Memorial to Emperor Wilhelm I. of Germany in Bernburg 1901

This memorial to Emperor Wilhelm I in Bernburg is by Ludwig Manzel, who was born in 1858. Here's a bronze, a monumental sculpture, an assertion of power. I'm immediately drawn to the texture, the density of the metal, and I think about Manzel's process, the labor involved in bringing such a massive form into being. It must have been something to see being made! I imagine the artist working the clay, shaping the figure of the emperor and the horse, coaxing them into existence with a practiced hand. Think about it as a conversation with other sculptures, the echoes of ancient equestrian statues, the dialogue with the Rodin, maybe even the ghost of Leonardo. I wonder if the horse is too small? If so, the sculptor must have known, and that awkwardness becomes something else, a kind of...humility? Making art always involves so many mistakes, so much awkwardness. It's all about how you frame the errors. It’s a messy, glorious endeavor, and we’re all just trying to make something meaningful out of the chaos.