1867-1936
After a training at Eugène Dock's workshop (where Bartholdi
and Rodin where pupils), Marzolff carried on his education in Munich
before coming back around 1891 to Strasbourg.
He is awarded with the first state's prize for a bronze named Der
Bogenspanner (The Archer). That opened him the way to fame, and so, to
orders issued from the bourgeoisie and the nobility.
Marzolff enters the
Ecole
des Arts Décoratifs in 1892 as a professor of
decorative modelling. He leaves that position one year later.
His social position allows him to do a study trip to Florence in 1901,
then to let build in 1903 his house at the 3, rue des Pontonniers in
neo-renaissance style by Oberthur. He equipped it with 3 workshops,
among them a large one on the street-level for monumental works. The
street elevation is richly decorated by sculptures doing that way his
best ad. The german competitors (who swept off nearly all of the
official orders), then the local ones let make him feel their
importance, so that he retires to country (at Rountzenheim). The end of
World War I signifies for him the arrival of french competitors. He
meets with several checks as he took part in important public
competitions (Pasteur Monument, place de l'Université;
monument for the Marseillaise; monument place de la
République). He must content with doing war memorials and
realizes architectural sculptures. Marzolff dies in 1937, wekened by a
cancer, and without orders.
Some works by Marzolff that can be
seen in Strasbourg:
- 1895 Bust of Victor Nessler
(Parc de l'Orangerie)
1899 Allegory of the Rhine and the Moselle (Building for the insurance
company with the same name, by Brion & Haug, 5, rue du
Maréchal Joffre)
- 1902 Statues of Jacques Sturm & Daniel Specklin (Main
Portal principal of the Petites Boucheries, by Oberthur, 4, rue de la
Haute-Montée)
- 1903 Villa Marzolff (by Oberthur, 3, rue des Pontonniers)
Showing two neo-renaissance façades richly adorned by his
owner, we can see, among others, an allegory of the Rhine and the
Moselle on the bow-window
- 1903 Bust of Eugène Boeckel (Hospices Civils)
- 1905 Hercule and the lion (Orangerie park)
- 1906 the for men : hawler, shoveller, two fishers (Kennedy
bridge)
- 1904-10 Crucifix (Western frontage of the Ste Madeleine
church, by Fritz Beblo)
- 1911 Two lions (Portal of the Prefecture, by Ludwig Levy, 5,
place de la République)
- 1912-13 The family (Building of the Securité
Sociale , by Oberthur, 10, rue de Lausanne)
- 1919 Allegory of the disease (Institute of Bacteriology, by
Frankhauser (1913-18), Stambach & Gilgemann (1919), 3, rue
Koeberlé)
- 1922 The Marseillaise (Place Broglie) Reproduction in 1980
- 1922 Medaillions of Frédéric de
Dietrich and Claude Rouget de l'Isle (Façade of the Banque
de France building, 3, place Broglie)
- Around 1923 War Memorial at the Robertsau (fragment)
(Cemetery St Louis, 52, rue Boecklin)
- 1923 War Memorial at the Neudorf (restauré) (Place
Henri Will)
- After 1923 Tablet showing Jacques Peirotes (Rue Jacques
Peirotes)
- Before 1925 War Memorial at Koenigshoffen (Route des Romains)
- Around 1930 Tablet showing Alexandre Ribot (Place des
rouges-gorges)
- 1932 Young woman bringing the light (Building of the Gaz de
Strasbourg, by Oberthur, 14, place des Halles)
Bibliography:
- Annuaire de la société d'histoire et
d'archéologie du Ried Nord, issue dedicated to Marzolff,
1986, Drusenheim
- CASSIR M.-C. L'Ecole des Arts Décoratifs de
Strasbourg de 1890-1914: l'institution sous l'égide
professeur Anton Seder, Master dissertation, Strasbourg, 1990
- DUFOURNET A. Alfred Marzolff (1897-1936) Un sculpteur
alsacien de l'Art nouveau, Master dissertation, Strasbourg, 1997
- Exhibition KUNSCHTHAFE, Hôtel de ville de
Schiltigheim, 1985
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