Bronze & Wood |
Rudolph Thiem did not carve in stone except to do lettering. He evidently carved the names of war veterans for the interior marble walls of Soldiers, Sailors and Pioneers Monument. And he carved the lettering on his wife Anna’s gravestone, and presumably on his own. Thiem also designed the imposing obelisk for Dr. J. B. Scott in Hamilton Ohio's Greenwood Cemetery. The restrained ornamentation draws on Gothic motifs. Thiem himself probably did not work the stone, but left the execution of the design to stone cutters.
Wood, it seems, was Thiem’s favorite material, followed by bronze (with models done in clay and wax). This page shows the range of his work in these two media, from different periods of his life. The bronze pieces on this page are, for the most part, presented chronologically. The art furniture and other carvings in wood are not. Most of them cannot be dated. The first piece included here is neither bronze nor wood. It is a plaster cast of a biracial “Group of Cotton Yardmen.” The faint photograph of the cast is the only known representation of a work Thiem executed during his New Orleans period (1881-1886). He and Paul Riess, his collaborator, may have intended to cast this remarkable piece in metal. No copy, either in plaster or metal, is known to have survived. |
A Plaster Cast: “Group of Three Cotton Yardmen”
Works in Bronze |
“Gen. Ferd Vanderveer” “His Medallion Finished For the 35th Monument at Chickamauga—Fine Work,” Hamilton Daily News, June 30, 1897. np. (clipping in the Butler County Historical Collection, the Journal-News archive).
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The devastating rise of the Great Miami River that occurred on March 25, 1913, claimed many lives, and destroyed the truss bridge connecting Hamilton and Rossville. That bridge is the third from the right in the tablet. The covered bridge, shown on the left, was the first one to cross the river, whose flood water destroyed it as well.
The sculptor’s low relief presentation offers aerial views of the three earlier bridges, framed by ovals and all seen from the same perspective. This method highlights the different bridge-making technologies of each era. Thiem’s depiction of the three bridges shows the human capacity to rebuild after great loss, and yet the need for three successive bridges reminds viewers of the force and terror of unbridled water.
Thiem’s composition rested on first-hand experience. The flood of 1913 hit his studio and swept away his tools, models, and the letters he had received from presidents (Eaton, “Sculpting a Legacy.” Journal News, 10/2/1988, B2). For a picture of Thiem’s studio after the flood, see the page entitled Life.
The sculptor’s low relief presentation offers aerial views of the three earlier bridges, framed by ovals and all seen from the same perspective. This method highlights the different bridge-making technologies of each era. Thiem’s depiction of the three bridges shows the human capacity to rebuild after great loss, and yet the need for three successive bridges reminds viewers of the force and terror of unbridled water.
Thiem’s composition rested on first-hand experience. The flood of 1913 hit his studio and swept away his tools, models, and the letters he had received from presidents (Eaton, “Sculpting a Legacy.” Journal News, 10/2/1988, B2). For a picture of Thiem’s studio after the flood, see the page entitled Life.
This fixture to the right is a rare example of Thiem’s work as an industrial artist of domestic articles. It held a rotating calendar, showing the day, month and year in the rectangular slots. The stylized leaf framing the bottom of the holder resembles the leaf decoration on the mirrored hall stand shown in the next section "Works in Wood." The calendar holder is undated, but the art nouveau features suggest it was produced around 1900 or later. In that period much of Thiem’s work came from design contracts for various Hamilton foundries and factories, such as Duemer Pattern Works (“Thiem’s Life” p. 5).
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Works in Wood
Almost all Thiem’s surviving wood carvings and “art furniture” come from his own household or the households of his three children. Like other carvers of the time, he rarely signed his commissioned pieces, so it is difficult to document them. As a result, his work in this medium is hardly known. Yet woodcarving was an important part of his business. He billed himself both “designer” and “wood carver,” (for example in the 1900-1901 Hamilton City Directory). The purpose of this section is to introduce website visitors to Thiem’s accomplishments as a woodcarver. Because almost all of his carvings remain in private collections, neither the broader public nor scholars have had access to the works shown below.
Besides projects done in Hamilton, Thiem had commissions from St. George’s Catholic Church, Cincinnati (pews and confessionals), from Powel Crosley, Jr., for Pinecroft, the Crosley estate in Cincinnati (a pair of oak lions), from a bank in China (lettering), and from Panama.
For display or use in his own home, Thiem carved a variety of objects including candle holders, plant stands, valances, picture frames, serving dishes, a jewel box, a decorative chair, a "swan table" and a mirrored hall stand.
The carving of oakwood was his speciality. A number of the photos on this page show his mastery in this difficult medium. Oak has a tendency to splinter under the carver’s chisel, and yet the artist can use its intricate grain and “tiger” markings to captivate the human eye.
This sampling of Thiem’s woodcarving shows his delight in playful composition and intricate ornament.
Besides projects done in Hamilton, Thiem had commissions from St. George’s Catholic Church, Cincinnati (pews and confessionals), from Powel Crosley, Jr., for Pinecroft, the Crosley estate in Cincinnati (a pair of oak lions), from a bank in China (lettering), and from Panama.
For display or use in his own home, Thiem carved a variety of objects including candle holders, plant stands, valances, picture frames, serving dishes, a jewel box, a decorative chair, a "swan table" and a mirrored hall stand.
The carving of oakwood was his speciality. A number of the photos on this page show his mastery in this difficult medium. Oak has a tendency to splinter under the carver’s chisel, and yet the artist can use its intricate grain and “tiger” markings to captivate the human eye.
This sampling of Thiem’s woodcarving shows his delight in playful composition and intricate ornament.
This carved oak table shows Rudolph Thiem's abiding fascination with the swan as ornament. Another example is the "Swan Stove" designed for the Kahn Brothers' foundry, shown on the Home and the Stove Design pages of this site. "Swan tables" were popular in the 19th century. Thiem makes several bold innovations in this genre. Photos by Natalie Bolton, by permission of Dave and Lana Thiem.