Rudolf Belling

Biographical information

RolesCompeted in Olympic Games
SexMale
Full nameRudolf Edwin•Belling
Used nameRudolf•Belling
Born26 August 1886 in Berlin, Berlin (GER)
Died9 June 1972 in Krailling, Bayern (GER)
NOC Germany

Biography

Rudolf Belling initially made a commercial apprenticeship before he went to the School of Applied Arts. An autodidact, he was employed in 1911 at the Art School in Charlottenburg / Berlin, despite no formal training at the time. His art style was at first Cubist-Expressionist in sculpture, but he was then influenced by futuristic and constructivist ideas. In his work “Dreiklang” (Triad) from 1919 he tried to unite the three styles of painting, sculpture and architecture. He was later influenced by the Bauhaus Movement. Still later he returned to stylized natural forms and created numerous portraits.

In 1926 he created the radiator mascot for the car company “Horch”, which was never produced as the company was renamed “Audi”. In 1933 he was defamed by the Germans as a “degenerate” and, in 1944, his studio with a large part of his works was destroyed in an air raid. In 1935 he immigrated to New York, and in 1937 he went to Turkey to work at the Art Academy, accepting a post as a lecturer at Istanbul University in 1951. He returned to Germany in 1955. Belling also was known for his work as an architect. In 1966 he returned to Germany and set up a studio in Krailling near München. Shortly before his death he created a Peace Memorial for the 1972 Olympic Games.

The bronze sculpture The Boxer is a portrait statuette of heavy-weight champion Max Schmeling. The 54.5 cm high figure (with its marble base 64 cm) dates from 1929. Copies can be found, for instance, in the Berlin National Gallery and the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

Results

Games Discipline (Sport) / Event NOC / Team Pos Medal As
1932 Summer Olympics Art Competitions GER Rudolf Belling
Sculpturing, Statues, Open (Olympic) HM