Walking or Running Man

In 1893, the artistic manifesto of Munich sculptor Adolf von Hildebrandt titled “Das Problem der Form in der bildenden Kunst” (The Problem of Form in the Visual Arts) was published.

The creator of the concept of new classicism found many followers, and among his most faithful students was Bernhard Bleeker. When Bleeker began work on the decoration of the new wing of Ludwig Maximilian University, Walter Riezler, a Hildebrandt enthusiast who had just completed research on white-ground Attic lekythoi, was appointed director of the City Museum in Szczecin.

During the Munich period, Riezler must have known Bernhard Bleeker, who at the same time created a portrait of the theorist as well as of his younger brother Hermann. Hermann followed a similar path – in 1910–1911, he shared a studio with Bernhard, became Hildebrandt’s assistant at the Academy of Fine Arts, and later at his private studio in Florence.

Hermann Bleeker’s diploma work (distinguished by the addition to his surname “Kullmer”) – a bronze statue of a walking or running man – was purchased by Riezler and adorned the contemporary art gallery of the newly completed Szczecin Museum building in 1913.

The subject of the sculpture stems from the reception of Auguste Rodin’s work, particularly his “Walking Man” (c. 1900). Rodin frequently exhibited at the Munich Crystal Palace, was a member of the Munich Secession, and a corresponding member of the Academy. The statue of an athlete with a Roman profile and massive build, however, primarily embodies the principles of Hildebrandt’s composition: the maximum emphasis on the spatial suggestiveness of individual limbs. Each anatomical element was crafted to create a diverse, precise contour and clear view, especially from a great distance (so-called Fernbild).

Although Bleeker-Kullmer created many more sculptural works, portraits, tomb and war monuments, and designs for coins and medals, “Runner” remained his most important work.