Franz Bock (art historian, 1823)

Franz Johann Joseph Bock (born May 3, 1823 in Burtscheid , † April 30, 1899 in Aachen ) was a German Catholic clergyman ( canon ) and art historian .

Live and act

The son of Burtscheider pool attendant Franz Joseph Bock and Agnes Dotru, who died early, studied theology at the University of Bonn from 1846 to 1849 after attending the Kaiser-Karls-Gymnasium in Aachen . From October 1849 Bock visited the Cologne Seminary and received one year later the priesthood . He was then taken over by the parish of St. Dionysius in Krefeld as the fifth chaplain .

During this time, in addition to fulfilling his church duties, he was already active as a promoter of sacred art and in 1852 he first attracted attention as the curator of a nationally highly regarded exhibition on important medieval vestments and as the founder of an art weaving mill for church silk fabrics based on medieval models. After his transfer to St. Alban in Cologne in 1854 , Bock was also appointed curate priest and curator at the newly opened Archbishop's Diocesan Museum for ancient Christian art in 1855 . With a grant from the Ministry of Commerce of the Prussian Rhine Province , he went on a two-year art history study tour through several European countries. After his return he maintained intensive contact with like-minded art connoisseurs and art patrons such as the Archbishop of Cologne Johannes von Geissel , the Münster Bishop Johann Georg Müller , the Prince Carl Anton von Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen as well as with families of the Rhenish and Westphalian nobility and with local artisans like the Sculptor Friedrich Wilhelm Mengelberg . Furthermore, like his fellow priests Ernst Franz August Munzenberger in Frankfurt , Friedrich Schneider in Mainz and Alexander Schnütgen in Cologne, he became one of the main promoters of reform efforts for church handicrafts in the Archdiocese of Cologne .

Sacred textile art was a focus of his interest. Bock finally summarized his research in the three-volume and highly regarded work: The History of the Liturgical Vestments of the Middle Ages , which represented the first scientific investigation into the origin and development of church vestments with regard to fabric, color, design, cut and ritual meaning and thus opened a new branch of ancient science. So he also created new patterns and design variations that lasted until the turn of the century. Further study trips, now mainly to Syria , Egypt and Palestine , followed. His souvenirs included important collections of textile fragments, Coptic garments, medieval goldsmithing , glasses and enamel work .

Beginning in 1862 moved Bock to Aachen, where he, on 24 June 1862 honorary canon and a month later on July 10, the honorary canon at Aachen Cathedral and in 1868 for Numerarkanonikus the collegiate was appointed. During his time in Aachen, he continued to work intensively with sacred art and, for example, instructed the sisters of the poor child Jesus , who ran a globally recognized monastery workshop for paraments , in the design of patterns and in processing techniques for old chasubles and arranged extensive church commissions for them. He also supported local artisans such as the sculptors Wilhelm Brodmüller , Friedrich Wilhelm Mengelberg or Gottfried Götting, as well as the collegiate goldsmiths Martin Vogeno , Reinhold Vasters or August Witte , who was commissioned by Bocks for the gold reliefs of the Pala, by arranging work assignments for his multiple contacts with church dignitaries d'oro had a splendid neo-Romanesque enamel frame made in Aachen Cathedral (around 1000–1020) . In 1871 it was rededicated as a memorial to the Hohenzollern Emperor by the German Emperor Wilhelm I as the founder of the plaque with a new inscription strip. Furthermore, in 1892 Bock was responsible for the new painting in the baroque church of St. Johann Baptist in Burtscheid and in 1895/96 for restoration work on the neo-Romanesque sandal reliquary in the Salvatorkirche in Prüm .

In addition, he repeatedly organized numerous art exhibitions and was a respected guest and speaker at international congresses. He also wrote numerous and sometimes very extensive publications, especially on topics that have not yet been covered. So the Austrian emperor was created in seven years of work, and on behalf of Franz Joseph I , for example, his work The jewels of the Holy Roman Empire of the German nation , which with numerous colored lithographs , here mainly supported by the painter and lithographer Joseph of Führich from Vienna to to one of the most magnificent portfolios of the 19th century. His main works also include a first fully illustrated work on Cologne's church treasures, The Holy Cologne , as well as a summary on the medieval art and reliquary treasures of Maestricht .

Although his creative power waned in the last years of his life, Bock tried, albeit unsuccessfully, to set up his first arts and crafts school in Aachen. Even a planned move to Italy and the sale of his entire collection that was still in existence did not materialize. After he had already transferred parts of his collection to the Royal Prussian Art Chamber, today's Museum of Applied Arts in Berlin , the Musée de Cluny in Paris, the Aachen Suermondt-Ludwig-Museum and the South Kensington Museum, today's Victoria and Albert Museum in London, he finally bequeathed what remained to him to the city of Aachen. Franz Johann Joseph Bock died on April 30, 1899 after pneumonia and was buried in the Campo Santo on Westfriedhof II in Aachen in an honorary grave donated by the city.

Fonts (selection)

See list of writings Directory of writings on medieval art and antiquity published in the years 1852 to 1898 . Aachen 1898.

Title page History of the liturgical vestments of the Middle Ages (Volume 1)

• The goldsmith's art at the height of its technical and aesthetic training, vividly demonstrated in a collection of original casts of the most outstanding church vessels and equipment from the 10th to 16th centuries. Century , with a descriptive text and a foreword v. Franz Bock. Cologne 1855.
• Canopy altars from St. Stephan in Vienna and from the Tein Church in Prague; or: how do you keep up with building new altars? In: Organ for Christian Art , 7 (1857), No. 21, pp. 241–243 u. No. 22, pp. 255-258.
• The jewels of the Heil. Roman-German Empire . In: Mittheilungen der Kaiserl. royal Central Commission for Research and Conservation of Architectural Monuments. Volume 2, 1857, pp. 53-57. 86-94. 124-129.
• Medieval art in its application for liturgical purposes. List and description of all medieval art objects, put up on the occasion of the 2nd general assembly of the diocesan art associations in the St. Ulrichskirche in Regensburg, on the 15th, 16th and 17th. September 17, 1857. Clearly arranged by F. Bock and G. Jakob . Pustet, Regensburg o. J. Digitized (MDZ-Munich)
• Holy Cologne. Description of the medieval art treasures in its churches and sacristies from the field of goldsmithing and parament . Leipzig 1858 MDZ-Munich .
• The Carolingian Minster in Aachen and the St. Godehards Church in Hildesheim in their intended internal restoration. Practical contributions to the solution of the question: Which principles are decisive for the interior furnishing and furnishing of older Romanesque churches . Bonn 1859; MDZ-Munich .
• The draftsmen of the Middle Ages. Introductory study sheets for trade and weaving schools, for ornament draftsmen, parament, carpet and wallpaper manufacturers based on old original materials from our own collection . 8 deliveries, Leipzig 1859–61.
• The reliquary treasure of the Liebfrauen-Münsters zu Aachen in its artful containers: in memory of the sanctuary journey of 1860 , des. and with many woodcuts Erl. by Ms. Bock. Self-published by the author, Aachen 1860 MDZ-Munich .
• The reliquary treasures of the former imperial abbeys of Burtscheid and Cornelimünster, along with the sanctuaries of the former collegiate church of St. Adalbert and the Theresian Church in Aachen: in memory of the sanctuary tour of 1867 . Cologne 1867 digitized .
• History of the liturgical vestments of the Middle Ages, or the origin and development of ecclesiastical vestments and vestments with regard to fabric, fabric, color, drawing, cut and ritual meaning , documented and explained by 120 color illustrations. 3 volumes, Bonn 1859, 1867, 1871 ( digitized version of Heidelberg University Library ).
• The German imperial regalia with the addition of the coronation insignia of Bohemia, Hungary and Lombardy in historical, liturgical and archaeological terms . 1st part (simple edition). Vienna 1860.
• A. Reichensperger's writings and their significance for Christian art . Vienna 1860.
• The treasure of Sanct Marcus in Venice . Vienna 1861. Reprint from the August issue of VI. Volume of the communications of the kk Central Commission for the research and preservation of architectural monuments .
• Catalog of the exhibition of newer masterpieces of medieval art in Aachen, opened on the occasion of the XIV General Assembly of Catholic Associations, together with an introduction to art history . Aachen 1862.
• The St. Charles carpet executed by the women and virgins of Aachen . Aachen 1863.
• About the Christian measuring jugs . In: Communications from the kk Central Commission for Research and Conservation of Architectural Monuments 9, 1864, pp. 1–29.
• Charlemagne Palatine Chapel and its art treasures. Art-historical description of the Carolingian octagon at Aachen, the later Gothic additions and all the works of art from the Middle Ages that are in the treasure there, with numerous explanatory woodcuts based on photographs . L. Schwann, Cologne / Neuss 1866 MDZ-Munich .
• The sanctuary at Aachen. Brief information and illustration of all "large and small relics" of the former coronation minster, as well as the most excellent art treasures there . L. Schwann, Cologne / Neuss 1867.
• The monumental Rhineland. Autographical representation of the most outstanding monuments of the Middle Ages on the Rhine and its tributaries in a brief description , ed. u. S. Royal Highness dedicated to Crown Prince Friedrich Wilhelm of Prussia . L. Schwann, Cologne / Neuss 1867.
• Rhineland's monuments of the Middle Ages , second series. The former Benedictine abbey church in Brauweiler . Cologne 1867–72.
• Rhineland's monuments of the Middle Ages: a guide to the strangest medieval buildings on the Rhine and its tributaries . Schwann, Cologne [a. a.] 1869–1872 digitized version (3 volumes)
• Album of medieval ornament embroidery as decoration for church and house in autographs based on older and newer templates. Issue 1–2: Aachen 1866, Issue 3: Aachen 1869.
• The art and reliquary treasure of Cologne Cathedral , ed. from the board of the Christian Art Association in Cologne. L. Schwann, Cologne / Neuss 1870 digitizedhttp: //vorlage_digitalisat.test/1%3D~GB%3D~IA%3Dderkunstundreliq00bockuoft~MDZ%3D%0A~SZ%3D~doppelseiten%3D~LT%3D~PUR%3D .
• The old Romanesque golden altarpiece in the cathedral of Aachen and its restoration through the munification of His Majesty the Emperor . Aachen 1871, separate print from: Echo der Gegenwart , No. 243, second sheet, September 3, 1871.
• The medieval art and reliquary treasures of Maestricht, kept in the former collegiate churches of St. Servatius and Our Lady there , archaeologically and historically described and illustrated by 66 woodcuts v. Mgr. Dr. Franz Bock u. Vicar M. Willemsen, Thesaurar. L. Schwann, Cologne / Neuss 1872 MDZ Munich .
• The St. Lambertus carpet, a gift from the Princely Hohenzoller family to the parish church of the same name in Düsseldorf . L. Schwann, Cologne / Neuss 1872 digitized .
• Charlemagne's sanctuary at Aachen. Brief description of the same, including reflections and prayers at the public display; in memory of the Aachen Sanctuary Tour in 1874 with 30 explanatory woodcuts . Schwann, Cologne 1874 digitized .
• The St. Helena carpets, made by the women and virgins of Trier . Trier 1893.
• The textile byssus relics of the Christian West are kept in the churches of Cologne, Aachen, Cornelimünster, Mainz and Prague . Aachen 1895 MDZ-Munich .
• The Byzantine cell melts in the Dr. Alex. by Zvenigorodskoi and the magnificent work published about it. Archaeological-art-historical study . Self-published by Alexander von Zvenigorodskoi, Aachen 1896.
• Aachen goldsmithing then and now. With special consideration of the new altar of the hh Eucharist for the cathedral crypt in Hildesheim . Aachen 1897.

literature

• Birgitt Borkopp: Franz Bock (1823–1899), Canon . In: Karl Schein (Ed.): Christians between the Lower Rhine and Eifel. Life pictures from two centuries , volume 1. Einhard-Verlag, Aachen / Kühlen, Mönchengladbach 1993, ISBN 3-920284-78-X / ISBN 3-87448-161-1 , pp. 25–36, p. 203.
• Birgitt Borkopp-Restle: The Aachen Canon Franz Bock and his textile collections. A contribution to the history of the applied arts in the 19th century . Abegg Foundation, Riggisberg 2008, ISBN 978-3-905014-39-6 ( review ; table of contents ).
• Wolfgang Cortjaens:  Bock, Franz Johann Joseph. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 22, Bautz, Nordhausen 2003, ISBN 3-88309-133-2 , Sp. 128-135.
• Wolfgang Cortjaens: Canon Franz Bock and the "Jewels of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation" (1864). History of the creation and impact of a magnificent work of art history in the age of historicism and nationalism. In: Mario Kramp (Ed.): Coronations. Kings in Aachen - history and myth. Exhibition catalog City Hall, Cathedral Treasury and Cathedral, Aachen, June 9 to October 3, 2000, Mainz 2000, Vol. 2, pp. 765–773.
• Norbert Jopek: Canon Franz Bock and the South Kensington Museum . In: M. Embach u. a, (Ed.): Sancta Treveris. Contributions to church building and fine arts in the old Archdiocese of Trier. Festschrift for Franz J. Ronig on his 70th birthday . Trier 1999, pp. 253-268.
• Martin Dennert: Franz Bock . In: Stefan Heid, Martin Dennert (Hrsg.): Personal Lexicon for Christian Archeology . Researchers and personalities from the 16th to the 21st century. Schnell & Steiner, Regensburg 2012, ISBN 978-3-7954-2620-0 , Vol. 1, pp. 198-199.

Web links

Commons : Franz Johann Joseph Bock  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Works by and about Franz Bock  in the German Digital Library
• Brief curriculum vitae at the Diözesanmuseum Cologne
• Franz Bock in the topic portal History of Art History on arthistoricum.net