Tilgner was born on 25 October 1844 in
Pressburg. He was the son of Captain Carl Tilgner. The family moved to
Vienna when he was a child. His talent was recognized early by the sculptor , who became his first teacher. Then, at the
Academy of Fine Arts, he studied under
Franz Bauer and
Josef Gasser. Later, he was attracted to engraving and worked with the
medailleur . One of Tilgner's student's was German sculptor
John Walz. He belonged to the circle of artists around Count
Karol Lanckoroński. During the
World Exhibition of 1873, he met the French sculptor
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. For 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 in Vienna, to get it ready on schedule. He died of a heart attack the next morning, on 16 April 1896. 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. ==Selected major works==