Franz Xaver Schwanthaler

Grave of Franz Xaver Schwanthaler in the tomb of his cousin Ludwig Schwanthaler in the old southern cemetery in Munich

Franz Xaver Schwanthaler (born November 16, 1799 in Ried im Innkreis , Austria , † September 24, 1854 in Munich ) was a German sculptor and draftsman .

Life

The son of Johann Peter Schwanthaler (1762–1838) became an employee of his uncle Franz Jakob Schwanthaler (1760–1820) in Munich after training in his father's workshop . After his death, he supported his cousin Ludwig Schwanthaler in running the large workshop. As his closest collaborator, he was involved in the execution of most of the works. In addition, he taught at the municipal holiday school and at the Royal Building Trade School in Munich.

Schwanthaler's grave is located in the tomb that he created for his cousin Ludwig Schwanthaler on behalf of Ludwig I. It is located on the old southern cemetery in Munich (New Arkadenplatz 1 at cemetery 27) location .

Works

Although he looked after his cousin's flourishing studio as his “right hand”, Franz Xaver Schwanthaler created his own works, such as ornamental and figurative works for the interiors of the Munich Residence and most of the models for the ornaments of the court theater. Statuettes of Jörg von Halspach and King Ludwig I , as well as several colossal busts (including Emperor Friedrich I , Karl V and Mozart ) for the Walhalla were created by him. He also delivered a colossal statue of Christ for Weingarten Monastery. After the death of Ludwig von Schwanthaler († 1848) he completed the gable decorations and the reliefs for the Propylaea in Munich: King Otto enthroned in the midst of the calmed Hellas (14 figures, east side); Greece's struggle for freedom, with the lucky victories (17 figures, west side); there are also four bas-reliefs on the two pylons, depicting the battles of the Greeks against the Turks. He also made a first draft of the memorial for the Sendlinger Murder Christmas from 1705 in the Old Munich South Cemetery .

literature

• Constantin von Wurzbach : Schwanthaler, Franz Xaver . In: Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich . 32nd part. Kaiserlich-Königliche Hof- und Staatsdruckerei, Vienna 1876, pp. 282–284 ( digitized version ).
• Hyacinth Holland :  Schwanthaler, Xaver . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 33, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1891, pp. 191-193.
• Schwanthaler, Franz Xaver . In: Hans Vollmer (Hrsg.): General lexicon of fine artists from antiquity to the present . Founded by Ulrich Thieme and Felix Becker . tape 30 : Scheffel – Siemerding . EA Seemann, Leipzig 1936, p. 355 .
• Albrecht Vorherr: A rebel memorial in the Old Southern Cemetery. In: Nymphenspiegel. Volume 8, Munich 2012, pp. 158–161.
• Susanna Partsch : Schwanthaler, Franz Xaver . In: General Artist Lexicon . The visual artists of all times and peoples (AKL). Volume 102, de Gruyter, Berlin 2018, ISBN 978-3-11-023268-4 , p. 316.

Web links

Commons : Franz Xaver Schwanthaler  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• The history of the Schwanthaler family