Georg Ernst Justus Kayser

Georg Ernst Justus Kayser (born July 8, 1754 in Gladenbach ; † March 20, 1823 in the same place) was a Hessian white weaver and church painter .

Life

Georg Ernst Justus Kayser was born on July 8, 1754 as the eldest son of Johann Reinhart Kayser and Magdalena Elisabeth Kramer in Gladenbach. He learned the family trade from his father. His marriage to Katharina Philippina Elisabeth Wetter (⚭ January 15, 1779) had three children: Magdalena (* October 21, 1779; † unknown), Johann Ernst Justus (* November 8, 1783; † May 11, 1784) and Johann August ( * August 28, 1786; † October 22, 1824), who later worked in the family profession together with his father.

Biographical reports about the Gladenbach master craftsman GEJ Kayser are not very numerous. Some data on the family history of the Kaysers, such as birth, marriage and death, occasional entries on baptisms, confirmations, godparent and witness functions, in which members of the family are named and sometimes left their own signature, can be found in the church records of the city of Gladenbach. Further - but sparse - information can be found in documents such as B. Receipts in the church files of some villages in which a white binder Kayser worked. The third and most important source of the painter's life testimony is provided by the nine inscription tablets in the village churches that bear his name and which he has painted over the course of his life. These nine epigrams in village churches bear his name in a prominent position in the church interior (and in four cases also that of his son Johann August).

GEJ Kayser mainly used the galleries as image carriers , but walls, ceilings and window reveals are also occupied. He had a rich repertoire in the design, there are figurative, ornamental and calligraphic paintings, often all three types are used in one room. So far only nine interior paintings by GEJ Kayser are known, however, in the 50s and 60s of the 20th century. In the Hessian hinterland, numerous renovations and conversions, in some cases also the abandonment of churches, have been carried out, so that one can assume that the entire plant was probably larger.

For the figurative decoration in Lutheran churches, he used a kind of standard program that hardly differs from examples in other regions of Germany. As a rule, the picture cycles consist of depictions of Christ witnesses from the New Testament , i.e. apostles and evangelists , whereby he always adheres to the traditional order. In addition, there is always a selection from the life and passion of Jesus. There are also some examples of Jesus as the world savior and individual depictions of prophets and kings from the Old Testament .

The figures themselves are always full-body representations, the attributes, posture and expression are often identical. The pictures are provided with picture titles without exception. It is also noticeable that Christ and his witnesses from the New Testament are always endowed with a halo, that is, they are still part of the medieval design tradition. Another characteristic of his pictures can be the elaborate background design: Architectural or landscape depictions combined with a dramatic cloudy sky.

In the figurative Lutheran churches , floral, ornamental and calligraphic parts can always be found. Although the furnishings in the Reformed churches largely manage without depictions of people, an exhibition sample can still be found here. In addition to floral decorations, wall calligraphies and ceiling paintings were often indispensable. As a rule, the flower arrangements were more or less lush bouquets of flowers, which are often tied with a bow. The range of flowers is mostly based on regionally known plants that are very close to nature and easily recognizable. The calligraphy is also made without a preliminary drawing. As a rule, the fonts are derived from the German Fraktur , partly also from the chancellery script . The orthography is typical of the time, the only special feature is his preference for the separation of the prefixes (with or without connecting element).

plant

year	place	church	description	Building inscription	image
1781	Offdilln	Reformed Church (1776/1777)	predominantly floral, ornamental and calligraphic painting	Building inscription on the wall in a central place directly above the pulpit: “On behalf of the parish all here is this church in God's honor, rebuilt in the year of Christ in 1777, builder Johann Henrich Hofman u. Johann Dangel Bedebenner, Dermaliger Heimberger Johannes Hofman, Collacteurs Johannes Moss u. Henrich Cuntz, made by the painter Georg Ernst Justus Kayser from Gros Gladenbach MDCCLXXXI (1781). Since Johann Henrich Hofman Heimberger, Dangil Ortmann chairman, Jacob Bedebenner, Johannes Krätzer, Johann Henrich Hofman junior as chairman. "
1783	Dillbrecht	Reformed Church (1743)	Mainly floral, ornamental and calligraphic painting, some of which were redesigned in the 1950s according to old templates	Building inscription on the lower edge of the northeast gallery: “This church was rebuilt in 1743 for God's glory. Painted and gamahlt 1783. Produced on December 10th by the painter Georg Ernst Justus Kayser of Groß Gladenbach from the Hessen Darmstadt. "
1788	Erdbach	Reformed Church (medieval)	floral, ornamental and calligraphic painting	Building inscription on the lower edge of the north gallery: "For the glory of God this church has been renewed and chirped by the painter Georg Ernst Justus Kayser von Groß Gladenbach, made the 26th SEPTEMBER MDCCLXXXVIII" (1788)
1792	Breidenstein	Lutheran Church (1592)	predominantly figurative painting, numerous wooden panels, which, with the exception of three panels, found their place in the new parish hall after the church was closed	Building inscription in a parapet of the gallery: “For the glory of God and his public veneration, this church is under the government of Sr. Highness Ludwig X den, and as Johann Andreas Beisenherz, first and He. Heinrich Wilhelm Christian Kroell, the second pastor, was from the community of Breidenstein under the supervision of Ober-Borgermeister He. Joh. Daniel Achenbach, expanded, completely repaired and finished d. September 25th. MDCCXCII. (1792) Painted and painted by Georg Ernst Justus Kayser from Groß Gladenbach. "
1794	Almonds	Reformed Church (1755/1758)	purely floral and ornamental painting	Building inscription in one of the parapets of the gallery: "For the glory of God this church is painted and painted by Georg Ernst Justus Kayser from Groß Gladenbach, made October 4th MDCCXCIV" (1794)
1808	Salt soils	Lutheran Church (medieval)	very rich, mainly figurative painting (together with his son Johann August)	1. Building inscription at an exposed point on the west wall of the choir: “For the glory of God, this church was completely RENOVATED under the current pastor Georg Friedrich Andreas Schopper and enlarged with stages. In 1807, Mr. Schulteis Georg Wagner himself was the master builder. The room and carpenter work, who were also the head of the congregation, Mr. Jost Schneider and judge Johannes Wagner and borrower Mr. Johann Philip Rau. The master of the painters and white binders guild was Georg Ernst Justus Kaiser and his son Johann August Kaiser von Gladenbach. " 2. Wooden panel above the manual of the organ: " Madam Schunkin from Kassel took a ....... A friendly and tired, wealthy person drove to this new organ of the local community a considerable sum of money of 200 Reisthlers. Completed August 31st, 1808. GEJ Kaiser. pinxit. "
1809	Günterod	Lutheran Church (medieval)	very rich in pictures, mainly figurative painting (together with his son Johann August)	Building inscription in two parapet areas: 1. “For the glory of God, this church was repaired from the ground up in place of all the congregations here in the year AO: 1804, since Mr. Adam Müller, Schultheiss Johann Georg Debus and Johann Jakob Müller were headmaster and Johann Ludwig Zimmermann was mayor. " 2." Made in 1809 by the then pastor Daniel Gotlieb Ludwig Aulber, school teacher here Wilhelm Simmel. Heads were Adam Thomas, u. Adam Aßmann, Mayor Johann Ludwig Müller, painted and painted by Georg Ernst Justus Kaiser and his son, Johann August Kaiser. from Gladenbach, happen d. Nov. 27 "
1812	Runzhausen	Lutheran Church (1781)	floral and calligraphic painting (together with his son Johann August), whereby the wall calligraphies with the flower ornaments, which fell victim to electrification in the 1920s, were partially supplemented in 1983 after a copy	Building inscription (only the right half preserved) on the wall: “... church rebuilt in 1781 = ... from renovation by the then ... he pastor Mr. N. Kolb, Schulteis = ... cook, church elder Johann Georg Wagner ... head Joh. Peter Koch borrower ... and Weissbinder Georg Ernst Justus Kaiser, ... August Kaiser von Gladenbach. "
1813	Altenkirchen	Lutheran Church (1812/1813)	figural and floral decoration (together with his son Johann August), largely unchanged original furnishings	Building inscription on a wooden plaque: “Painted and painted by Georg Ernst Justus Kaiser and his son Johann August Kaiser von Gladenbach. made the 2nd october. ANNO 1813. "

literature

• Walter Bauer: Of churches and chapels in the Dill district. In: Heimatjahrbuch for the Dillkreis. 10, 1967, pp. 114-132.
• Monika Cyran: The image program of Protestant village churches of the 18th and early 19th centuries in the Hessian hinterland using the example of the church painter Georg Ernst Justus Kayser. 2 vols. Master thesis Marburg 1994.
• Georg Dehio : Handbook of German art monuments , Hessen I. Administrative districts of Giessen and Kassel. Edited by Folkhard Cremer, Tobias Michael Wolf and others. Deutscher Kunstverlag, Munich a. a. 2008, ISBN 978-3-422-03092-3 .
• Hans Feldtkeller: The architectural and art monuments of the district of Biedenkopf. Brief inventory. Eduard Roether, Darmstadt 1958.
• State Office for the Preservation of Monuments Hesse (ed.); Helmuth K. Stoffers (Red.): District of Marburg-Biedenkopf II (communities Ebsdorfergrund, Fronhausen, Lohra and Weimar) (= monument topography Federal Republic of Germany. Cultural monuments in Hesse ). Theiss, Darmstadt 2017, ISBN 978-3-8062-3550-0 .
• State Office for the Preservation of Monuments Hesse (ed.); Heinz Wionski (Red.): Monuments in Hesse, Lahn-Dill-Kreis I. Vieweg Verlag, Braunschweig-Wiesbaden, 1986, ISBN 3-528-06234-7 .
• Frank W. Rudolph: Evangelical churches in the deanery Biedenkopf. Deutscher Kunstverlag, Berlin / Munich 2012, ISBN 978-3-422-02355-0 .
• Frank W. Rudolph: Evangelical churches in the dean's office Gladenbach. Deutscher Kunstverlag, Berlin / Munich 2010, ISBN 978-3-422-02288-1 .
• Peter Weyrauch : The churches of the old district of Giessen. Mittelhessische Druck- und Verlagsgesellschaft, Giessen 1979.

Web links

• Ev. Altenkirchen Church , gallery paintings, pp. 34–38.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Gerald Bamberger: Planning and construction of a village church in Hessen-Kassel. The example of Allna (1780–1785). In: Journal of the Association for Hessian History and Regional Studies . Vol. 112, 2007, pp. 161–202, here: p. 178 ( online , PDF).
2. ↑ Ev. Altenkirchen church : gallery paintings, p. 34.
3. ^ Cyran: The image program of Protestant village churches. 1994, p. 49.
4. ↑ Ev. Dillbrecht Church , accessed on November 16, 2017.
5. ↑ Ev. Erdbach Church ( Memento from September 25, 2017 in the Internet Archive ), accessed on April 13, 2019.
6. ↑ Rudolph: Evangelical churches in the deanery Biedenkopf. 2012, p. 30.
7. ↑ Small chronicle of the Salzboden church (PDF file; 505 kB)
8. ↑ Rudolph: Evangelical churches in the deanery Biedenkopf. 2012, p. 42.
9. ↑ Ev. Runzhausen Church , accessed on November 16, 2017.
10. ↑ State Office for the Preservation of Monuments Hesse (ed.): Evangelical Parish Church In: DenkXweb, online edition of cultural monuments in Hesse