Jörg Zürn

High altar of the Überlingen Minster

Jörg Zürn (* around 1583 in Waldsee , Oberschwaben; † between 1635 and 1638 in Überlingen ) comes from a family of sculptors and carvers active in Upper Swabia in the 16th century . He was the eldest son of the sculptor Hans Zürn the Elder .

After his apprenticeship with his father and the wandering period, he became a journeyman of the Überlingen sculptor Virgilius Moll. After his death in 1607 he married his widow and took over his workshop as a master.

His first major work is the Marien Altar in the Betz'schen Chapel of the Überlingen Minster St. Nikolaus between 1607 and 1610, on which the master himself executed the stone reliefs and the statue of Sebastian.

On behalf of the City Council of Überlingen, the high altar of the Überlingen Minster was built from 1613 to 1619 with the collaboration of the father Hans and the brothers Martin and Michael: a four-tiered Marian altar (Annunciation, Birth of Christ, Coronation of Mary, Crucifixion) made of fir and lime wood without painting. It is ten meters high and five meters wide at its widest point.

The work follows the tradition of the Gothic carved altars . In the abundant ornamentation of the architectural framework, it shows the knowledge of Mannerist decorative templates, but in its overall effect and in the design of the individual figures (especially the saints attached to the side) it is an excellent example of the early South German Baroque .

Jörg Zürn is considered to be the main master of early baroque sculpture on Lake Constance . Many places on Lake Constance own other works that were either handwritten or created under his influence.

The Überlinger Jörg-Zürn-Gewerbeschule , which is one of the UNESCO project schools, is named after Jörg Zürn . A street near the school center was also named after him.

literature

Claus Zoege von Manteuffel : The Zürn family of sculptors . Konrad, Weissenhorn 1969.
Harriet Brinkmöller-Gandlau: Zürn, Jörg, sculptor. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 14, Bautz, Herzberg 1998, ISBN 3-88309-073-5 , Sp. 601-603. ([ bautz.de ( Memento from June 30, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Article / Article beginning in the Internet archive])

Web links

The Jörg Zürn Gewerbeschule ( Memento from May 27, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) in SchWiki

Individual evidence

^ Eugen Schnering: Überlingen - city history in street names . 2nd unchanged edition. Verlag der Gesellschaft der Kunstfreunde Überlingen eV, Überlingen 1998, p. 83-84 .

personal data
SURNAME	Zürn, Jörg
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	German sculptor and carver
DATE OF BIRTH	around 1583
PLACE OF BIRTH	Waldsee, Upper Swabia
DATE OF DEATH	between 1635 and 1638
Place of death	Überlingen

[1] Eugen Schnering: Überlingen - city history in street names . 2nd unchanged edition. Verlag der Gesellschaft der Kunstfreunde Überlingen eV, Überlingen 1998, p. 83-84 .