Silesian-born German artist Theodor von Gosen was trained in München at the Arts and Crafts School and worked successfully since 1900 as a freelance artist. He created small and large sculptures and since 1906 numerous medals. In 1905 van Gosen was appointed as a professor at the Breslau Art Academy, while from 1908-32 he headed the Künstlerbund Silesia, which he founded. In 1919 he was made a member of the Prussian Academy of Arts. After the closure of the Breslau Academy, van Gosen did freelance work in Wrocław until his death. His works were mainly monuments, statues and busts, and also medals. Theodor von Gosens’s early work is still influenced by Art Nouveau. Many of his works are attributed to the arts & crafts, which he tried to overcome. In 1921 he created a Beethoven monument for Mexico City. His son Markus (1913-2004) also became an artist, studied at the München Art Academy, and worked as a glass artist and muralist at Chiemsee. His father was buried there on the Fraueninsel island. The winner’s medal of the Deutsche Kampfspiele in Breslau 1930 is made of bronze and has a diameter of 90 mm with a weight of about 129 g. At the Munich Art Exhibition in 1927, von Gosen exhibited numerous medals, possibly including the design of the Olympic medal of 1928. It is still controversial whether Theodor von Gosen really entered a plaque in the 1928 Amsterdam Art Competitions.
Germany