Erwin von Steinbach

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Erwin von Steinbach, sculpture on the south portal of the Strasbourg cathedral
Erwin von Steinbach (left) and Wilhelm Sens, roof figures at the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna
Statue of Erwin von Steinbach with an architectural model in the right hand and a carpenter's square in the left hand.
Statue of Erwin von Steinbach at the old main portal of the University of Karlsruhe (today KIT).

Erwin von Steinbach (* around 1244 in Steinbach (Baden-Baden) ; † January 17, 1318 in Strasbourg ) was a stonemason and German master builder . From 1277 until his death he worked as a Strasbourg cathedral builder.

Life

Little is known about Erwin's life and his origins. He was probably born around 1244. The claim of today's Baden-Baden district of Steinbach to be Erwin's place of origin is, although not proven, proven by older tradition (“originare de la petite ville de Steinbach dans la Margraviat de Bade”) Century on the main portal of the west facade of the Strasbourg cathedral existing inscription (in translation: In 1277 on the day of St. Urban [May 25], this admirable work of Master Erwin von Steinbach began ) its place of origin. Erwin probably had his training at the construction works of Notre Dame de Paris , where the work of Jean de Chelles was honored in a linguistically very similar inscription on the transept portal .

Documented is master Erwin for the first time in 1284 tangible, namely during a house purchase by the Münsterbauhütte the date of transfer of the supervision of the Cathedral, the city of Strasbourg.

Erwin's date of death, that of his wife Husa and his son Johannes, are recorded in a preserved epitaph on the north side of the minster in the so-called morgue. The text reads in translation:

In the year of the Lord 1316, July 21st, Mrs. Husa, wife of Master Erwin, died. In the year of the Lord 1318, January 17th, Master Erwin, governor of the Strasbourg cathedral factory, died. In the year of the Lord 1339, March 18th, Magister Johannes, Erwin's son, the master craftsman of this church, died.

After Erwin's death, his son Johannes († March 18, 1339) continued his father's work as a Strasbourg cathedral builder. A second son, Gerlach , was in charge of the construction of the Niederhaslach collegiate church , where he died in an accident in 1330. Another son (or grandson?) Of Erwin is a Johannes named Winlin, who died in 1342 . Presumably a granddaughter of Master Erwin was Lise von Steinbach, a lover of Count Johann II von Lichtenberg , who was murdered in 1352 in the so-called Steinbach affair . On the other hand, mythical and based only on a translation error is a sculptor Sabina von Steinbach , who allegedly signed a statue that was destroyed today.

plant

Strasbourg Cathedral, west facade
Wimpfen Collegiate Church, south facade
Werner Chapel Bacharach
Freiburg Cathedral Tower

According to the no longer existing inscription above the central portal of the west facade of the Strasbourg cathedral , " Master Erwin von Steinbach " began with this " glorious work " on May 25, 1277. The facade plan B created by him is clear from the transept facades of the Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris influenced. For structural reasons, crack B in Strasbourg was only partially realized. Erwin still realized the rose storey according to his own concept, his successors changed the plans again. But even the north tower erected by Ulrich von Ensingen from 1399 , whose planned southern counterpart was no longer implemented, basically follows the facade design Erwin, whose planned construction with four stair towers he translated into monumental. The result, with its free-standing tracery grille, is one of the most important achievements of high Gothic.

According to a preserved inscription, Erwin built the later demolished Marienkapelle in the interior of the cathedral in 1316, as well as the tomb of Bishop Konrad III. Attributed to von Lichtenberg in the Johanneskapelle of the minster.

Apart from the Strasbourg cathedral, Erwin was also active in other church buildings of the time. According to an older opinion, the eastern building of the collegiate church at Wimpfen im Tal , begun in 1269 “by a French-style master builder who had just come from Paris”, was attributed to him. A floor plan of the Werner Chapel of Bacharach , which was begun in 1289, is preserved in Strasbourg and refers - as well as the architectural details used - to the Münsterbauhütte in Strasbourg as the origin of the planning and thus to Erwin von Steinbach as the author of the plan.

According to a later chronicle , the initial planning for the Münster zu Thann came from Erwin, when the fundamentally learned and prestigious master builder Erwinus or Erwein von Steinbach, who led the Strasbourg and Freyburg church building, made the rift to S. Theobaldi Münster . However, the construction begun in 1275 did not grow beyond its beginnings; its remains were removed when the church was rebuilt in 1332. Erwin's draft of a central building church intended for Thann has only been handed down in a plan drawing. For the Stephansmünster in Breisach , a three-part choir planning by Erwin could be proven, but this was only implemented in a reduced form.

Comprehensive comparisons of all the traditional Gothic building plans have made it possible for Erwin von Steinbach to be involved in the Freiburg cathedral tower, which was already represented in the 19th century and documented by the older Thanner Chronicle .

Afterlife

The name Erwins von Steinbach, handed down in the (lost) building inscription from 1277, has always been known in Strasbourg literature. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe dedicated his essay On German Architecture to him, in which he described him as a saint-like genius. In the same way, Jacob Burckhardt placed him on the same level as Michelangelo in his lectures (published posthumously in 1904) . This Erwin picture was criticized by the Strasbourg professor for Christian art history Franz Xaver Kraus, who said that “no 13th-century architect should have allowed himself such glory at the façade of a cathedral”. In the period that followed, Erwin's person was judged with increasing skepticism and referred to by French research in the area of ​​myth. In contrast, German research stuck - albeit often with reservations - to the historicity of Erwin von Steinbach as a person (see bibliography). It is only recently that a view that is free of national resentment has become possible.

meaning

As Strasbourg Cathedral architect was Erwin crucial for the reception of the architecture of the French High Gothic of style Rayonnant whose out complicated tracery existing design mode, he refined and improved. The “harp strings” of the Strasbourg cathedral facade are paradigmatic, as is the complete dissolution of the spire of the Freiburg cathedral in tracery forms, which goes back to his design. The Strasbourg rose window and the Freiburg tracery helmet exerted a significant influence on Gothic architecture in the 14th century, and the Cologne cathedral facade also owes its essential design elements to Erwin's art. Erwin broke new ground in terms of interior design with the central building of the Werner Chapel in Bacharach (which was not completed until much later) .

Honors

On September 28, 1843, the Strasbourg sculptor Andreas Friedrich turned to the mayor of Steinbach and asked for permission to erect a memorial for Master Erwin. He came to Steinbach and bought a piece of land for the statue, which he made himself. The monument was unveiled on August 29, 1844. It bears the inscription "Erwin, the builder of the Strasbourg Minster, born in Steinbach, died in Strasbourg MCCCXVIII". It is worth mentioning in this context that it later turned out that the monument had been donated by the Freemasons' lodge . They regard Master Erwin as the founder of the lay fraternization of the building works of the Strasbourg Cathedral, which was only subordinate to the king or emperor . They see this lay fraternity as one of the roots of their lodge.

A bust of Erwin von Steinbach by Landolin Ohmacht was placed in the Walhalla in 1811 .

In the facade of the Dresden Academy of the Arts there is a stone tablet with his name next to nine other great artists.

The entrance to the main building of the University of Karlsruhe (Kaiserstraße 12) has two portal figures that were created by Alois Raufer in 1864 . One shows Erwin von Steinbach, the other Johannes Kepler .

In the Freiburg district of Wiehre , Erwinstrasse is named after Erwin von Steinbach.

Meister-Erwin-Strasse is named after him in Steinbach, a district of Baden-Baden.

There is also a Meister-Erwin-Straße in Bühl (Baden).

There is an Erwin-von-Steinbach-Weg in Munich.

See also

  • "Society of Friends and Supporters of the Erwin-von-Steinbach-Foundation", formerly the Erwin-von-Steinbach-Prize (until 1945)

literature

  • Johann Josef Böker : Erwin von Steinbach - A builder of the European Gothic. In: The Ortenau . Journal of the Historical Association for Mittelbaden Vol. 99, 2019, pp. 19–40.
  • Ulrich Coenen: Master Erwin von Steinbach. Attempt a biography. In: Bühler home history. 6. 1992, pp. 20-29.
  • Heinrich Klotz : The name of Erwins von Steinbach. In: Studies by the Erwin von Steinbach Foundation. Vol. 1. 1965, pp. 9-22.
  • Heinrich Klotz: The east building of the collegiate church in Wimpfen in the valley. On the early work of Erwin von Steinbach , Munich 1967 (diss.)
  • Rudi Liebich: Master Erwin von Steinbach , in: On the city history of Steinbach. Edited by Working group for the history of the city of Baden-Baden. Baden-Baden 1978, p. 202.
  • Reinhard Liess and Andrea Köpke: On the former Erwin inscription from 1277 on the west facade of the Strasbourg cathedral. In: Journal for the History of the Upper Rhine Vol. 137 (NF Vol. 98). 1989, pp. 105-173.
  • Reinhard Liess: The A1 crack of the Strasbourg cathedral facade in the continuum of Magister Erwin's designs . In: Kunsthistorisches Jahrbuch Graz 21, 1985, pp. 47–121.
  • Reinhard Liess: The crack B of the Strasbourg cathedral facade: an architectural revision . In: Orient and Occident in the mirror of art. Festschrift for Heinrich Gerhard Franz's 70th birthday . (Research and reports by the Institute for Art History of the Karl-Franzens University Graz, Vol. 7). Akademische Druck- und Verlagsanstalt Graz, 1986: 171–202. ISBN 978-3-201-01296-6 .
  • Heinz Rudolf Rosemann:  Erwin von Steinbach. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 4, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1959, ISBN 3-428-00185-0 , p. 636 f. ( Digitized version ).
  • Alfred Woltmann :  Erwin von Steinbach . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 6, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1877, pp. 332-334.
  • Reinhard Wortmann: The west building of the Strasbourg cathedral and master Erwin. In: Bonner Jahrbuch of the Rheinisches Landesmuseum in Bonn. Vol. 169, 1969, pp. 290-318.

Web links

Commons : Erwin von Steinbach  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Philippe-André Grandidier: Essais historiques et topographiques sur l'église Cathédrale de Strasbourg . Strasbourg 1782, p. 41.
  2. ^ Reinhard Liess and Andrea Köpke: On the former Erwin inscription from 1277 on the west facade of the Strasbourg cathedral . In: Zeitschrift für die Geschichte des Oberrheins Vol. 137. NF Vol. 98. 1989, pp. 105–173. ISSN 0044-2607.
  3. ^ Jean-Sébastien Sauvé: Notre-Dame de Strasbourg: les façades gothiques . (Studies on the history of art in the Middle Ages and the early modern period, Volume 10). Basket, 2012.
  4. ^ Heinrich Klotz: The east building of the collegiate church in Wimpfen in the valley. On the early work of Erwin von Steinbach (Art Studies, Volume 39). Munich, 1967
  5. ↑ Julian Hanschke: Two medieval construction plans of the Werner chapel in Bacharach . In: INSITU. Zeitschrift für Architekturgeschichte 3, 2011, pp. 149–160.
  6. ↑ Malachias Tschamser. Annales or annual stories of the Baarfüseren or Minor Brothers S. Franc. ord. commonly called Conventualen, zu Thann. Colmar 1864, p. 173.
  7. ^ Anne-Christine Brehm: Master builder and building history of the Breisach Minster. Our Münster (Münsterbauverein Breisach), special issue 47, 2012, pp. 2–23.
  8. ↑ Johann Josef Böker and Anne-Christine Brehm: The Gothic architectural drawings of the Freiburg cathedral tower . In: Freiburger Münsterbauverein (Hrsg.): The Freiburg Minster . Verlag Schnell and Steiner, Regensburg 2011, pp. 323–327. ISBN 978-3-7954-1685-0 ; Johann Josef Böker, Anne-Christine Brehm, Julian Hanschke and Jean-Sébastien Sauvé: The architecture of the Gothic: The Rhineland . Müry Salzmann Verlag, Salzburg 2013, No. 24. ISBN 978-3-99014-064-2
  9. ↑ Jakob Wimpfeling : Argentinensium Episcoporum Cathalogus . Strasbourg 1504, here quoted from the Strasbourg 1651 edition, p. 41.
  10. ↑ Ernst Beutler: Goethe's hymn to Erwin von Steinbach. Its origin and effect (= Free German Hochstift, series of lectures and writings, vol. 4). Munich 1943; Harald Keller: Goethe's hymn to the Strasbourg cathedral and the rediscovery of Gothic in the 18th century, 1772/1972 (Bavarian Academy of Sciences, phil.-historical class, session reports, volume 4). Munich 1974.
  11. ↑ Jacob Burckhardt: World historical considerations. Historical-critical complete edition . Paderborn 2015, p. 170.
  12. ^ Franz Xaver Kraus: Art and antiquity in Alsace-Lorraine. Descriptive statistics . Vol. 1: Lower Alsace. Strasbourg 1876, p. 363f.
  13. ^ Roland right: Le mythe romantique d'Erwin de Steinbach . In: L'information de l'histoire de l'art 15, 1970, pp. 38-45; Robert Will: Les inscriptions disparues de la Porta sertiorum et le mythe d'Erwin de Steinbach . In: Bulletin de la Cathédrale de Strasbourg 14, 1980, pp. 13-20; JM Geyer: Le mythe d'Erwin de Steinbach . In: Les batisseurs des cathédrales gothiques . Strasbourg 1989, pp. 322-329; Roger Lehni: Le mythe d'Erwin de Steinbach avant Goethe . In: Bulletin de la Cathédrale de Strasbourg 23, 1997, pp. 91-106.
  14. ^ Marc Steinmann: The west facade of the Cologne Cathedral. The medieval facade plan F (research on Cologne Cathedral, vol. 1). Cologne, 2003, pp. 119–127; Johann Josef Böker: Michael of Savoy and the facade plan of Cologne Cathedral . Cologne, 2018, pp. 145–148.
  15. ↑ The society published a series of publications “Der Westen” until at least 2002, with additional supplements, e.g. B. 11 supplements from 1978 to 1992, temporarily published by Pfaehler, Neustadt an der Saale , and Filderstadt ; then self-published with the place name Uhingen . Furthermore, there were "newsletters" of the society from 1973.
personal data
SURNAME Erwin von Steinbach
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German builder
DATE OF BIRTH around 1244
DATE OF DEATH January 17, 1318
Place of death Strasbourg