Adam van Düren

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Adam van Düren (also von Düren ; * before 1487, † after 1532) was a German stonemason and master builder who worked in Sweden and Denmark.

Life

Relief panel (1505) in the Glimmingehus castle chapel , van Düren's signature “Adam” and his stonemason's mark on the top right

Adam van Düren was born in the 1460s. He probably came from Düren near Cologne, according to older information from Westphalia . He worked in Sweden and Denmark from 1487 to 1532 . For the first time, his participation in the completion of the choir of Linköping Cathedral is proven, where he affixed his stonemason's mark , two crossed scythes, in eleven places at the latest in 1498. Düren probably traveled from the Swedish city of Linköping to Denmark, where Arma-Christi representations are ascribed to him on some keystones in the net vault in the chapter house of the Carmelite monastery near Helsingør , as they resemble other of his works in Linköping and later Lund . Then Düren probably went to Copenhagen , where a monumental realistic stone relief of King Hans (1503) is ascribed to him. This served as a stone in front of the flight of stairs to the riding hall in Copenhagen Castle and is now in the Danish National Museum .

Also at the turn of the century, Adam van Düren worked on the construction of Glimmingehus Castle in the Swedish landscape of Skåne on behalf of Jens Holgersen Ulfstand . His stonemason's mark and signature can be found on various reliefs. Decorative stone door frames and figural sculptures also come from him. It is controversial whether he worked as an architect and site manager for the entire building from 1499 to 1505 or only as a stone and sculptor. The fact that the castle was built in several stages speaks against the former, as archaeological studies in the 1990s have shown. While van Düren's works were only delivered after the shell had been completed, the initially acting master builder probably no longer stayed there, as is concluded from the changing decorative details. It is possible that van Düren was only called in at the end of the construction work on Glimmingehus Castle.

Adam van Düren's most important works include those in Lund Cathedral , which he was involved in restoring and strengthening with buttresses and vaults. At first he probably helped with the drainage of the flooded crypt and the conversion of its central vault into a domed vault. He was then awarded the design of the tomb, completed in 1512, by Archbishop Birger Gunnersen, who died seven years later. It is a high relief in the early Renaissance style that shows the figure of the bishop lying on a tumba . Adam van Düren signed a sandstone fountain basin in the crypt with his full name, dated 1513/14. On three sides of the basin there are reliefs (king, monk / fool and louse / lamb) with inscriptions in Low German . These vary contemporary sayings and describe in a satirical way grievances in late medieval society.

After the reconstruction of Lund Cathedral was initially completed around 1518, van Düren probably stayed temporarily in Stockholm . A relief sculpture in Sankt Nikolai kyrka from 1521 is attributed to him because it is similar to one of his works in Lund. He is also said to have been involved in strengthening pillars of the church.

Van Düren presumably had a family, but they died during his stay in Stockholm. A cross for Brigitte Adams and her children, who died in Lund on December 13, 1520, was still on the Krafts Kirkhof at Lund Cathedral until the middle of the 18th century.

Before 1523 van Düren returned to Lund and took part in repair work on the northern part of the cathedral transept. In 1524 he rebuilt the vault of the transept, divided it into eighths and designed it with the Arma Christi shields characteristic of him. Consoles , keystones and corbels have been preserved in the vault , decorated with human heads, two of which are interpreted as those of Adam van Düren and his wife. The last record of van Düren's work at the cathedral was 1527, to which he dated a work based on a column in the north tower. On one side it shows the figure of a donkey falling under its weight. There is a Danish inscription above it. The other side of the column base shows a man working with the skin of a donkey, titled "Got help" in runic script . It is therefore assumed that van Düren mastered both scripts.

The last time Düren was documented was in 1532, when he was issued a passport for a trip to Germany and back. It is unclear whether he finally left Scandinavia or returned to Denmark after the trip. Some works from this time in Malmö , Denmark , which are attributed to him, speak for the latter , such as a relief tablet on the portal to the Rosenvingehous and sculptures on Malmöhus . He died in the late 1530s.

plant

Fountain basin (1513/14) in the crypt of Lund Cathedral with satirical relief of a king and Low German inscription

Adam van Düren's works, which are in the tradition of the German late Gothic , are described as solid, conscientious and powerful. However, they are often a bit clumsy, the proportions of the figures are wrong. His inscriptions are satirical, sometimes bitter. Instead of the simple relief fracture that was customary up to that point, he used recessed fracture letters.

Works (selection)
  • Linköping , Dom : stone carvings (1498 at the latest)
  • Helsingør , Carmelite Monastery: Arma Christi - representations in the (Laxmandsaal), before 1500 (attributed)
  • Copenhagen , castle: 3.2 m high stone relief with a portrait of King Hans enthroned in a Gothic frame, dated 1503, Danish National Museum (attributed)
  • Glimmingehus , Burg-Kapelle: Relief panel with Jens Holgersen with a dog in front of Christ on the cross, Maria and Johannes, signed with “Adam”, stonemason's mark, dated 1505
  • Glimmingehus, women's chamber: sandstone relief, signed, stonemason's mark, 1505
  • Glimmingehus, niche in the east wall: painted sandstone high relief with Mary in half figure with child on a crescent moon ( attributed )
  • Glimmingehus: Relief panel with coats of arms of Jens Holgersen and his two wives, made of Gotland limestone (attributed)
  • Lund , cathedral , crypt: fountain basin, reliefs on three sides, made of sandstone, signed "Adam Van Düren", dated 1513/1514
  • Lund, Dom: tombstone of canon Magister Ture Bøl, who died in 1502 (attributed to)
  • Lund, Dom: Tomb of Archbishop Birger Gunnersen, who died in 1519, made of sandstone, completed in 1512 (attributed)
  • Lund, Dom-Mus .: Base of the largest buttress with the inscription "Got help Adams børn" and text about the 1525 battle of Lund
  • Tosterup / Skåne , church: gravestone with a portrait of Tyge Brahe zu Tosterup and his wife Magdalene Krognos, who died in 1510, around 1510 (attributed)
  • Sankt Nikolai kyrka : relief sculpture, the lion and lioness fighting with an eel, on a pillar base, with inscription, dated 1521 (attributed)

literature

Web links

Commons : Adam van Düren  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Inga Lena Ångström Grandien: Düren (Diren; Dure [n]; Duyren; Dywrenn), Adam van . In: General Artist Lexicon . The visual artists of all times and peoples (AKL). Volume 30, Saur, Munich a. a. 2001, ISBN 3-598-22770-1 , p. 289.
personal data
SURNAME Düren, Adam van
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Düren, Adam von
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Stone mason and builder
DATE OF BIRTH before 1487
DATE OF DEATH after 1532