Eugen Boermel

Eugen Boermel, also spelled Börmel (27 March 1858 – 24 January 1932) was a German sculptor, writer and inventor.

Life and work Although Boermel was born in Königsberg, East Prussia, he spent his youth in Berlin. He began his artistic training in 1874, under at the Prussian Academy of Arts, continuing with Albert Wolff and Fritz Schaper. From 1878 to 1879, he attended the Master Class of Reinhold Begas on a state scholarship. Later that year he married, obtained a position in the studios of Otto Lessing and remained there for ten years, exhibiting regularly at the Academy. In 1889, he opened his own studio and soon attracted many large commissions.

Siegesallee In 1896, he was awarded a contract for the monumental Siegesallee (Victory Avenue) project being organized by Kaiser Wilhelm II. This honor was not achieved easily, however, as slanderous letters were directed against him, hateful anti-semitic comments were made about his wife, and a scandal soon developed. The Kaiser directed Reinhold Begas (who was overseeing the selection process) to make sure the proceedings were kept secret.

Eventually, Boermel won approval upon the recommendation of August zu Eulenburg, the Minister of the Royal Houses. He produced Group 14, consisting of Emperor Sigismund of Luxembourg as the center statue, flanked by , the Landeshauptmann of Mittelmark, and Bernd Ryke, who served several terms as Mayor of Berlin in the late Fourteenth and early Fifteenth Centuries. The figures were dedicated on 6 May 1900. Critical reception was devastating, with one commentator labelling them some of the worst on the entire avenue. More thoughtful voices pinpointed the problem as a misguided effort to render smaller designs (typical of his previous work) on a grandiose scale.

Little is known for certain about the last twenty years of his life, except that he continued to work from his personal studio in Grünewald. There is much disagreement over whether or not he ever attained the title of "Professor", although he is listed under that title in the official Berlin address book of 1932, the year he died in that city. Some sources indicate that the Kaiser awarded him the Order of the Crown, fourth class, in place of a professorship, others say that he became a Professor in 1904.