Britt Kanja about ‚Die Nacht‘ by Emil Wolff - Lempertz Academy

After the great approval in Autumn, we introduce this season’s highlights of the upcoming Spring auction in brief videos. This year we were also able to get a hold of exciting personalities, including style icon Britt Kanja. She shares her personal take on the sculpture Die Nacht by Emil Wolff, which will be on view at our Berlin auction. We wish you much joy!

Spring Auction Highlights 2017 Britt Kanja, Artist, Style Icon, Grand Dame of Berlin Nights

In this video the co-founder of Berlin's legendary nightclub, 90 Grad, speaks of the wants and the beauty of the 2,40m marble figure "Die Nacht" by sculptor Emil Wolff. 

This fine work, weighing over 700kg, depicts an allegory of night as a nude young woman, who uses her right hand to pull a starry veil over her head and holds two poppy flowers in her left. At her feet perches an owl – a bird whose ability to see in darkness caused it to become a potent symbol of wisdom.

Wolff was born in Berlin in 1802 and began his studies at the Berlin Art Academy in 1815. He was taught, among others, by his uncle Johann Gottfried Schadow, who is known for sculpting the quadriga that crowns Brandenburg Gate. An academic prize enabled Wolff, whose paintings now hang in the Louvre, to visit Rome when he was 20 years old. He then settled in the city and there was heavily influenced by the style of Bertel Thorwaldsen. This work, entitled “Die Nacht” (The Night), was made the Italian capital after 1830 (lot 442).

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