August Witte (goldsmith)

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August Witte (born January 20, 1840 in Aachen ; † July 12, 1883 there ) was a German goldsmith in Aachen. He was the founder of the company "August Witte GmbH", which lasted for three generations until 1945 and gained a notable international reputation.

Live and act

The son of the shoemaker Wilhelm Witte from Osnabrück and his wife Anna Margaretha Beckers from Selfkant began his training at the provincial trade school in Aachen and at the same time learned in Jacob Cronenberg's engraving workshop. He deepened his skills in goldsmithing in the workshop of Everhard Besco († 1865). After Besco's early and job-related death, the young Witte took over his workshop in Aachen's Harskampstrasse and specialized in objects of sacred art. On October 18, 1872, he was appointed collegiate goldsmith by the cathedral chapter of Aachen Cathedral and moved into an official apartment and workshop on Klosterplatz in Aachen, right next to the cathedral. Like his goldsmith colleagues Martin Vogeno (1821–1888) and Reinhold Vasters (1827–1909), who worked in Aachen , he was significantly promoted by the canon and art historian Franz Bock by arranging orders. Witte acquired an excellent reputation in the “ art of style imitation ”, which is why he was entrusted with restoration work in Maastricht and Fritzlar . For his services he was later awarded the 4th grade Red Eagle Order .

August Witte was married to Margarethe Pohl (1838–1912), a sister of the sculptor Wilhelm Pohl , with whom he had five sons and a daughter. After it turned out that three of his sons also wanted to learn the goldsmith's trade and want to work in the father's workshop, he renamed his company to "August Witte GmbH". August Witte died as a result of careless inhalation of mercury vapors at the age of 43, leaving behind his wife and children who were still underage. He found his final resting place in the family crypt on the Aachen Ostfriedhof , in which some of his descendants were later buried.

The company "August Witte GmbH" was temporarily managed by a brother of the widow and a journeyman until the eldest son Bernhard Witte (1868–1947) completed his training . In 1887 Bernhard took over his father's company and became the most successful representative of the family. He received it in 1895 from Pope Leo XIII. the honorary title "Goldsmith of the Holy See and the Papal Palaces".

His brother Wilhelm Witte (* 1870 in Aachen, † 1894 in Liège ) also trained as a goldsmith. However, in view of the strong competition in Aachen, he moved to Liège, where he died in 1894 at the age of just 24 and was buried in the family crypt in Aachen.

Base of the reliquary bust of Servatius von Tongern by August Witte (2)

His brother August Witte ( in some sources "August Witte (2)" ; * March 8, 1875 in Aachen; † July 11, 1908 Rosbach / Sieg also learned the craft of goldsmith and worked for a few years in his father's workshop before settling down Established a branch workshop in The Hague in 1899. He also died very early at the age of only 33 and his body was also transferred to Aachen. The branch in The Hague was then closed by his brother Bernhard. August Witte (2) became the following works attributed to:

The other two sons of August Witte were Karl Witte (1877-1950) and Robert Bernhard Witte (1881-1946). Karl later became pastor to St. Maria and Clemens in Schwarzrheindorf near Bonn . In 1945 he gave his brother Bernhard and his family refuge in his rectory after the Aachen workshop was destroyed. The local "Wittestrasse" is named after him. His brother Robert Bernhard became a sculptor and architect and was mainly active in the Dresden area .

Works (selection)

Pala d'Oro, Aachen
  • 1871/72: Neo-Romanesque enamel frame for the Pala d'Oro in Aachen Cathedral, mediated by Canon Franz Bock and donated by Kaiser Wilhelm I on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the existence of the Karlsverein .
  • 1872: Reliquary for a loincloth relic
  • 1873: The crown of the Charlemagne bust was repaired
  • 1874: silver-driven reliquary bust for Pope Leo III.
  • 1874: Reliquary with a relic of a child killed by Herod
  • around 1874/75: neo-Gothic altar cross, neo-Romanesque ostensorium and reliquary in column form with stone fragments of the scourge column of Christ for the reliquary of the parish church of St. Peter in Aachen
  • 1874 and 1881: Locks for the Marian shrine on the occasion of the Aachen sanctuary tour , until now simple padlocks without special decorations
  • Date inaccurate: Bishop's staff dedicated to St. George and kept in the Aachen Cathedral Treasury

literature

  • Witte, August . In: Hans Vollmer (Hrsg.): General lexicon of fine artists from antiquity to the present . Founded by Ulrich Thieme and Felix Becker . tape 36 : Wilhelmy-Zyzywi . EA Seemann, Leipzig 1947, p. 120 .
  • Ingeborg Schild , Elisabeth Janssen: The Aachen East Cemetery . Verlag Mayersche Buchhandlung, Aachen 1991, ISBN 3-87519-116-1 , pp. 551-553.
  • Gertrud Grysar: Noble art in honor of the Almighty / Goldsmith work of the workshop August Witte in the treasure of St. Jakob Aachen , Verlag Kathol. Parish of St. Jakob, Aachen 1995.
  • Wolfgang Cortjaens: Rhenish altar buildings of historicism. Sacred goldsmithing 1870-1918 . CMZ-Verlag, Rheinbach 2002, esp. Pp. 132-151.
  • Wolfgang Cortjaens: Church treasure St. Peter in Aachen . Einhard Verlag, Aachen 2003, cat. 31–33.
  • Miriam Krautwurst: Reinhold Vasters - a 19th century goldsmith from the Lower Rhine region in the tradition of old masters. His collection of drawings in the Victoria & Albert Museum, London . Dissertation University of Trier 2003: PDF ; Mention of the work of August Witte on pages 99-100 and others.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ In order to distinguish him from his son of the same name, he is given in some sources as "August Witte (1)".
  2. ^ Entry in the historical address book of the city of Aachen
  3. ↑ St. Quirinus Shrine Neuss
  4. ↑ Wittestraße in Bonner Straße cadastral
  5. ^ Bishop's staff Aachen
personal data
SURNAME Witte, August
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German goldsmith
DATE OF BIRTH January 20, 1840
PLACE OF BIRTH Aachen
DATE OF DEATH July 12, 1883
Place of death Aachen