Background
He was the son of Captain Carl Tilgner.
He was the son of Captain Carl Tilgner.
Then, at the Academy of Fine Arts, he studied under Franz Bauer (1798-1872) and Josef Gasser.
The family moved to Vienna when he was a child. Later, he was attracted to engraving and worked with the medailleur Joseph Daniel Böhm. He belonged to the circle of artists around Count Karol Lanckoroński.
During the World Exhibition of 1873, he met the French sculptor Jean-Baptiste Gustave Deloye, who strongly influenced his work.
The following year, he took a trip to Italy with Hans Makart, whose "realistic academicism" also influenced Tilgner"s style. Foreign the last twenty years of his life, he had a large studio in what was originally a greenhouse at the Palais Schwarzenberg
Despite a long-standing heart condition and recurring chest pain, he spent a strenuous day working on his Mozart monument, to get it ready on schedule.
He died of a heart attack the next morning. Often considered to be his greatest work, the monument was unveiled a few days after his death.
The bulk of his estate was bequeathed to his hometown and is now on display at the Bratislava City Gallery.