Franz von Kesselstatt

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Franz von Kesselstatt, portrait dated first third of the 19th century (property of the Landesmuseum Mainz )

Imperial Count Franz Ludwig Hyazinth Xaver Willibald Maria von Kesselstatt (born September 18, 1753 in Trier , † November 18, 1841 in Mainz ) was a German painter of contemporary Mainz cityscapes and Mainz cathedral capitular .

Family and youth

Franz Ludwig Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt (also: Kesselstadt ) was the son of the married couple Hugo Kasimir Eduard Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt and Katharina Elisabeth Knebel von Katzenelnbogen . He had 12 siblings, including Edmund Jodoc Willibald (1765-1840, Roman Catholic clergyman). The von Kesselstatt aristocratic family had been in the service of the Electorate of Trier for generations , but it was not unusual to hold corresponding (often additional) offices in Kurmainz . Franz Ludwig von Kesselstatt was accepted as Domizellar in Mainz on September 20, 1760 at the age of seven . He later studied legal history and finance in Vienna from 1770 to 1774 and then in Strasbourg and Nancy .

Life and work in Mainz

Portrait of Carl Johann Nepomuk Hemerlein

Franz Ludwig von Kesselstatt became the capitular of the Mainz archbishopric in 1778 . Nothing is known about his further activity as cathedral chapter in Mainz. With the French occupation of Mainz in 1792, at the latest with the end of the electoral state in 1797, Kesselstatt was without a task. He was provided with a free apartment in the Bischofshof am Höfchen for life. From then on he led a private life. He enjoyed a high reputation among the Mainz population and was very popular. This led to the fact that at the time Mainz belonged to France (1792/93 and 1798 to 1814) one wanted to elect him to the city council of Mainz. Kesselstatt, one of the few remaining members of the former Mainz collegiate nobility in the city, refused. Together with Baron Heinrich von Mappes , he belonged to the delegation in 1814/1815 that represented the interests of the city of Mainz at the Congress of Vienna .

Franz Ludwig von Kesselstatt died on November 18, 1841 as the last cathedral capitular of the former Mainz Archbishopric. He was buried in the main cemetery in Mainz , where his tomb has not been preserved.

Worked as an art collector and painter in Mainz

Franz Ludwig von Kesselstatt was a well-known art lover and collector. He owned a large collection of paintings from the Dutch and German schools, hand drawings, copperplate engravings and sculptures, as well as an extensive and valuable library. He was also a member of the Mainz Art Association and promoted Mainz artists.

A natural talent and interest in painting led to painting lessons with the well-known Mainz painters Johann Kaspar Schneider and Johann Jakob Hoch, with whom he is said to have had a friendly relationship. At the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century, Franz Ludwig von Kesselstatt made drawings of numerous cityscapes of Mainz, individual buildings and landscapes. These were then etched by other painters on his behalf or engraved in copper or zinc and then colored. Hoch and Schneider, his former teachers, also used watercolors on his views of the city of Mainz. Mostly he then distributed his works to art lovers, so that today many of his works are scattered in numerous private and public collections. Internally, he only showed his works to members of the Mainzer Kunstverein. However, his drawings were still very popular with the Mainz population, so that the most beautiful works were reproduced in a series of engravings.

Significance of the works of Kesselstatt

The paintings by Franz Ludwig von Kesselstatt were less of an outstanding artistic quality. An evaluation of his work over the decades shows no significant artistic development. The significance of his works in Mainz are more of urban and art historical significance, as they show buildings and squares that often no longer existed in this form by the middle of the 19th century.

Gallery of works by Franz von Kesselstatt

  • City view of Mainz from the north

  • Wooden tower in Mainz

  • St. Agnes Monastery with the monastery church and Osteiner Hof (right)

Exhibitions

literature

  • Wolfgang Balzer: Mainz. Personalities of the city's history. Volume 2: Persons of religious life, persons of political life, persons of general cultural life, scientists, writers, artists, musicians. Kügler Verlag, Ingelheim 1989, ISBN 3-924124-01-9
  • Gerhard Kölsch (Ed.): Franz von Kesselstatt. Mainz canon, diplomat and dilettante in turbulent times , catalog for the special exhibition of the Episcopal Cathedral and Diocesan Museum Mainz, 29 August to 23 November 2014, publications of the Episcopal Cathedral and Diocesan Museum Mainz, vol. 5, Mainz 2014, ISBD978-3- 00-046658-8

Web links

Commons : Franz von Kesselstatt  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ see also: The Imperial Counts of Kesselstatt ( Memento from January 2, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
  2. ↑ on the Mainz question at the Vienna Congress: "Mainzer Question" 1814–1816 at Regionalgeschichte.net
  3. ↑ Dilettante according to old meaning in FAZ of August 28, 2014, page 40
personal data
SURNAME Kesselstatt, Franz von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Kesselstatt, Franz Ludwig Hyazinth Xaver Willibald Maria von (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German painter of contemporary Mainz cityscapes and Mainz cathedral capitular
DATE OF BIRTH September 18, 1753
PLACE OF BIRTH trier
DATE OF DEATH November 18, 1841
Place of death Mainz