Biography

Friedrich Adler was born in April 1878 in Laupheim. After studying at the Royal School of Applied Arts in Munich and spending four years as a freelance artist, he joined the newly founded Debschitz School in 1902, where he also began teaching the following year. Even after moving to Hamburg, Adler remained deeply committed to teaching until the National Socialists revoked his professorship in 1933. In 1942, Adler was deported to the Auschwitz concentration camp, where he died at an unknown date.

In addition to his designs for metalwork, Adler was also active as a designer, architect, and ceramicist. His early designs were primarily produced by Walter Scherf & Co. using an alloy mainly composed of zinc (Osiris). While his works from around 1899 are characterized by vegetal, flat ornamentation, his style shifted around 1904 toward more sculptural ornamentation. From 1906 onward, Adler adopted a more restrained ornamental style, which also involved abandoning zinc as a material. Over the course of his career, Adler collaborated with various manufacturers and workshops, including Urania and Wilkens & Söhne. He evolved from a designer of unique artisanal works to a creator of mass-produced products.

From 1911 onward, Adler also dedicated himself to designing Jewish ritual objects and synagogue interiors. Particularly noteworthy are his stained glass windows for the synagogue in Laupheim, which were destroyed during the Kristallnacht pogrom. Among his most well-known works are the candlesticks he designed — including the five-branched candelabrum from 1900, which impresses with its vegetal ornamentation, symmetry, and rhythm. The flat ornaments form a harmonious unit and resemble a plant stem from which branches appear to grow out of buds.

Objects by Friedrich Adler