Edwin Scharff

German sculptor Edwin Scharff was classified in the Nazi exhibition of “degenerate art” with two of his works, both of which have since been lost. Scharff was excluded in 1933 from his teaching job and was transferred to Düsseldorf. Although initially a member of the NSDAP, he was not allowed to work after 1937 and was eventually banned from the party. In total, 46 of his works were destroyed as degenerate art. After the war, Scharff taught at the State Art School in Hamburg.

Scharff started as a graphic artist and was a founding member of the München New Secession. From 1902 he attended the School of Applied Arts in München. In 1907 he received a scholarship to travel to Italy, France and Spain and then lived in Paris from 1912-1913. He was severely wounded in World War I, spending a year in hospital. After the war he turned to sculpturing. He was a professor in Berlin from 1923. His style was a mix of Cubism and Expressionism. In 1955 and 1959 his works were shown at documenta 1 and 2 in Kassel. In 1999, an Edwin Scharff Museum was opened in Neu-Ulm.

The Medal awarded with a bronze medal depicts an archer. Scharff complained that four copies of his work were cast in bronze without his permission. He gave a copy to the archives of the Reichssportwart, one went to Amsterdam, and two remained with him. He also bore the expenses himself. The medal was one of several designs for the permanent Olympic winner’s medal.

Twenty-four years after his bronze medal, Edwin Scharff presented his Young men with horses at the Olympic art exposition. It is likely a bronze relief, which actually represents a motif from the Christmas story, originally titled Outside with the herds - with horses. The relief was created in 1946 in the format 117 x 100 x 5 cm and is in the municipal collections Neu-Ulm. Although mainly active as a sculptor, Scharff also submitted the drawing Rider. It was drawn in black with pen and brush on paper in 1952. The sheet has the format 59.5 x 42.5 cm and is in the collection of the Städel Museum in Frankfurt am Main.