Hans Hacke

Hans Hacke , also Hans Hake , (* before 1600 in Werben (Elbe) ; † after 1620 possibly in Havelberg ) was a German sculptor and carpenter in the Altmark .

Life

Little is known about his life, especially his date of birth and death. His creative period was in the first two decades of the 17th century. Hoe was born in Advertise. He received his artistic training from the sculptor Hans Klintzsch in Magdeburg, who among other things created the corpse stone of the mayor of Stendal Bartholomäus Schönebeck . After that, he initially worked in the Werben workshop of the sculptor Michael Spiess , who also came from Magdeburg. After 1604 he worked as a self-employed master in Havelberg.

Works

Parish Church of St Johannis in Werben

Pulpit and sound cover in the Johanniskirche in Werben

In the Johanniskirche in Werben there is a pulpit by Hans Spiess from 1602, which is undoubtedly a model for Hacke's pulpit in Stendal, which was made in 1612. This pulpit made of sandstone bears John the Baptist as a life-size figure. The reliefs show scenes from the life of Christ. In addition, the house brands of the most important Werben families of that time and inscriptions can be found in Roman capitals. It is likely that Hans Hacke, as a member of the Spies workshop, was involved there.

In 1607 Hacke created the wooden sound cover for the Werben pulpit, which was removed during the major restoration in 1868 and a fragment of which is preserved in the Stendal Museum.

Choir and altar of the Jacobikirche Stendal

Pulpit of the Jacobikirche Stendal

Retable and pulpit in the St. Jacobi Church in Stendal

At the beginning of the 17th century, the St. Jacobi Church in Stendal was redesigned into a Lutheran church. It was initiated by Daniel Mahs, who was pastor from 1586 to 1618. In 1600 a new high altar retable was first commissioned, ten years later a pulpit. The design was co-developed by the fifth Lutheran pastor at St. Jacobi, Daniel Mahs. One of his predecessors, Johannes Walter, as the second Lutheran pastor of this congregation, had signed the formula of the Concord in 1577 . This important, church-building confession of Lutheranism was developed here under the influence of this orthodox personality, the art-loving Pastor Mahs. Despite a time difference of a decade, it combines the pulpit and the later created altar into one program. As an employee of Hans Spiess, Hacke created this Jacobi retable in the St. Jacobi Church in Stendal.

This altar with an important Lutheran pictorial program is considered to be the main work of Mannerist sculpture in Germany. The altar reveals a strong dependence on the large tombs of his teacher Hans Klintzsch and Sebastian Ertle, known from the Magdeburg Cathedral. The structure is reminiscent of the Gothic "retable". The curved figures in the robes that completely envelop them are still almost Gothic and yet the horizontal and vertical with their accessories speak the language of the Renaissance. In addition to its artistic value, this altar is particularly important for the Lutheran congregation because of its representations: Passover and the Lord's Supper are clearly at the center: Christ as the Passover Lamb of the new covenant gives himself to the communicating congregation. Above this is the old motif of the 2nd article "down to hell" in the Reformation view of law and gospel. Adam is bound by the law which Satan has mastered. Christ conquered death, fulfilled the law, and brought out the lost man. Everything is crowned by the Holy Trinity with the Savior of the world as a conclusion. The above-mentioned pulpit by Hans Spiess in the Johanniskirche zu Werben from 1602 is undoubtedly a model for Hackes pulpit in Stendal. In the middle of the rich stone Renaissance altar with a three-storey structure is the relief of the Passover meal, above Adam and Eve next to Death and Christ, above the Trinity and on the predella the Lord's Supper. Even if Hake's authorship was partly doubted, the connection with the epitaph of Mayor Franke in Werben (see below) cannot be denied.

The stone painted pulpit from 1612 is carried by the figure of the apostle James; the parapet is animated by small reliefs from biblical history. Between these stand fully vividly evangelists, apostles and Christ. The rest of the jewelry by fittings, consoles, etc. are sober. With the ornate and detailed pulpit, Hacke demonstrated his special talent for stone carving and not just for good craft. He created deeply understood scenes of the Old and New Testaments. In the portrayal of the apostle James he formed a figure of full closeness to life and depth of soul. The pulpit is arguably the highlight of his work. It swings around the northern pillar of the old church like precious Renaissance furniture with ornaments and ornaments, adorned with realistic tufts of fruit and distinctive masks. Compared to the older altar reliefs, the whole landscape is included in perspective and the representation becomes a vivid plot. The patron saint of the church, St. Jacobus d. The artist placed something like that, with his distinctive face and dressed as a pilgrim, in front of the pillar supporting the pulpit.

The pictorial representations in these works are based on a common theological program that can be interpreted as an illustration of the Lutheran attitude to questions of faith. A “memorandum” has been preserved for the pulpit, in which the image program was specified, but which was deviated from during the implementation. The traditional iconography in the retable as well as the pulpit bearer was retained. The apostle James still appears in the form of the pilgrim to Santiago de Compostela , although the reformers have expressed considerable criticism of the pilgrimage. The author of both works is also known through the “memorandum”. We learn from this not only that the contractor of the sculptor Hans Hacke from Werben was supposed to carry out the Stendal pulpit, but also that the same person had previously created the high altar retable. Therefore doubts about Hacke's authorship are probably unfounded.

Epitaph of Mayor Franke in Advertise

In 1608, eight years before his death, Joachim Francke, mayor of Werben an der Elbe, had Hans Hacke put a memorial in the Johanniskirche in Werben. Hacke created a two-storey columned epitaph , entwined with roller and fittings. He made the reliefs and free figures from alabaster. It is a two-storey structure between Ionic columns in the middle field. Hacke created a relief with a crucifixion rich in figures, apostles seated to one side in shell niches, above it a relief of the risen Christ, above it symbols for faith, love and hope, on the edges sparse fittings and bunches of fruit. At the very bottom is the signature “HH”. Although there is damage that needs to be restored, the self-confidence of its Protestant founder and the skill of the local sculptor Hans Hacke speak from the epitaph. Thieme-Becker describes this work as arguably Hacke's best work.

Grave slab of Blandina Goldbeck geb. Luidtke in advertising

Tomb of Blandina Goldbeck, made by Hans Hacke from Werben, around 1608

Blandina Goldbeck was the daughter of the first Protestant dean at Havelberg Cathedral, Matthäus Ludecus (1517–1608) and Anna Daniels, the daughter of a merchant in Perleberg. Blandina married Christoph Goldbeck (1568–1621) on May 12, 1595. He was councilor in Werben and Erbsaß (hereditary lord) on Räbel and Berge (districts of Werben). The marriage resulted in nine children born between 1596 and 1607.

Blandina Goldbeck died on March 3, 1608 at the age of 34. Her husband had a tombstone made, which is in the Johanniskirche in Werben on the west wall of the Ottilien chapel. The stone was probably created by Hans Hacke. The sandstone tombstone has a size of 1.90 m × 1.10 m. It is one of the most important gravestones in the Altmark and is of the highest artistic quality. The brocade robe and the rich jewelry are masterfully crafted.

The inscription reads:

ANNO 1608 THE 3rd MARTY EVENING VMB10 VHR IS THE HONOR AND DIVERSE MATRON BLANDINA LUIDTKENS OF THE VENNANT AND PROBABLY MR. CHRISTOF GOLTBEKEN ... T. W. VND IN RABEL. V. BERGE ERBSESSEN MARRIAGE HOUSEFRAW BLISSED ASLEEP.

In the figure niche there are inscriptions and capitals. The coats of arms of the Luidken and Goldbek families are attached at the foot end. The maker's mark HH is chiseled under the console.

In Dehio's manual, the tombstone is described as "good quality". Hans-Georg von Goldbeck points out the great delicacy in the execution, which stands out from many similar representations. A young, richly dressed and adorned woman is shown, whose pretty youthful face is still impressive today.

Epitaph for Pastor Mahs in the Jacobikirche in Stendal

The epitaph is from 1613 for Pastor Mahs, who died in 1618 in Stendal's Jakobikirche with reliefs of the crucified and the baptism of Christ, including the pastor kneeling with his family.

In the church there is also the epitaph of the Lüderitz couple with a representation of the praying couple under the resurrection of Christ and Pauli conversion.

Statue Caritas in the museum in Stendal

In the Altmärkisches Museum in Stendal there is an approximately 60 cm high statue of a female person who represents Caritas as a symbol for charity and charity, as a caring mother. She holds the child in her left arm. The child stretches out his arms to hug. The mother's right hand rests on the child's left knee. The S-curve of the figure, which is additionally emphasized by the robe, conveys the lightness with which Hans Hacke demonstrates his mastery.

Town hall to Nordhausen

According to Thieme-Becker, Hackes' share in the simple building of the town hall in Nordhausen am Harz, where the inscription "Hans Hake 1609" is on the pastry, was probably limited to the sculptural work on a portal and several columns. This town hall burned down in the Second World War .

Artistic evaluation

According to Thieme-Becker, Hacke was a skilled craftsman without his own figurative originality, dry baroque with hasty movements, fleeting folds and heads that were too large. The smaller reliefs in his epitaphs were better advised. The shape and decoration of these are strongly influenced by the templates for epitaphs and tombs of Hans Vredeman de Vries , which were spread through engravings . In modern literature, however, as stated several times above, his mastery is praised.

Web links

• Report on St. Johanniskirche and its inventory accessed on May 20, 2015

Remarks

1. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Jiří Fajt, Wilfried Franzen, Peter Knüvener: Introduction. In: The Altmark 1300–1600: a cultural region in the field of tension between Magdeburg, Lübeck and Berlin. 2011, ISBN 978-3-86732-106-8 , p. 48; with several images, which are only available in the print version. (Digitized version)
2. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h} Ulrich Thieme, Felix Becker: General lexicon of visual artists from antiquity to the present. Volume 15, Leipzig 1926, p. 409 (digitized version)
3. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Anja Rose: The St. Johanniskirche to advertise. On the website of the Hanseatic City of Werben (Elbe) digital set with several images , accessed on May 20, 2015.
4. ^ Event management and tourism in the Hanseatic City of Stendal, picture gallery, accessed digitally on May 24, 2015 with images of the altar and pulpit
5. ↑ Wolfgang Gülker: Art, architecture and panorama, Stendal in the Altmark, brick and glass painting (cathedral, Marienkirche, Jacobikirche, St. Petri). 2008, accessed on May 19, 2015 (digitized version) Gallery with several photos of the altar and the pulpit in the Jakobikirche
6. ↑ ^{a b c d} Parish Church Council St. Jacobi in Stendal, homepage, period, equipment, accessed on May 27, 2015, digital set
7. ↑ ^{a b} Norbert Eisold, Edeltraud Lautsch: Saxony-Anhalt: between Harz and Fläming, Elbe, Unstrut and Saale - a cultural landscape rich in monuments. 1997, p. 127 (digitized version)
8. ^ ^{A b c} Hans-Georg von Goldbeck: History of the family von Goldbeck. 2nd Edition. Potsdam 2012, p. 45 f.
9. ^ Georg Dehio: Handbook of the German Art Monuments, Saxony-Anhalt I: Administrative region of Magdeburg. Edited by Ute Bednarz, Folkhard Cremer et al. 2002, ISBN 3-422-03069-7 , p. 446.
10. ^ Museum-Digital, Altmärkisches Museum Stendal, inventory no .: VI-c-12, accessed on May 24, 2015, with a description of the statue and an illustration