Hummels Figurines have a very long and traditional background attached with their name. The artwork behind these beautiful little statuettes was originally painted by a German nun named Maria Innocentia Hummel. In 1927 she joined the Academy of Applied Arts in Munich and soon after her graduation entered the Franciscan Convent of Siessen. While there, she spent many long hours each day painting beautiful portraits of children in different settings, which were soon made into popular postcards. Sometime after that, the owner of a now-famous porcelain company, Franz Goebel, saw her artwork and was immediately enchanted. He requested making figurines based on the artwork, and the convent consented. In 1935 the first collection of hummels figurines came out in Germany and was an immediate success. Everyone loved the dear and loving portrayal of the children in their motionless poses. However, there were still some that hated her work. In 1987 she released a painting titled “The Volunteers,” which drew the undying anger of Adolf Hitler and many Nazis who even stated in one magazine, “there is no place in the ranks of German artists for the likes of her. No, the ‘beloved Fatherland’ cannot remain calm when Germany’s youth are portrayed as brainless sissies.” At age 37, Hummel died from tuberculosis, and was buried in the convent cemetery. Even though her life ended way before it was due, Goebel and his company continued to produce the figurines that were based on her artwork, as a tribute to honor her memory.
To this very day, Hummel remains a well known and much loved name throughout many households around the world. When we take a trip back to the past and read about how many trials and tribulations Hummel endured, it makes us appreciate every one of her figurines more than ever. Each one tells a story, a story of her hardships, a story of her experiences, and most of all – a story of her life. She never backed down even under extremely hard circumstances, and through it all kept the strength to continue in the most difficult time of her life. And just imagine, it was at those times that some of her greatest artwork and paintings were created. So let us remember her legacy and what it means to have and to hold one of these little figurines. We should never take for granted the beautiful things in life, and hummels figurines are a perfect shining example of one such exquisite creation.
The figurines come in a large variety of designs, and most of them are of children. This was most likely due to Hummel’s time spent at the convent, when there was sure to always be a number of children around. She spent her time painstakingly painting them with whatever they were doing, from playing in the garden to quietly sitting under a tree eating an apple. Today, Hummel’s paintings are considered one of the finest works of classic art, and are greatly loved and treasured by many convents in Germany. If you are intending to collect hummels figurines, then keep in mind that due to their extremely famous heritage the figurines can get slightly expensive at times, ranging from a few hundred dollars to even thousands. To collect an entire set or collection would mean investing a large amount of cash, so make sure that your budget is adequate before starting out.
Little did Hummel know that decades after their original inception, her paintings would live on in the hearts and minds of future generations. And the joy that they instill only continues to spread even further in the form of hummels figurines.