Gerhard Brandes
1923-2013
Gerhard Brandes, born in Frankfurt an der Oder, Germany, spent his youth in Berlin and began his academic training in Vienna. However, it was primarily Hamburg that influenced him: Here, at the Landeskunstschule Hamburg, he continued his studies from 1945 to 1949 and met teachers such as Edwin Scharff and Gerhard Marcks, who helped shape his artistic thinking. Brandes remained loyal to Hamburg as a freelance sculptor and as a lecturer at the Fachhochschule für Gestaltung, and it was here that his artistic standing was first recognised.
His sculptures, some of them monumental, made of bronze, copper or concrete, can still be admired today at numerous schools, churches and other buildings, as well as in public places. Brandes created over 40 sculptures solely for the city of Hamburg. His small sculptures can be found geographically and widely scattered in numerous museums and private collections.
