Adolf Wamper

German sculptor Adolf Wamper studied in Aachen at the Technical University and Düsseldorf at the Art Academy. Previously, he had a business education and worked for a mining company. As early as 1933 he became a member of the Nazi party. He then settled in Berlin and in 1935 was involved in the design of the opera in Charlottenburg. Shortly thereafter, he created reliefs for the entrance to the open-air stage for the Reichssportfeld at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin. Wamper gained favor with the Nazis, which spared him from military service. He was known for his monumental sculptures, female nudes, and bas-reliefs. His closest friends were his colleagues Arno Breker and Josef Thorak. Today Wamper’s works are almost vanished through the Berlin cityscape due to the effects of war and bombing. Additionally his Berlin studio was virtually destroyed by an air raid in 1943. The following year, his home was badly damaged, too, and he moved to the vicinity of Bielefeld.

After World War II, Wamper became known as the Black Madonna of Remagen, molded from the clay of the US prison camp at Remagen, where Wamper spent the last two months of the war. He became head of sculpture at the Folkwang School in Essen until 1970, when he was appointed professor. His archive is located in Bonn. His figurative sculptures after the war fell out of favor, and thus he fell into oblivion after his death in 1977.