Some notes about Bydgoszcz #1
Naked,
standing in the city center and tightens the arch for over a century. Who are
we talking about? Of course, it comes to the Archer Lady (Łuczniczka).
Its
permanent place has been Jan Kochanowski Park for more than
five decades. Due to the revitalization of the park, the sculpture of
the Archer Lady will also undergo restoration work. Work on the Archer Lady
will begin in the spring because until March 15 it will be one of the
exhibits on the exhibition "Ferdinand Lepcke (1866-1909)" in the Leon Wyczółkowski District Museum.
It
was this German artist who is the author of the sculpture.
Lepcke died in 1909, but the Archer Lady was unveiled in Bydgoszcz a year
later. Why so late? The sculpture was probably presented at exhibitions in
major German cities in 1908 (as it is one of his last works) and in
May 1910 at an exhibition in Bydgoszcz presented its smaller plaster version.
Immediately Bydgoszcz bankers became interested in bringing the
original to Bydgoszcz. Eventually it was financed by Louis
Aronsohn. The mayor of the city, Hugo Wolff contacted the brother of the late Ferdinand
and bought the original copy.
The
Archer Lady was unveiled in Bydgoszcz on 18 October 1910. Initially
it stood on the square close to the Municipal Theatre at the Theatrical Square.
First it was on Mostowa Street, then it was moved to the square and in 1939 it
returned to the original place. In 1955, the sculpture was moved to Gdańska
Street. It was next to the City Museum and after five years, it ended opposite
the Polish Theatre in Jan Kochanowski Park, where it still stands today.
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| Archer Lady at the exhibition |
Currently, you can enjoy a few casts of the Archer Lady in Germany. They are
located in Berlin (unfortunately the first cast has not survived to
the present day; it was demolished shortly after the war ; the
new cast has been on Hohenzollernplatz since December 12, 1997), Coburg (the
hometown of Ferdinand Lepcke), Heringsdorf and Wilhelmshaven (a faithful copy
of the cast from Coburg; sculpturefounded by Germans from Bydgoszcz. There
is a plaque with the following content: "Bogenspannerin - nach prof.
Ferdinand Lepcke. Original in Bromberg" on the pedestal).
There
are many casts, but still we don't know who Lepcke modelled it on.
There are many versions:
- Julia, daughter of of Aronsohn
- the banker's friend, showgirl of Bydgoszcz theatre
- the Berlin model of Lepcke
I
am not sure which one is the most likely. I once thought it was
thedaughter of the founder, but if the first Archer Lady was seen in May 1910
how could he have made this sculpture before. It is also said that the Archer
Lady is the enchanted in bronze friend of Aronsohn and he therefore bought this
sculpture. Probably we will never find the truth.
The
monument of the Archer Lady is one of the symbols of Bydgoszcz and hence comes
the idea of her promoting my series "Some notes about
Bydgoszcz".
