Dominik Avanzo

Dominik Avanzo's signature

Dominik Avanzo (born January 3, 1845 in Cologne ; † November 8, 1910 in Vienna ) was a German-Austrian architect .

Life

His parents were Johann Baptist and Christine (née Eick) Avanzo. The father's family originally came from South Tyrol. The family ran a paper shop and an art publisher in Cologne .

Dominik Avanzo attended the architecture school in Cologne with Carl Bolle. He completed his further training with Heinrich Wiethase from 1866 to 1870 and made several study trips to Belgium, France and Italy. In 1874 Avanzo went to Vienna to the studio of Friedrich von Schmidt , who at that time was already the master builder of St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna . Together with Paul Lange , Avanzo became self-employed as an architect in 1880; the office was at Berggasse 9 on Alsergrund. A year later, in 1881, Avanzo became professor at the Technological Trade Museum in Vienna.

Avanzo was buried at the Vienna Central Cemetery .

Career as an architect

Thanks to his parents' business - in his publishing house, his father made popular picture sheets as well as art prints by well-known artists - Dominik Avanzo's talent for art quickly awoke. So he decided to work as an architect and, on the recommendation of his teacher Withase, went to Vienna to see Friedrich von Schmidt. Avanzo worked for a while as a cabinet maker and was mostly entrusted with interior design. Avanzo designed many handicraft objects, which also attracted a lot of attention from the Technological Trade Museum, his talent did not remain hidden and he was brought to the school as a professor. As a sought-after restorer of Gothic churches, Avanzo was primarily responsible for their interior decoration in the neo-Gothic style. In Heiligenkreuz and Lilienfeld he has replaced the baroque fixtures with "stylish" neo-Gothic ones. Avanzo also played a leading role in the renovation of numerous castles such as Oslavan, Achleiten and Grünschitz.

He designed (together with Paul Lange) the two school building complexes in Hegelgasse in the first district of Vienna, villas in Kaltenleuthaben and also monuments such as the Knight of Ghega grave monument at the Vienna Central Cemetery.

As chairman of the “Photographers Committee” he initiated the photographic documentation of buildings, interiors, portals and other objects from the Biedermeier period . Avanzo also published sample sheets for cabinet makers and the home industry.

Status

Through his work for the cathedral builder Friedrich von Schmidt , Avanzo became an expert in the Gothic style and was given prestigious restoration tasks. The most important orders were in Heiligenkreuz and Lilienfeld. The renovations at the two pens have not received universal praise. The Badener Bezirksblatt of September 9, 1886 criticized the neglect of baroque sculptures. Avanzo's approach was considered puristic by the critics. Friedrich von Schmidt, on the other hand, gave Avanzo good references for the Cistercian projects and considered him a worthy architect for this type of assignment. Avanzo not only pushed for regotisation by removing baroque fixtures, but also spoke out in favor of a “pure style” regotisation, corresponding to the building phases of the 13th century.

In his own building projects, Avanzo showed himself to be a versatile historian. He derived the choice of style from the respective association with the building. He liked to choose forms of the Italian Renaissance for the school buildings, because he regarded it as the time of education. For the inn “Zur Güldenen Waldschnepfe” Avanzo chose romantic motifs such as arcades, a rich roof landscape and asymmetrical designs that make the building look like a 17th century inn.

Avanzo was an architect who was strictly committed to tradition. It would therefore be a mistake to look for innovative design elements in him. His open-mindedness towards modern requirements is nevertheless evident in his fulfillment of practical requirements, such as the building project at the anatomical institute.

Works

Residential and commercial buildings

• 1884: residential building, Vienna 6, Magdalenenstrasse 29 (probably only the design of the facade decoration with sgraffiti and mosaics ; not preserved)

Public buildings

The fountain house in Lilienfeld Abbey , built by Dominik Avanz in the neo-Gothic style in 1886/87 .

• 1860 Tomb for Karl Ritter von Ghega, Zentralfriedhof Gruppe 32A / 24, Vienna 11 (with Paul Lange, closer competition)
• 1872–1894 Cistercian monastery and collegiate church Heiligenkreuz (extensive restoration and regotization work),
• 1885–1887 high altar and pulpit in Heiligenkreuz
• 1874–1898 Cistercian monastery Lilienfeld (regotisation of the cloister, new construction and furnishing of the fountain house, portal of the former refectory, chapter house etc.)
• 1883–1894 Gasthaus "Zur güldenen Waldschnepfe", Vienna 17, Dornbacherstraße 88 (with Paul Lange, not reopened after the Second World War )
• 1883–1889 Parish church Maria Raisenmarkt, Gem. Alland, Bez. Baden, Lower Austria (conversion and renovation buildings)
• 1883–1885 kk teacher training institute, state trade school, school book publisher, Vienna 1, Fichtegasse 4 / Hegelgasse 14 / Schwarzenbergstraße 5–7 / Schellinggasse 13 (with Paul Lange, today Higher Technical Federal Teaching and Research Institute, upper secondary school, Austrian publisher, reduced decor)
• 1885 Cistercian monastery Neukloster , Wiener Neustadt (renovation and reorganization work)
• 1885 Construction of the Döblinger Friedhof, Vienna 19, Hartäckerstraße 95 (with Paul Lange, subsequently expanded several times)
• 1886 Anatomical Institute of the University of Vienna, Vienna 9, Währinger Straße 11-13 (with Paul Lange, 1884 closer competition, in place of the old rifle factory; facade simplified after war damage, lecture hall furnishings destroyed in 1980)
• 1886 Ghega monument, Vienna 11, central cemetery
• 1888 City Office Lilienfeld (Dörfl)
• 1888 Abbot Alberich Heidmann's crypt chapel, Lilienfeld cemetery, Lower Austria
• 1889 cemetery chapel, Heiligenkreuz, Baden district
• 1901–1905 Ramsau parish church, district Lilienfeld (neo-Gothic adaptations)

Interior designs

• Designs for furniture and interior decorations, lighting fixtures and various small appliances

Unrealized projects

• 1876 ​​City Hall for Hamburg (competition, 2nd prize)
• 1877 Dining room furnishings, Hanover (competition, 1st prize)

swell

Avanzo's writings

• Drafts for industrial objects of the wood turnery together with a course. Vienna 1882–89.
• Renaissance furniture with the character of the 15th and 16th centuries. Vienna 1884–85.
• with Paul Lange: The visit of the kk anatomical institute by the members of the ÖIAV . In: Wochenschr. d. Austrian Ing. U. Arch. Association. 11, 1886, pp. 232f.
• with Paul Lange: The Imperial and Royal Anatomical Institute in Vienna. In: Allgemeine Bauzeitung. 54, 1889, pp. 35ff.
• The lily in medieval art. In: ZÖIAV. 54, 1902, pp. 329f.
• The external plastering of the quarry stone masonry in the Gothic era. In: ZÖIAV. 55, 1903, p. 11.
• Gothic terracotta paving in the collegiate church of Heiligenkreuz. In: ZÖIAV. 55, 1903, pp. 636ff.

Legacies and Archives

• ÖIAV archive; Register offices for the parishes of St.Leopold Vienna 2 and St.Laurenz am Schottenfeld

literature

• Anonymous: Professor Dominik Avanzo. In: Deutsche Bauzeitung. 44, No. 104-105, 1910, p. 868. (Obituary)
• Anonymous: [obituary]. In: Communications from the Imperial and Royal Technological Trade Museum in Vienna. 20, no. 3 and 4, 1910, p. 150f.
• Exhibition catalog: 1000 years of Babenberger in Austria. Lilienfeld Abbey. Vienna 1976, p. 168, p. 335.
• A. Kieslinger: The stones of the Vienna Ringstrasse. In: R. Wagner-Rieger (Ed.): The Vienna Ringstrasse. Volume 4, Wiesbaden 1972.
• P. Kortz: Vienna at the beginning of the 20th century. 2 volumes. Vienna 1906.
• D. Frey (ed.): The monuments of the political district of Baden. Vienna 1924.
• M. Paul: Technical guide through Vienna. Vienna 1910.
• R. Schmidt: The Wiener Künstlerhaus 1861–1951. Vienna 1951, p. 62.
• R. Wagner-Rieger: Vienna's architecture in the 19th century. Vienna 1970.
• R. Wagner-Rieger (Ed.): The work of art in the picture. In: The Vienna Ringstrasse. Volume 1, Wiesbaden 1969.
• A. Wielemans: Prof. Arch. Dominik Avanzo, d. Nov. 8, 1910. In: ZÖIAV 62. 1910, pp. 756f. (Obituary with picture)

reference books

• Achl. III / 2; Dehio Vienna / 1 (1st district); Dehio Vienna / 2 (II.-IX.u.XX.Dez.)
• Avanzo, Dominik. In: Austrian Biographical Lexicon 1815–1950 (ÖBL). Volume 1, Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Vienna 1957, p. 38.
• Dehio Vienna / 3 (X.-XIX.u.XXI.-XXIII.Dez.); Dehio Lower Austria / North
• L. Eisenberg: The spiritual Vienna. Vienna 1893.
• L. Hirsch: The emperor. Austrian Franz Joseph Order and its members. Vienna 1912.
• H. Kosel: German-Austrian artist and writer lexicon. Vienna 1902.
• S. Waetzoldt: Bibliography on architecture in the 19th century. Nendeln 1977.

Exhibitions

• 1880 trade exhibition in Vienna

Web links

• Dominik Avanzo. In: Architects Lexicon Vienna 1770–1945. Published by the Architekturzentrum Wien . Vienna 2007.