Emil Epple

EMIL EPPLE (Germany, 1877-1948)
"Sleeping young woman", 1909.
Painted terra cotta.
Signed and dated on the side.
Presents some restoration.
Measurements: 47 x 60 x 37 cm.

Emil Julius Epple was a German sculptor who worked mainly in Italy and southern Germany. In 1937, he moved to the Netherlands, becoming a Dutch citizen after World War II. Epple was born in the Swabian city of Stuttgart. Epple attended the Stuttgarter Kunstschule (Art School). There, he studied for a couple of years with Professor Adolf von Donndorf, before moving to Munich, taking classes, beginning in April 1896, at the Akademie der Bildenden Künste with Professor Wilhelm von Rümann. After a short stay in Stuttgart and Berlin, Epple sought inspiration in London. At the British Museum, he carefully studied the Elgin Marbles, a collection of classical Greek marble sculptures made under the supervision of the architect and sculptor Phidias (c. 480 - 430 BC). In 1899, Epple went to Rome, where he would develop a very personal style that many critics and art lovers would quickly recognize and appreciate. In 1900, Epple had his first exhibition in Munich. After living and working for almost a decade in Rome, Epple moved to Munich. In the Bavarian capital he was asked to make six larger-than-life-size herms of Wagner, Shakespeare, Goethe, Schiller, Mozart and Beethoven for the Royal Hoftheater in Stuttgart. During this period, he also created numerous portraits, monuments and reliefs, often working closely with other artists and architects such as Albert Eitel and Eugen Steigleder, turning the Villa Gemmingen in Stuttgart into a unique "Gesamtkunstwerk", which is still highly praised. Many works were commissioned by industrialists, bankers or private professionals, as well as government institutions such as the Landespolizei (Bavarian Police), for whom he made an impressive statue for their fallen officers.