Hans Gieng

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Kindlifresserbrunnen in Bern , Switzerland

Hans Gieng († 1562 in Freiburg im Üechtland ) was a Swiss sculptor, presumably of Swabian origin. In 1527 he became a citizen of Freiburg and a member of the local grocer's guild. From 1540 he also worked in Bern , where he created at least three of the figure fountains in Bern's old town . From 1554 to 1556 he worked in Solothurn and from 1557 in St. Gallen . From 1547 to 1560 he built the seven public fountains of the city of Freiburg .

biography

Presumably of Swabian origin, Hans Gieng was Hans Geiler's immediate successor . Until his death it is often unclear which of the two is meant when "Hans der Bildhouwer" is mentioned in the sources. In the centuries that followed, Geiler and Gieng were often confused with one another, but research around the middle of the 20th century clearly showed that they were two different people.

In 1527 Gieng is mentioned as a member of the Freiburg merchant guild. However, he never acquired the citizenship of the city and appears on the list of foreigners living in Freiburg in 1556. In 1533 he owned Geiler's house on Besen- or Hochzeitergässchen, and in the following year he became a fish and herring inspector and fish warden. When Geiler's death in 1534 he rose to become the town's semi-official sculptor. In 1562 he was number one on the list of members of the Freiburg Brotherhood of St. Luke. We also know that he was married and had three children, a daughter and two sons. His son Franz was a carpenter and worked with his father. In 1555 he obtained Freiburg citizenship and made a political career in the city.

Gieng and his workshop supplied the Freiburg region with numerous sculptures in wood and stone. As a semi-official municipal sculptor, he was responsible for all the floors and figures of the new fountains, the equipment of the public buildings (town hall, chancellery) and the production of the coat of arms for the authorities. Occasionally he put the monogram "HG" on a work, for example in 1524 on the wings of a retable of the Ependes Church (today in the Philadelphia Art Museum and in the Louvre in Paris), in 1546 on the relief of the coat of arms of the customs house Sensebrück and in 1545 on the Kindlifresserbrunnen in Bern. As a sculptor, Gieng lived mainly in Freiburg . But he also worked in Bern (1540s), Solothurn (1554–1556 / 1557), Zurich and St. Gallen (1557).

style

Gieng's sculptures are still inspired by Geiler's work, but they have a greater physical presence and more natural movement. Gieng's new sense of the physical is striking: the proportions are correct, the movement of the body corresponds to that of the robes. Due to the numerous commissions for fountain sculptures, he was repeatedly confronted with the subject of the free figure. The most successful work in this regard is likely to be the runner's fountain in Bern with its subtle body rotation. Although Gieng's figures do not show any antiquated counterost, they do show particularly pronounced Gothic S-curves.

The male heads are almost without exception characterized by a broad, rectangular full beard and a box-shaped forehead. The sharp contour is only dampened by the rounded cheekbones. Bulging brows, a gaze directed at the observer, a short nose with broad wings, a slightly open mouth and deep wrinkles characterize the faces. The female heads are oval in shape and characterized by slightly flared cheeks. The nose is slender and the mouth appears narrow despite full lips.

The movement of the figures can often be seen in parts of the clothing that are thrown up as if by a puff of air. Above all, one can find the parallel folds typical of the Renaissance, but also tubular folds or, more rarely, late Gothic creases that seem to be based on older models. Much emphasis is placed on the detailed reproduction of accessories such as shoes, belts and headgear. Constantly recurring motifs such as the knots that adorn both the women's ribbons and the men's stockings are striking.

technology

Stone sculptures in particular have come down to us from Gieng's workshop. He used Freiburg sandstone for tombs, coats of arms and architectural decorations, but the more weather-resistant Neuchâtel limestone for the sculptures and capitals of the fountains . The stone quality is always good.

Although the fountain figures were created for free standing, their balance is generally ensured by a column, a tree trunk or an accompanying figure. Additions are rare; mostly metal accessories such as weapons, flags, feather ornaments or helmet decorations, far away the tongues and teeth of the numerous lions. Additions in stone are exceptional and are reminiscent of the production of wooden sculptures.

The surface of Gieng's sculptures can only be assessed to a limited extent, as it was severely impaired by regular cleaning and reworking. Obviously, the surface was carefully smoothed, as tooth chisel marks can hardly be seen today. A differentiated design through the targeted use of structuring tools can be observed in animal skins or tree bark.

The wooden sculptures are in the technical tradition of the Geiler workshop: they have a hollow on the back with cuts across the grain, wooden blocks to close openings in the wooden bowl, and numerous revisions of the base with the gouge.

Works from the workshop of Hans Gieng

Town hall Freiburg i. Üe. with fountain
in Freiburg

In this city, Gieng created the council table for the town hall (1546) and the figures of the seven public fountains (between 1547 and 1560).

in Bern

In Bern, Gieng created most of the public fountains between 1542 and 1546. His presence in the city is evidenced by a council document from 1543, according to which "Master Hans, Bildhower, would be in the great hospital and ate at the master's table".

Sculptures
  • Johannes-Schüssel, 1530–1560, Estavayer-le-Lac , Museum of Art and History Freiburg (MAHF 2464)
  • Samaritan Fountain, 1549–1550, Samaritergasse, Museum of Art and History Freiburg (MAHF 8828)
  • St. Christophorus, 1540–1550, Klein-St.-Johann-Platz, Freiburg, Museum of Art and History Freiburg (MAHF 3173)
  • Kindlifresserbrunnen , 1545, Kornhausplatz, Bern
Attributions
  • Other works are attributed to Gieng, including crucifixes , stone sculptures in the church of Tafers, various statues , grave slabs and heraldic motifs.

Art historical classification

Gieng's figures are in the tradition of the Geiler workshop not only in technical, but also in formal terms. So the cloak of St. John the Baptist on the Freiburg fountain exactly the drapery of Geiler's St. Thomas of the Estavayer-Blonay Retable. The template for this comes from the Weckmann workshop in the late 15th century.

Gieng's strong roots in Freiburg tradition and his work based on graphic templates make it difficult to determine his artistic origin. The reference to the South German Renaissance is obvious, but it is difficult to prove on the basis of specific comparative examples.

The sculptures in the Gieng workshop largely follow the Upper Swabian parallel fold style, which shaped the work of the workshops of Jörg Lederer and Hans Thoman in the 1510s and could have its origins in the northern Italian renaissance of the late Quattrocento. The exaggerated swing of the movement, which makes the bodies visible under the robes, is also related to the work of the Thoman workshop and in general to the Upper Swabian style.

After all, the quality of the sculptures from the Gieng workshop is based less on the sculptor's ingenuity than on his ability to convincingly implement existing figurative systems. In this way he was able to distinguish himself as a widely recognized sculptor.

environment

Five important workshops are known in Freiburg for the 16th century, those of the master of the big noses (1503–1508), Hans Roditzer (1504–1521), Martin Gramp (1508–1524), Hans Geiler (1513–1534) and Hans Gieng (1524–1562).

See also

swell

  • "Hans Gieng" in the Historical Lexicon of Switzerland online edition
  • In other Wikimedia projects: « Fountains in Bern » on Wikimedia Commons (media collection)

literature

  • Stephan Gasser, Katharina Simon-Muscheid , Alain Fretz and Primula Bosshard (photos): The Freiburg sculpture of the 16th century. Production, function and client base. Michael Imhof Verlag, Petersberg 2011, ISBN 978-3-86568-626-8 .

Web links

Commons : Hans Gieng  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Samaritan fountain in the E-Collection of the Museum of Art and History
personal data
SURNAME Gieng, Hans
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss sculptor
DATE OF BIRTH 15th century or 16th century
DATE OF DEATH 1562
Place of death Freiburg in Üechtland