Wilhelm Kunst

Wilhelm Kunst (2 February 1799 in Hamburg - 16 or 17 November 1859 in Vienna) was a celebrated German actor who provoked quite varied opinions. He was born to play heroic rolls, but some thought, due to lack of study, or perhaps too much of the comedian's touch, Kunst did not do well in roles that required subtlety and excellence in acting. He did better in lower-rated versions of a particular plot, for example being suited to lesser translations of Shakespeare rather than first-rate ones; but in the plays he excelled at, for example Otto von Wittelsbach, he was quite stunning. He first played major roles in Lübeck and worked his way up to the Viennese stage. During his heyday, he did quite well economically, but ended his career in poverty. In 1825, he married the actress Sophie Schröder.

This article is about the actor. For the sculptor, see Wilhelm Kunst (sculptor).
Wilhelm Kunst ca. 1850, lithograph by Faustin Herr

Sources
  • Joseph Kürschner (1883), "Kunst, Wilhelm", Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB) (in German), 17, Leipzig: Duncker & Humblot, pp. 389–390
  • Carl Schurz, Lebenserinnerungen bis zum Jahre 1852, Berlin: Georg Reimer, 1906 and 1911. (in German) As a student in a gymnasium in Cologne (Chapter 3), Schurz was in the care of a locksmith who took him to plays occasionally. Schurz writes: “The taste of my friend the locksmith ran to knight dramas, and in his eyes there was no greater actor than Wilhelm Kunst who occasionally played guest rolls in Cologne. Kunst belonged to that class of muscular actors — a giant of a figure gifted with a powerful body and the voice of a lion. But this voice was capable of more beautiful modulations, and he used his abilities with so much moderation and judgment that, as I believe, he had the reputation of a not insignificant, even a very noteworthy, player. The first piece I saw at the side of my locksmith was Otto von Wittelsbach,[1] at that time a famous knight play in which the hero meets King Philipp of Swabia, who cheats him in a chess game. With an armored fist, the hero strikes the chess board so the pieces fly over the stage, and then strikes the king down with a blow from his sword. Here Kunst was in his element, and his achievement inspired me to the utmost. I also saw him as Wetter vom Strahl in Käthchen von Heilbronn[2] and as Wallenstein in Wallensteins Tod.[3]”

Notes
  1. A play written in 1781 by Joseph Marius Babo (1756-1822).
  2. Käthchen von Heilbronn or The Test of Fire was written by Bernd Heinrich Wilhelm von Kleist (1777-1811).
  3. The Death of Wallenstein was written in 1798 and 1799, is the third play in Friedrich Schiller's Wallenstein trilogy.


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