Hans Donauer the Elder

Oldest townscape of Landaw (1585)

Hans Donauer the Elder , also Donnauer , Thonauer , Thunauer and Tonauer (* around 1521 probably in Munich ; † between March and May 7, 1596 ibid) was a German painter .

Nothing is known about Donauer's training. He made a god frieze for Duke Albrecht V in the ballroom of Dachau Castle . His paintings on the castle church there have not been preserved.

He had been a master since 1567 and entered the service of Crown Prince Wilhelm in 1568 , who sent him to Rome in 1569 , where he was supposed to acquire pieces for the Crown Prince's art chamber. He then worked on the frescoes in the knight's hall of Trausnitz Castle until 1573 .

In 1574 he was commissioned to prepare the wedding of Count Palatine Philipp Ludwig in Neuburg an der Donau . Among other things, he designed the wedding tournament. In 1576 he returned to Munich. In 1575/76 he created the two globes in the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek , and in 1577 the vault in the Neue Veste .

Donauer continued to be very versatile. For the Jesuit drama Hester he designed the equipment and in 1578 he designed tournament dresses and flags for Duke Ferdinand . Since 1584 he has been painting the windows of the antiquarian shop in the Munich Residence . Here he created the earliest series of Bavarian townscapes, a total of 102 views of Bavarian cities, markets and castles, 36 of which Carl August Lebschée reproduced in watercolors .

In 1588 he took part in equipping the Bavarian fleet at Lake Starnberg . His sons Georg and Hans also became famous painters.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Bavarikon: Bayerische local views of Lebschée by Donauer

literature

• Elisabeth Abreß: Hans Donauer d.Ä. Bavarian painter and court artist at the court of Duke Wilhelm V. Dissertation. University of Munich. Munich 1988.

Web links

Commons : Hans Donauer  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files