NAM.2017-09-7-13-52

Photograph of four of the statues surrounding the cenotaph to King Maximilian I, at the Hofkirche (Court Church), Innsbruck, Austria, 1900 (c). They stand, in ornately sculptured suits of armour and helmets or crowns, each entirely different to the next. Collectively the 28 statues are known as the ‘Black Men’ due to the colour of the ungilded metal, although there are eight statues of women also. The Hofkirche (Court Church) is a Gothic church located in the Altstadt (old town) section of Innsbruck. The church was built in 1553 by Emperor Ferdinand I (1503–1564) as a memorial to his grandfather Emperor Maximilian I (1459–1519). Ferdinand I commissioned major international artists of the time to represent Maximilian’s heroes and ancestors. From an album of 68 photographs compiled by or presented to Col Maxwell Earle DSO. The album is entitled: ‘Personal Album, M. Earle. South Africa - 1900-1904’, but covers the period 1899-1909. The images and group portraits are mainly taken in England, such as in London, or Aldershot, plus a few taken in South Africa during the Boer War.