Beschreibung:

Humboldt, Alexander von Two autograph letters signed ("AvHumboldt") to the celebrated Dresden sculptor Ernst Rietschel the earlier letter commending him in the highest possible terms for his bust of the sculptor Christian Daniel Rauch observing that he has never seen anything in this field more magnificent, praising him for his fidelity to detail, and singling out various features as being exceptionally tastefully rendered; the later letter congratulating his correspondent on his election to the Prussian Order of Merit for Science and Art, noting that the votes in his favour were unanimous, and informing him that he will be notifying the ailing king, Friedrich Wilhelm IV Etwas Herrlicheres in der Sculptur der menschlichen Gesichtsbildung ist mir nie vor Augen gekommen; da ist der höchste Naturalismus an Treue im einzelnen, dabei zugleich großartig belebt, tief im Ausdruck des Innern, wie der Mann selbst herrschend, scharfbetont und doch voll heiterer gutmüthlicher Milde. Der Hals, der Schwung der Haare, am Stirnanwuchse von reinstem Geschmack... 2 pages, plus blanks, 8vo (21.7 x 14cm), autograph envelopes, with a C19th copy of the later letter, annotated by Rietschel's daughter Gertrud, and a note in the hand of Ernst Rudorff, Berlin, 10 May 1857 and 15 May 1858, seal to one envelope excised Humboldt's distinguished recipient was the German sculptor Ernst Rietschel (1804-1861), famed for his statues of eminent men, one such being the Goethe-Schiller Monument in Weimar. Rietschel's marble bust of his teacher and leading C19th German sculptor Christian Daniel Rauch (1777-1857), which contributed considerably to Rietschel's fame in the C19th, is to be found today in the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen, Dresden. Rauch's own 1823 portrait bust of Humboldt is preserved today in the Berlin Schinkelmuseum. PROVENANCE: Formerly in the collection of the Berlin pianist and teacher Ernst Rudorff (1840-1916).