Joseph Sibbel

Joseph Sibbel (b.

Dulmen, 7 June 1850; d. in New York City

, 10 July 1907) was a German-born sculptor.

As a boy he evinced the inclination for

cutting ornaments and figures from wood, which attracted the attention of his teacher, who urged the parents of the boy to send him to Munster, Westphalia

. At the establishment of the wood carver, Friedrich A. Ewertz, Sibbel developed an interest in ecclesiastical sculpture. He spent his leisure time in visiting the studio of the sculptor Theodore Achterman, where he acquired the art of modeling in clay.

In 1873 he emigrated to

Christ

blessing a group at his feet. The sermon desk proper he adorned with a symbolical group of three figures, typifying youth, maturity, and age, listening to the word of God from above.

It was not until he furnished for the cathedral in

St. Bonaventure

.

Two heroic panels, representing "Our Lady Comforter of the Afflicted" and "The Death of St. Joseph", are erected in the Church of St. Francis Xavier in

St. Turibius; and Kateri Tekakwitha

, the Mohawk woman and first Native American convert to Catholicism. In these statues the artist ventured on a new path in religious sculpture, portraying typical American subjects.

Among his last works was the exterior and interior statuary decoration of

St. Paul's Cathedral in Pittsburgh. Among these statues are represented the Apostles and Doctors of the Church, executed in Indiana limestone. In the conception of each statue there is expressed a different idea, for instance the marble statue representing Purgatory

. Here the artist represents in two figures a very complex idea. Out of the flames of torture there rises a female figure, symbolic of a liberated soul casting off the veil of darkness and beholding the light of eternal reward. Below, there appears a still afflicted soul, represented by a wan male figure imploring intercession.

Notes

^ "THE STEWART MEMORIAL; THE NEW CATHEDRAL AT GARDEN CITY" (PDF). New York Times. 9 April 1885.

References

This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Joseph Sibbel". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.

www.josephsibbelofny.com

Beauty Dreamer: The Life and Times of Joseph Sibbel, Nineteenth Century German-American Ecclesiastical Sculptor by Delma Tallerico, 2011.

[1] "THE STEWART MEMORIAL; THE NEW CATHEDRAL AT GARDEN CITY" (PDF). New York Times. 9 April 1885.