Johann Andreas Hommel

Johann Andreas Hommel (* 4. September 1677 in Memmingen , † 18th September 1751 ) was a painter of the Baroque and member of the Memminger School .

Life

Johann Andreas Hommel was born on September 4, 1677 in Memmingen, Upper Swabia, as the son of the municipal works foreman Johann Jakob Hommel. Since he was apparently extremely weak at birth, he was baptized Protestant with an emergency baptism. His mother, Anna Maria Hommel, died in December of the same year. The father, himself artistically gifted, did not send his son to his uncle Johann Heiß in Augsburg for training in the painting trade , but to Johann Friedrich Sichelbein, who was based in Memmingen and who was in charge of the Memmingen school. Teaching began in 1691 or 1692. The sources that still exist give contradicting information. In 1699 he finished his apprenticeship and went on a hike. It is not known where it led him. From 1706 Johann Andreas stayed in Memmingen again. In December he applied to the City Council of Memmingen to marry Elisabetha Treutlin, which was granted to him against payment of one guilder. On February 7, 1707 he married in St. Martin . Due to the strict regulations of the imperial city for wedding celebrations, he had to pay a fine of four guilders on the occasion of this wedding. He had invited four guests too many. At his request to the city council, this penalty was reduced to half. Because he joined the guild in the same year, he was able to work as an independent master with his own workshop.

The Martinskirche in Steinheim with the sundial painted by Hommel and one of the two dials

Due to various sources, Johann Andreas Hommel must have worked as a painter. All sources speak of the "art painter Johann Andreas Hommel". However, no works that can be assigned to him have survived. Even the files of the Kreuzherrenkloster that still existed , which carried out major renovations during his creative period, do not contain any entries about him. He is noted in the files of the sub-hospital for minor painting activities. So he painted the pub sign for the pub in Woringen . The maintenance of the brass fittings on a new chaise and the renovation of the sundial and the two dials of the church clock on the tower of St. Martin in Steinheim were also paid for by the lower hospital. At times Johann Andreas was even able to employ journeymen, so that a good order situation can be assumed for him. In 1740 Johann Georg Mayer from Berlin worked for him. The painters' competition in Memmingen then complained to the council, which granted the complaint and decided that Johann Georg Mayer had to take his bundle and leave the city within 14 days of the decision. In the same year Johann Andreas charged his mortgage-free house with 50 guilders, which the city council granted him. On March 26, 1751, a request from him is recorded in the council minutes. He asked for the release of all his tax obligations towards the city, as his circumstances did not currently allow them to be met. The council granted this request.

Johann Andreas Hommel died childless on September 18, 1751. He left behind his wife, who followed him into death on May 26, 1760.

literature

• Günther Bayer: Memmingen painter at the time of the baroque . Kunstverlag Josef Fink, Lindenberg 2007, ISBN 978-3-89870-454-0 .