Ernst Julius Hähnel

Ernst Julius Hähnel (9 March 1811 – 22 May 1891) was a German sculptor and Professor at the Dresden Academy of Fine Arts.

He originally studied architecture at the Dresden Academy then, in 1826, went to the Academy of Fine Arts, Munich, where he remained until 1831 and later switched to sculpture after taking classes with Ernst Rietschel and Ludwig Schwanthaler.

He took a study trip to Rome and Florence and returned to Munich, living there from 1835 to 1838, when he was appointed to the Dresden Academy.

Upon arriving there, Gottfried Semper entrusted him with the preparation of some sculptures for the new Semperoper (Opera House).

In 1845, he created the Beethoven Monument in Bonn, the work which made him famous.

Ernst Hähnel, photograph by Franz Hanfstaengl
Maenad and the Panther by Ernst Julius Hähnel 1886, Albertinum, Dres
Replacement gravestone for Ernst Hähnel in the Old Catholic Cemetery in Dresden