Otto Lessing

Otto Lessing (24 February 1846 – 22 November 1912) was a prominent German Historicist sculptor whose work largely shaped the appearance of Berlin in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He was the son of history and landscape painter Carl Friedrich Lessing and the great great nephew of poet Gotthold Ephraim Lessing.

Lessing created sculpture and decorative architectural elements on the façades and interiors of many important buildings in Germany, such as the Reichstag, Berlin Cathedral and the Reichsgericht (Supreme Court) in Leipzig. In addition to large public contracts, he also designed commercial buildings and residential villas. At the height of his career in 1911, Lessing was appointed to the Senate of the Prussian Academy of Arts

Life Otto Lessing was born in Düsseldorf. His artistic education began with his father, who instructed him in painting. He then studied sculpture from 1863 to 1865 under Carl Johann Steinhäuser at the Kunstschule Karlsruhe and then from 1865 to 1868 with Albert Wolff in Berlin. After these years of training Lessing returned to Karlsruhe, where he worked at Steinhäuser's studio until 1872.

Lessing married Sigrid Gude, daughter of Hans Gude in Christiania in 1875.

At the founding of the German Empire, with the choice of Berlin as imperial capital, Lessing hoped for a busy career and in the autumn of 1872 moved to Berlin. There he opened a studio for decorative sculpture at Wartburgstraße 14 in Schöneberg. The then unknown sculptor benefited from recommendations of his uncle Robert Carl Lessing, principal owner of the Vossische Zeitung with contacts with influential politicians and artists. Lessing's father also moved to Berlin in 1880 and bought himself a prestigious residence in the Tiergarten district. Reichstag (German Imperial Parliament), the Neuer Marstall (Imperial Stables), and the Reichsgericht (Supreme Court in Leipzig). His interior work includes the bronze doors in the Hall of Honor at the Zeughaus (Berlin Armory) and striking glass mosaics inside the Martin-Gropius-Bau. Lessing's religious works include the three main doors and interior reliefs at the Berliner Dom, portals and interiors of the Deutscher Dom, the Emperor's entrance to Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtniskirche and the interior of St. Michaelis Church, Hamburg. The Borsig Palace is an example of his work for private residences. The Berlin State Library and Konzerthaus Berlin are also decorated by Lessing. Many buildings with his works were severely damaged in World War II and several were later demolished, such as former British Embassy Palais Strousberg, the Reich Chancellory and Berlin City Palace.

Writings Lessing's published writings include: Ausgefuehrte Bauornamente der Neuzeit. Sammlung hervorragender Ornamentausfuehrungen. Berlin: Wasmuth, 1880. Bauornamente der Neuzeit. Berlin: Wasmuth, 1881. Bauornamente Berlins. 100 Tafeln. (2 editions) Berlin: Wasmuth, 1890. Schloss Ansbach: Barock- und Roccoco-Dekorationen aus dem XVIII. Jahrhundert Berlin: Wasmuth, 1892.

Gallery Examples of Lessing's architectural and decorative sculpture: