On the heels of yesterday’s posting about the early 19th-century composer Johann Nepomuk Hummel, more people named Hummel (with the accented vowel rounded [U] (as in English put) in German or German-influenced English varieties, like Pennsylvania Dutch English; but unrounded [Ʌ] (as in English putt) in ordinary American English). The German landscape painter Carl Hummel. The fictional Kurt Hummel in the American tv series Glee. And the artist nun Maria Innocentia Hummel, whose paintings provided the original models for Hummel figurines, which is what this posting is mostly about.
Hummel the landscape painter. From Wikipedia:
(#1) Múhlental bei Amalfi (Valley of the Mills, near Amalfi), 1878Carl Maria Nicolaus Hummel (31 August 1821, Weimar – 16 June 1907, Weimar) was a German landscape painter and etcher. He was the son of Austrian composer Johann Nepomuk Hummel and the opera singer Elisabeth Röckel.
… His paintings focus primarily on the Italian and Tyrolean Alps. They are widely displayed at museums throughout Northern Europe
Hummel the gay countertenor. From Wikipedia:
(#2) Chris Colfer as Kurt Hummel in GleeKurt Elizabeth Hummel is a fictional character from the Fox musical comedy-drama series Glee. Series creators Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan initially conceived of him as a fashionable gay countertenor who is routinely bullied at school. Kurt is portrayed by actor Chris Colfer, and has appeared as a character on the show since its pilot episode, first broadcast on May 19, 2009.
Hummel the artist nun. From Wikipedia:
(#3) Sr. Maria Innocentia HummelMaria Innocentia Hummel OSF (born Berta Hummel; 21 May 1909 – 6 November 1946) was a German religious sister of the Third Order of St. Francis and an artist. She is noted for her paintings which were the basis for Hummel figurines
Hummel figurines. On Facebook yesterday from Ned Deily, commenting on my Johann Nepomuk Hummel posting (Ned knows something of my family history):
— Tell us of your Hummel collection!
To which I replied:
— I believe I’ve already posted about Hummel figurines, of which my mother was inordinately fond. There were rather a lot of them.[later, after checking:] It seems that I didn’t post to my blog (or Language Log), but only wrote about the figurines on soc.motss. Will get to that too.
Now, my mother died in 1974, 50 years ago; I last saw those figurines in my parents’ house in Solvang CA some time before that; they were part of the background of my childhood (in the Pa. D, but they were way too cute (German niedlich) for my taste and I don’t recall their details.
From Wikipedia:
Hummel figurines (also known as M.I. Hummel figurines or simply Hummels) are a series of porcelain figurines based on the drawings of Maria Innocentia Hummel.
History: The sketch art of Maria Innocentia Hummel began to appear in the 1930s in Germany and Switzerland, mostly pastoral drawings of children. The German art publisher Ars Sacra was involved in the early popularization of the art on postcards. Hummel’s “art cards” became popular throughout Germany, catching the eye of Franz Goebel, porcelain maker and head of W. Goebel Porzellanfabrik. Goebel acquired rights to turn Hummel’s drawing into figurines, producing the first line in 1935. The figurines were introduced at the Leipzig Trade Fair, a major European show for the industry. Goebel was known for presenting new and novel products that attracted American distributors. By the end of the year, 46 M.I. Hummel motifs were on the market, in America sold at Marshall Field & Co. of Chicago and other retailers.
After the end of World War II, the popularity of Hummel figurines grew as American soldiers stationed in West Germany began sending the figurines home as gifts. Nostalgia associated with the figurines and the U.S. soldiers buying them led to Hummel figurines becoming a popular collector’s item.
Some examples. First a set of three popular figures (each Hummel has an index number and a name in German and English):
(#4) #483 “I’ll protect him” (1987); #47/3/0 “Goose girl” (1984); #562 “Grandpa’s boy” (1989)
And then a collection on sale on Etsy:
(#5) En masse, like this, I find them decidedly creepy, in a Children of the Corn sort of way
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