Direklang ("Triad")

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At the dawn of the 20th century, Rudolf Belling's name became a rallying cry for artistic revolutionaries. The composer of "Dreiklang" sparked heated debates with his unorthodox views on sculpture, challenging the status quo in Berlin's art circles. By drawing inspiration from Benvenuto Cellini, a renowned Italian sculptor who advocated for multi-aspectual artworks, Belling boldly diverged from the prevailing opinion that sculptures should be viewed from multiple angles. This radical stance foreshadowed a seismic shift in the understanding of sculpture as a three-dimensional art form. Rudolf Belling's unyielding commitment to showcasing only good views from his sculptures positioned him at odds with Adolf von Hildebrandt, a prominent German art theorist who insisted that sculptures should be easily comprehensible and not require viewers to rotate them. In his groundbreaking work, "The Problem of Form in Sculpture" (1903), Hildebrandt argued that sculpture should never force the observer to circumnavigate it. Belling's innovative approach effectively discredited the prevailing theories, earning him the respect of influential critics like Carl Einstein and Paul Westheim. Belling's pioneering ideas on space and form captivated even the most discerning art critics, leaving a lasting impact on generations of sculptors who followed in his footsteps.