Alfred Tepe

Wilhelm Victor Alfred Tepe (born November 24, 1840 in Amsterdam , † November 23, 1920 in Düsseldorf ) was a Dutch architect. Alongside Pierre Cuypers , he was the most important neo-Gothic architect in the Netherlands. Many churches were built according to his designs, mainly in the area of ​​the Archdiocese of Utrecht .

biography

Church tower of Raalte Church

Tepe was born in Amsterdam as the son of a German textile merchant. From 1861 to 1864 he studied architecture at the Berlin Building Academy , where he was dissatisfied with the training, which was strongly based on classicism . In his spare time he studied the works of EE Viollet-le-Duc , the French expert in the field of Gothic architecture. From 1865 to 1867 Tepe worked in Cologne for one of the most important German neo-Gothic architects, Vincenz Statz . He was also involved in the restoration of Cologne Cathedral .

In 1867 Tepe returned to Amsterdam , where he worked for an architect named Ouderterp. In 1872 he moved to Utrecht . There he became one of the most important supporters of the St. Bernulphus Guild . This was a group of Catholic clergymen who wanted to preserve national tradition and expertise in religious art and architecture. The medieval native styles and the use of native materials such as bricks were particularly important here. This ideology played a decisive role in most of Tepes' buildings.

Between 1871 and 1905 Tepe built around 70 churches out of brick with little use of natural stone . He took the Lower Rhine Gothic of the 15th and 16th centuries as a model. The interior decoration of the churches was in many cases carried out by artists who were also affiliated with the guild. Tepe mainly worked with the sculptor Friedrich Wilhelm Mengelberg .

Until about 1882 Alfred Tepe had a kind of monopoly on the design of new Catholic churches in the core area of ​​the Archdiocese of Utrecht. Only after the death of Archbishop Schaepman did other architects also get a chance.

In addition to Kírchbauten, Tepe designed many other buildings that were often connected in one way or another with the Catholic Church, such as B. Monasteries, schools and orphanages. A good example of this is the Sankt Hieronymus orphanage and old people's home in Utrecht from 1875 to 1877.

From around 1900 Tepe also built some churches in Germany. In 1905, when there were no orders in the Netherlands, he moved back to Germany, this time to Düsseldorf, where he died in 1920, one day before his 80th birthday.

Architectural style

Tepe was the leading architect of the St. Bernulphus Guild, which provided a clearly recognizable direction in Dutch neo-Gothic. This work was continued by Johannes Wilhelmus Boerbooms and Wolter te Riele , among others . The neo-Gothic style of this Utrecht school , inspired by the Lower Rhine Gothic, differs significantly from the more modern Amsterdam school around Cuypers. While for Cuypers the Gothic was only the starting point for an architecture to be further developed, for Tepe it was always the only true architecture for church construction, especially the Lower Rhine variant.

Tepes churches are characterized by a mostly simple but well thought-out architectural style, with high west towers if possible. You will look in vain for elaborate ornaments on the outside. Exceptions are the typical Rhineland balustrades, niches and decorative turrets on the front facades of some of Tepe's buildings. Even buttresses were rarely scheduled, and only once was an ambulatory built.

In contrast to Cuypers, Tepe's works show little further development in style. Nevertheless, one has to distinguish four phases of his career: In the first phase from 1871 to 1876 he developed his personal style and tried different types of churches.

In the second phase from 1876 to 1890, he allowed more ornaments than before. Between 1890 and 1900, his third phase, Tepe experimented with concentric floor plans, especially in the form of hall churches . The fourth phase, after 1900, shows a return to earlier designs from the early days. Tepe changed his neo-Gothic style in Germany. His church in Bawinkel is actually mostly made of sandstone.

Important buildings

• 1874–1875 Jutphaas: St. Nicholas Church (Sint-Nicolaaskerk)
• 1874–1876 Arnhem: St. Martin's Church (Sint-Martinuskerk)
• 1875–1877 Utrecht: St. Hieronymus orphanage and old people's home (Sint-Hiëronymus wees- en bejaardenhuis)
• 1876–1877 Utrecht: St. Willibrord (Utrecht) (Sint-Willibrorduskerk)
• 1878–1879 Schalkwijk: St. Michaelskirche (Sint-Michaëlskerk)
• 1881–1883 ​​Amsterdam: Sint-Franciscus Xaveriuskerk
• 1885–1887 IJsselstein: St. Nicholas Church (Sint-Nicolaaskerk)
• 1891–1892 Raalte: Basilica of the Exaltation of the Cross (H. Kruisverheffingskerk)
• 1895–1897 's-Heerenberg: St. Pankratius
• 1897 Tubbergen: St. Pancratius
• 1899–1901 Utrecht: Sint-Martinuskerk / St. Martinskirche; converted into apartments since the 1980s
• 1904–1906 Bawinkel: St. Alexander

Web links

Commons : Alfred Tepe  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Entry in the Biografisch Woordenboek van Nederland (Dutch)