Arno Breker
(German, 1900–1991)
Biography
Arno Breker was a German sculptor and Nazi-supported artist whose Neoclassical works emblemized the regime’s militaristic aesthetic. Breker was born on July 19, 1900 in Elberfeld, Germany and enrolled at the Düsseldorf Academy of Arts. He abandoned his studies in 1924 to move to Paris, where he met with avant-garde artists such as Jean Cocteau, Jean Renoir, and Pablo Picasso. Over time, Breker rejected the influence of Surrealism and Cubism to pursue a more conservative aesthetic. He returned to Germany as the Nazi regime came to power, greeted with praise by Adolf Hitler himself who described Breker’s work as expressions of the “mighty momentum and will power.” His sculptures often present the ideal figure of the Aryan man, and were displayed at the 1936 Olympics and later at the entrance to the Reich Chancellery. After World War II, Breker’s work was denounced as fascist, and his work fell out of favor. However, a swell of enthusiasm for his work led to the opening of the Arno Breker Museum in Nörvenich, Germany in 1985, where protests have since led the museum to change its name to the Museum of European Art. Breker died on February 13, 1991 in Düsseldorf, Germany.
Arno Breker Artworks
Arno Breker
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