Fritz Schwarzbeck

After Fritz Schwarzbeck completed an apprenticeship as an optician, he was trained as a sculptor at the Municipal Higher Vocational School in Nürnberg. In 1927 he began his studies at the State Academy of Art in Düsseldorf under 1928 Olympian Richard Langer. After working for one year as a freelance sculptor at the Städel Institute in Frankfurt, Schwarzbeck moved to Darmstadt in 1931, where he lived until his death. In 1935/36 he received the Rome Prize, which enabled him to stay at the Villa Massimo. During the Nazi era, he was able to continue working and exhibiting.

From 1947, he led the sculpture class at the School for Applied Arts in Darmstadt for 20 years. In this city, many of his works are in public spaces, including those on war and persecution. Schwarzbeck was a member of the Darmstadt Group and the Darmstadt Secession. In 1979 he was awarded the German Federal Cross of Merit. His early bronzes and drawings were based on classical French models such as Aristide Maillol, while his later alabaster sculptures are based on antiquity. His work also included terracottas and wood sculptures. His Two Women, exhibited in 1952, were a faience relief.