# Friedrich Drake > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Friedrich_Drake > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Friedrich_Drake.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich_Drake > Source revision: 1355678543 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Use dmy dates|date=June 2023}} {{Short description|German sculptor (1805–1882)}} thumb|Friedrich Drake, {{circa|lk=no|1860s}} thumb|''Victory'' on top of the Berlin Victory Column [[File:Denkmal Friedrich WilhelmIII Relief.JPG|thumb|Detail on monument for King [Frederick William III of Prussia](/source/Frederick_William_III_of_Prussia) in Berlin near [Brandenburg Gate](/source/Brandenburg_Gate). 1849]] '''Friedrich Drake''' (23 June 1805 – 6 April 1882) was a German [sculptor](/source/Sculpture) and [medallist](/source/Medalist), best known for his huge memorial statues. ==Biography== He was the son of a mechanic and served an apprenticeship as a [turner](/source/Turning) in [Minden](/source/Minden), afterwards being employed in his father's workshop. While there, he made several clay models to amuse himself. A relative of [Christian Daniel Rauch](/source/Christian_Daniel_Rauch) saw them and was impressed, so Drake was given a position in Rauch's Berlin studio. His first major commission came in 1836. It was for a colossal statue of [Justus Möser](/source/Justus_M%C3%B6ser) in the city of [Osnabrück](/source/Osnabr%C3%BCck) and paid his way for the traditional study trip to Italy. With a letter of recommendation from Rauch, he visited [Bertel Thorvaldsen](/source/Bertel_Thorvaldsen) and presented him with engravings of his work. He returned to Berlin in 1837 and was appointed to the [Prussian Academy of Arts](/source/Prussian_Academy_of_Arts). He quickly set up a workshop of his own, with his brothers Georg and Louis as assistants and his sister Karoline as the housekeeper. Karoline married the painter [Friedrich Eduard Meyerheim](/source/Friedrich_Eduard_Meyerheim) and, in 1843, Drake married Lisette Schönherr, with whom he had six children.[http://www.zwoelf-apostel-berlin.de/kirchhoefe/index31d.shtml Church of the Twelve Apostles, Berlin: Drake's burial place with biography] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140309032357/http://www.zwoelf-apostel-berlin.de/kirchhoefe/index31d.shtml |date=9 March 2014 }} In 1847, Drake was named a "Royal Professor" and, in 1863, he was awarded the [Order of Merit of the Prussian Crown](/source/Order_of_Merit_of_the_Prussian_Crown) for Arts and Sciences. He became Vice-chancellor of the Academy in 1879.''Der Orden pour le Merite für Wissenschaft und Künste. Die Mitglieder des Orden.'' Band I. Gebr. Mann-Verlag, Berlin 1975, S. 232. Using his experience as a trained mechanic, he invented a frame that enabled nude models to hold their poses. During these years, his workshop was constantly busy producing sculptures of many well-known people, including a statue of [Philipp Melanchthon](/source/Philipp_Melanchthon) in [Wittenberg](/source/Wittenberg) and a [statue of Alexander von Humboldt in Philadelphia](/source/Statue_of_Alexander_von_Humboldt_(Philadelphia)) to mark the centenary of the [Declaration of Independence](/source/United_States_Declaration_of_Independence). He married the Countess Marie of Waldeck in 1859, after his first wife's untimely death. ==Works== He executed numerous statues and [bust](/source/Bust_(sculpture))s of famous figures, including [Lorenz Oken](/source/Lorenz_Oken), [Leopold von Ranke](/source/Leopold_von_Ranke), [Otto von Bismarck](/source/Otto_von_Bismarck) and [Helmuth von Moltke the Elder](/source/Helmuth_von_Moltke_the_Elder). Other works include: *''Victory'' on top of the [Berlin Victory Column](/source/Berlin_Victory_Column). The statue was originally criticized for being too big and clumsy for the small column. In 1939, the column was widened. *''Eight Provinces of Prussia'', represented by large allegorical figures. *''Dying Warrior crowned by Victory'' (1833) *''Madonna and Child'', bought by the Empress of Russia {{which|date=March 2014}} *''Female Vine Dresser'' (National Museum, Berlin) *Philipp Melanchthon monument on the market square at Wittenberg (dedicated 1865) *Bronze [equestrian statue](/source/equestrian_statue) of King [William I of Prussia](/source/Wilhelm_I%2C_German_Emperor) at [Cologne](/source/Cologne). At the [International Exposition (1867)](/source/International_Exposition_(1867)). This monument earned him the gold medal of the [Legion of Honor](/source/Legion_of_Honor). *Bronze statue of King Frederick Wilhelm III in front of the Rathaus at [Kolberg](/source/Kolberg), Pomerania.''Northern Germany'' by Karl Baedeker, 14th revised edition, Leipzig, 1904, p.178. *Colossal bronze statue of Justus Möser, a German statesman, for Osnabrück (1836) *Marble statue of the famous sculptor [Christian Rauch](/source/Christian_Rauch) (vestibule of the [Neues Museum](/source/Neues_Museum), Berlin) *Statue of the famous architect [Karl Friedrich Schinkel](/source/Karl_Friedrich_Schinkel) (1869) *Marble group on the [Schlossbrücke](/source/Schlossbr%C3%BCcke) (Castle Bridge) representing "[Warriors Crowned by Victory](/source/Nike_Crowns_the_Hero)" (1850) *[Statue of Alexander von Humboldt (Philadelphia)](/source/Statue_of_Alexander_von_Humboldt_(Philadelphia)), 1871 *Prussian coin design and model for the Thaler 1871 Victory over France{{cite book |author=Klaus Sommer |title=Die Medaillen der königlich-preussischen Hof-Medailleure Carl Christoph Pfeuffer und Friedrich Wilhelm Kullrich |publisher=Biblio-Verlag |location=Osnabrück |language=de |year=1986 |pages=139}} ==References== {{Reflist}} ==Other sources== *{{Cite Americana|wstitle=Drake, Friedrich}} *{{Cite NIE|wstitle=Drake, Friedrich Johann Heinrich|year=1905}} '''Attribution''' *{{Nuttall|wstitle=Drake, Friedrich}} ==External links== *{{Commons-inline}} {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Drake, Friedrich}} Category:1805 births Category:1882 deaths Category:People from Bad Pyrmont Category:German male sculptors Category:People from Waldeck (state) Category:19th-century German sculptors Category:Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (civil class) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Friedrich Drake](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich_Drake) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich_Drake?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.