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Schillingsche Figuren - The four times of day
Photo: Kristin Schmidt
Photo: Stadt Chemnitz, Pressestelle
1860 - 71
The statues are created by Professor Johannes Schilling (1828–1910), one of the most important sculptors of his time. In 1861, he was commissioned to create a new decorative work for the steps of Brühl’s Terrace in Dresden. The last group of figures was erected there in 1871, displayed on two levels at the top and bottom of the steps
Material: Postelwitz sandstone
1869
The statues take first prize at the Vienna Art Exhibition
1905 - 08
New statues closely based on Schilling’s figures are cast in bronze and displayed in Dresden.
1907 - 08
The sandstone statues are entrusted to the City of Chemnitz, as the material had been heavily affected by environmental influences due to the Elbe climate
1909
The statues are erected on Königsplatz, now called Theaterplatz, incorporated in a fountain in the same arrangement as the bronze statues in Dresden
1928
The statues are removed and placed into storage due to the construction of the Chemnitzer Hof Hotel
1936
The statues are erected in the expanded grounds of the Schloßteich (Castle Lake); the installation was designed under the direction of the city’s chief architect, Fred Otto
2011
The statues are renovated
DESCRIPTION
The Morning, with waking and the morning dew
A magnificent female figure, with the light of the morning star gleaming in her hair; the figure airs out her robe after a refreshing sleep and inhales as she sets about the day’s work; she is accompanied by two charming girls, who serve a morning beverage and tie her sandals
Midday, with work and striving
A majestic male figure bearing a radiate crown upon his head;
he triumphantly holds aloft a laurel wreath, which was awarded to him in the prime of his life; an adolescent boy yearningly reaches out for it while a younger boy holding a spade stands at the man’s side
The Evening, with music and dance
A muscular male figure holding a goblet of wine, indulging at the end of a day’s work; the figure drinks the wine (Bacchus’s gift) while listening to the girls playing their instruments
The Night, with slumber and dreams
A noble female figure wearing a diadem with a crescent moon in her hair; she protectively wraps her robe around a sleeping boy while Morpheus whispers sweet dreams to him as he sleeps