A CARVED WHITE MARBLE BUST OF EMPEROR WILHELM II

Heinz Hoffmeister (1851-1894), was a sculptor, painter and writer. He was a student of Robert and carl Cauer, in Kreuznach, and Albert Karl Konrad Wolff at the Academy in Berlin. He executed several monuments, such as the David Hansemann monument in Aachen, 1888; the Mendelssohn monument in Dessau, 1890; and figural carved decoration for the Gate of the Stadschloss in Berlin. He also portrayed the Emperors family including Friedrich III, and Wilhelm II of which the present lot is and example. Several of his models were also cast in bronze by the firm Gladenbeck.
The present bust depicts Wilhelm II just after he succeeded Frederick III, in 1888, aged 29.
See, P. Bloch et. al. Ethos und Pathos, Berlin 1990, p.482.