Wolfgang Schaper

Friedrich Emil Wolfgang Schaper (1895–1930) was born in Berlin as the son of sculptor Fritz Schaper and grew up within the environment of the Berlin School of Sculpture. Initially intending to become an engineer, he joined the army at the outbreak of World War I. A serious injury at the Western Front led to the amputation of a leg and changed the course of his life. From 1916 he studied painting and later sculpture at the Berlin Academy of Arts under Erich Wolfsfeld and Gerhard Janensch. During the 1920s he lived and worked in Berlin and Starnberg.

Schaper developed a distinctive style combining classical clarity with a modern sense of movement. He became known for dynamic sports figures – runners, tennis players and throwers – capturing the athletic ideals of his time. His “Discus Thrower” (1927), now near the Berlin Olympic Stadium, remains among his best-known works. In 1928 he participated in the art competitions of the Olympic Games.

Beyond athletic figures, Schaper created portraits and free compositions. His bronze “Joy of Life” (*Lebensfreude*) – a dancing couple in perfect balance – was completed after his death in 1930 by his sister Dorothea Schaper-Barthels. It stands as a symbol of vitality and human harmony.

The Lauchhammer Art Foundry later acquired the original plaster model and listed bronzes of 38 cm and 80 cm in its 1938 catalogue. The work exemplifies the modern, movement-oriented figural sculpture of early 20th-century Germany.