Ernst Dagobert Kaltofen, Mine foreman in full dress
undated, pencil drawing, 19.5 x 8.8 cm
Inv. no. Q18No32, 1938 Collection Spitzner
From earliest childhood Kaltofen knew the hard life of mineworkers. He grew up in a large and poor family, by the age of 13 he already had to work as a miner to make a living. Because he had a talent for drawing and carving he eventually became a sculptor. Main theme of his work is the life of the mineworkers of the Ore Mountains. In 1938 the museum acquired a collection with mining artefacts collected by Karl Spitzner, Oberregierungsrat (senior councillor) in Dresden at these times.