“Orpheus mit den Tieren, Die Macht der Musik” was once part of a fountain on the facade of the Academy of Fine Arts (Hochschule der bildenden Künste) in Charlottenburg. Today it’s hidden among stinging nettles, shrubs and trees in Wedding.

You won’t see “Orpheus with the Animals, the Power of Music” when you walk through the small park at Eckernförder Platz in Wedding. You need to know where it is and venture through branches and nettles to get to it.

And there he is. Orpheus, the mythical singer and poet from ancient Greece, peacefully surrounded by a lion and a deer.

I have no idea how he ended up there, because it’s not his original location.

The figure was once part of a fountain on the East Pavilion of the Academy of Fine Arts on Hardenbergstraße in Charlottenburg. Orpheus also had a counterpart on the West Pavilion. “Prometheus mourned by the Oceanids” (Prometheus von den Okeaniden beweint) is still there, but it has been renovated and is no longer a fountain.

The Academy of Fine Arts was heavily damaged during World War II, and the sandstone figure of Orpheus shows clear signs of battle damage. Orpheus himself has a bullet hole on one side of his leg and on the other side you can see damage from what appears to be shrapnel.

In addition, Orpheus is missing his head, the lion his feet and an ear, and the deer his head and a leg. It’s not clear if this is war damage or damage from when the figure was moved from its original location.

Regardless, “the figure”Orpheus with the animals, the power of music” still exists, relegated to a secluded spot in overgrown nature in Wedding.

If you know when the figure was moved and why, please leave a comment or send me an email.

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