Ceiling fresco in the stairwell of the Würzburg Residence
The ceiling fresco in the stairwell of the Würzburg Residence is 19 m × 32 m, the largest connected ceiling fresco in the world. Due to the vault, its area is 677 m². At no time was there a large one-piece fresco. It was applied to the inside of the vault by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo , one of the leading fresco painters of his time, between 1752 and 1753 , which was built by the then young and unknown architect Balthasar Neumann . It forms the upper end of the representative staircase of the Würzburg Residence . The main motifs are allegorical figures depicting Africa, Asia, America and Europe. In addition, the client, the Würzburg prince-bishop Carl Philipp von Greiffenclau , Balthasar Neumann, the plasterer Antonio Giuseppe Bossi and the painter himself are depicted in differently highlighted portraits. Presumably Franz Ignaz, Neumann's son, is also depicted.
All allegorical figures are female; the number of continents was considered complete at the time of creation.
Parts of the residence were also destroyed during the bombing raid on Würzburg . The valuable ceiling fresco was preserved, however, like other frescoes in the halls of the residence, threatened to be destroyed by the weather. On 18 June 1945 was US - officer and art lovers John Davis Skilton to Würzburg. He protected the work of art with wooden roofs. When he left Würzburg at the end of 1945, the foundation for the reconstruction of the residence was laid.
Architectural environment
The Würzburg Residence was the seat of the Würzburg prince-bishops, who put their power and economic strength in the limelight through the building with its splendid furnishings. Visitors who arrived in a multi-horse carriage could drive into the so-called vestibule , where the carriage could turn and exit again without further maneuvers. This room has five aisles and rests on a few columns apart from the side walls.
This vestibule is followed by a three-flight staircase (three-flight E-staircase with half-landing), where the visitor is first led up to half the height on a continuous flight of stairs, then via a ramp that runs 180 degrees to the right or left to reach the final floor area on the first floor. A generously dimensioned corridor runs around the entire staircase complex. The whole construction is pillarless and spanned by a hollow vault.
As you walk up, you first see the northern side of the staircase; the lower part of the stairs leads north. As you climb higher, the allegorical figure representing America comes into view. About halfway up the turning platform, the side walls, depicting Africa and Asia, become more and more visible. Only after turning 180 degrees and then climbing up, which appears very comfortable on a baroque staircase due to the low step height, does the view of Europe become clear. The ruler of that time is depicted on a medallion as a “painting within a painting” over Europe, virtually dominating it .
The size of the columnless spanned space comes into its own when dealing with the stairs. Neutral colors (gray and white) dominate; the fresco is the only colored element in this part of the residence.
The spatial effect is underlined by the inclusion of the surrounding ledge, from which human legs protrude into the room in some places, as a complement to the figures in the picture. Some sculptures are also attached, especially in the corners of the ledge.
literature
- Werner Helmberger Matthias Staschull: Tiepolo's world . Bavarian Palace Administration, Munich 2006, ISBN 978-3-932982-73-6 .
- Hans-Peter Baum : The rescue of the ceiling frescoes in the Würzburg residence. In: Ulrich Wagner (Hrsg.): History of the city of Würzburg. Volume I-III / 2, Theiss, Stuttgart 2001-2007; III / 1–2: From the transition to Bavaria to the 21st century. 2007, ISBN 978-3-8062-1478-9 , pp. 315-317 and 1292.
Web links
- www.residenz-wuerzburg.de
- www.goruma.de Unesco World Heritage Sites in Germany: Würzburg Residence
- www.deutschland-deluxe.de
- www.mainpost.de Wolfgang Jung, Mainpost : “The ceiling fresco - Tiepolo's huge painting” from the series “100 reasons for Mainfranken ”, December 21, 2006. Accessed on May 7, 2011.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Archived copy ( Memento of the original from March 18, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ Residence Würzburg. Tiepolo frescoes, archived from the original on August 26, 2009 ; accessed on May 15, 2014 .
- ↑ Europe in the 17th Century: A Political Myth and Its Pictures By Klaus Bussmann, Elke Anna Werner
- ↑ Hans Kratzer: A roof for Tiepolo. Savior of the Würzburg Residence in 1945. Süddeutsche Zeitung , March 3, 2009, accessed on May 15, 2014 .
- ↑ Stefan Kummer : Architecture and fine arts from the beginnings of the Renaissance to the end of the Baroque. In: Ulrich Wagner (Hrsg.): History of the city of Würzburg. 4 volumes; Volume 2: From the Peasants' War in 1525 to the transition to the Kingdom of Bavaria in 1814. Theiss, Stuttgart 2004, ISBN 3-8062-1477-8 , pp. 576–678 and 942–952, here: pp. 640 f. (Plate 55).
