Berent Geistmann

Berent Geistmann (other spelling Berendt Geistmann ; † 1628 ) was a late Renaissance woodcarver who worked in Estonia . He probably came from the Netherlands . Geistmann became a citizen of Tallinn (German Reval ) in 1599 .

Geistmann's best-known works include the altarpiece in the church of Ambla ( traffic light ) and the pulpit altar in today's church of Tuhala ( Toal , around 1600). The art historian Sten Karling writes:

This Dutch carpenter also seems to be the master of the pulpit altar, now in the 18th century. The chapel, built in the 18th century, is located in Toal (Tuhala), south of Reval. This altar is the only example of pulpit altars in Estonia that occur in Protestant Germany in various areas, but only at the end of the 17th century. Century. Geistmann's hand can be felt above all on the side wings of the altarpiece, the motif of which is directly adjacent to the upper part of the Antonius Altar and the door of the House of the Blackheads. There are also counterparts to the Hermen pilasters of the pulpit body on the door mentioned.

The former altarpiece in the church in Ampel (Ambla), perhaps an old work by Geistmann, also has a Dutch character. The sculptures that flank the altarpiece and depict Moses and John are particularly noteworthy. Their outlines are determined by the block from which they are made in almost the same way as the monumental sculptures of the XII. Century. This restriction did not appear to the artist as a compulsion, but rather a welcome pretext for breaking the tradition of the Renaissance and introducing a Gothic element. In addition, there is a concise execution that gives the heads in particular a strange intensity.

Sten Karling: Wood carving and carpentry of the Renaissance and Baroque in Estonia. Dorpat 1943, p. 50f.

In addition, Geistmann probably did some work in Tallinn's Nikolaikirche , especially the choir stalls for the small chapel and parts of the Antonius altar. Geistmann also created the portal bezels for the House of Blackheads in Reval from 1604.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ https://register.muinas.ee/?menuID=monument&action=view&id=3605
2. ↑ http://register.muinas.ee/?menuID=monument&action=view&id=17100
3. ↑ http://fornvannen.se/pdf/1940talet/1944_litt.pdf
4. ↑ http://register.muinas.ee/?menuID=monument&action=view&id=17100