Albertus Pictor

Albertus Pictor , also Albrekt Pärlstickare , Albert målare (* probably 1440 in Immenhausen , † after 1509 in Stockholm ) was a late Gothic Swedish painter and pearl embroiderer .

Life

Albertus Pictor was probably born in 1440 in the Hessian town of Immenhausen . In 1465 he was first mentioned in Sweden as a resident of Arboga . He first worked as an apprentice to Holmger Knutsson , as can be seen from the signature in the church of Ösmo in Södermanland . The journeyman Albertus Pictor continued to work for Holmger Knutsson, to whom the mural paintings in the Sörmland churches of Torshälla , Ösmo and Vadsbro are stylistically ascribed. His own artist name appears in some of the signatures on these murals.

In Sala and Solna , Albertus Pictor and Holmger Knutsson created the church paintings together. In 1473 Albertus married the painter's widow Johan Målare and moved to Stockholm . Through his marriage he came into possession of a well-established artist workshop. In the city books of Stockholm he was recorded alternately as a painter and pearl embroiderer.

In the following years Albertus Pictor created wall paintings in around 30 churches (including Bromma kyrka , Floda kyrka (Södermanland) , Härkeberga kyrka and Täby kyrka ). In late Gothic Sweden he became the sacred church painter with the most extensive work. At the beginning of the 16th century he paid much higher taxes than his comparable artist colleagues and was a highly respected citizen of Stockholm. He is mentioned for the last time in 1509 when he made music for a fee at a guild meeting .

In Ingmar Bergman's film classic The Seventh Seal (1957) Albertus Pictor appears as a supporting role, played by Gunnar Olsson .

Picturesque work

Albertus Pictors wall painting on the vaults and walls is always subordinate to the architecture. Using rich ornamentation , particularly lush tendrils , he created transitions between the individual figurative motifs.

Initially, the almost corporeal painting clearly showed the influence of his master Holmger Knutsson, who renewed the previous north German-inspired Swedish wall painting with delicate, multi-part compositions, using especially the engravings of master ES as a template . But Albertus Pictors gradually moved away from this artistic approach. His renewed style became less rhythmic, the forms were stronger and the types of people visibly coarser. He followed new models, e.g. B. that of the master of the house book , whose realism at that time supplanted the courtly idealizing conception. This change in style led Albertus Pictor to a new, simplified style ideal that had never appeared so expressively in Swedish art.

Since 1470 he was particularly inspired by compositions of the Biblia pauperum and the Ars moriendi as well as outstanding individual sheets by colleagues, without the style of his schematic figure representation changing.

The painter's cheerful, almost cheerful style goes hand in hand with a clear, magnificently executed color scale.

Textile designer and pearl stickers

Almost 30 embroideries have been preserved from Albertus Pictors textile workshop, especially liturgical vestments, e.g. B. the splendid Mary's chasuble in Uppsala Cathedral and the coffin ceiling for Holmger Knutsson in Skokloster . The stylistic relationships between the textile works and the paintings are particularly evident in the color design. Albertus Pictors pearl embroidery workshop follows the tradition of Gdansk pearl embroidery.

successor

Albertus Pictors had a number of artistic successors, but they did not have a decisive influence on posterity.

Exhibitions

• 1949: Stockholm History Museum , Stockholm,

gallery

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  Death plays chess in Täby Church ( Täby kyrka )

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  Dancing peasants in the church of Härkeberga ( Härkeberga kyrka ) around 1480

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  Wall painting in the Church of Floda (Katrineholm)

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  Wall painting in the church of Bromma

Web links

Commons : Albertus Pictor  - album with pictures, videos and audio files

• albertuspictor.com