Johann Bernhard Schwarzeburger

Johann Bernhard Schwarzeburger (also Schwarzenberger ; born June 4, 1672 in Frankfurt am Main ; † July 1741 ibid) was a sculptor and stone cutter working in Frankfurt .

Life

He came from a very poor background and initially learned and operated sculpture. He created both sacred and secular sculptures. Among the more well-known of these are two epitaphs from 1701–1703 of Count August zu Lippe-Brake , Landkomtur der Deutschordensballei Hessen and General Field Marshal of Hessen-Kassel , one in the church in Brake , the other in the Elisabethkirche in Marburg , 1705–1708 Created horse sculpture at the riding hall (today town hall) in Weilburg Castle and the dolphin fountain from 1710 at the Upper Orangery there. In Frankfurt he created, among other things, the figures and carvings on the high altar of the Dominican Church , built in 1725, the figures donated by Anselm Franz von Thurn und Taxis but removed during the renovation from 1854–1856 in the middle niches of the altars on both sides of the choir in Frankfurt Cathedral and that Marie image at the link-side corner of the from 1707 newly built mansion of the Teutonic Order in Sachsenhausen .

He associated with the brothers Johann Benedikt Hess and Sebastian Hess, well-known Frankfurt glass and stone cutters, and under their guidance he learned how to cut gemstones . Based on ancient models, he cut heads, busts and small figures, half or completely raised. His three sons helped him a lot, at first only the youngest, Adolph (* around 1714, † March 1738), when the demand of his primarily Jewish art dealer clientele increased more and more, then the two older ones, Franz (* around 1699, †) November 1735) and Valentin (* around 1704, † April 1732), whom he called back to Frankfurt specifically for this purpose (Valentin had been a pupil of the court sculptor Balthasar Permoser in Dresden from 1712 ). They did not cut intaglia , but cameos and bas-reliefs , but also completely free-standing figures. Particularly well-known are a small equestrian statue of August the Strong made of amber , who bought it for the Green Vault in 1713 (after the initially too small horse head had been modified according to a drawing designed by August himself) , and four also from August the Strong for the Green vault acquired statuettes of Roman Caesars .

The early death of his sons, which he attributed to the careless inhalation of the diamond dust, was very detrimental to his business, as they had done much of the important fine work, and he had to turn down orders afterwards because he could no longer do it alone.

Schwarzeburger died in 1741 and was buried next to his sons at the Dominican Church in Frankfurt.

His brother was a skilled portrait painter.

Works (selection)

• Epitaph of Count August zu Lippe-Brake, Landkomtur des Deutschordensballei Hessen and Field Marshal General of Hessen-Kassel , in the church of Brake ,
• Epitaph of Count August zu Lippe-Brake in the Elisabeth Church in Marburg ,
• Horse sculpture at the riding arena of Weilburg Castle , (1705–1708)
• Dolphin fountain at the Upper Orangery of Weilburg Castle, based on a design by Julius Ludwig Rothweil, (1710)
• Statues of St. Roch and St. Joseph in the St. Barbara Hospital Church in Oberursel
• Grave monument for Johann Ernst von Glauburg (1681–1733) in the church in Frankfurt-Nieder-Erlenbach , (1733)
• Heraldic decoration in the gable triangle of the central risalit on the corps de logis of the Palais Thurn und Taxis in Frankfurt, built 1734–1739
• Four 23-27 cm high statues of Roman emperors in the Dresden State Art Collections , cut from the most part of Idar-Oberstein originating gemstones and in the years from 1729 to 1731 by August the Strong purchased Domitian, Titus, Vespasian, Julius Caesar.
• The 19 cm high statuette "Dutch boatman" in the Green Vault in Dresden

literature

• Johann Heinrich Faber: Topographical, political and historical description of the imperial, electoral and trading city of Frankfurt am Main. First volume, Jäger, Frankfurt, 1788, pp. 402-403 ( books.google.de ).
• Johann Rudolf Füssli : Schwarzeburger, also Schwarzenberger (Johann Bernhard) . In: General Artists Dictionary,… Orell, Füssli & Company, Zurich 1813, p. 1575–1576 ( books.google.de ).
• Schwarzeburger, Johann Bernhard. In: Tobias Biehler: About gemology. Jacob & Holzhausen, Vienna, 1860, p. 115 ( books.google.de or Textarchiv - Internet Archive ).
• Johann Bernhard Schwarzeburger. In: Philipp Friedrich Gwinner : Art and artists in Frankfurt am Main from the 13th century to the opening of the Städel'schen Kunstinstitut. Josef Baer, ​​Frankfurt am Main, 1862, p. 242 ( books.google.de ).
• Bruno Bucher (ed.): History of the technical arts. First volume. Spemann, Stuttgart, 1875, p. 337 ( books.google.de ).
• Hans Oskar Beschorner: Permoser studies . Book printer of Wilhelm and Bertha v. Baensch Foundation, Dresden 1913, p. 51 ( Textarchiv - Internet Archive - In Section 7. Valentin Schwarzenberger ).
• Schwarzeburger, Johann Bernhard . In: Hans Wolfgang Singer (Ed.): General Artist Lexicon. Life and works of the most famous visual artists . Prepared by Hermann Alexander Müller . 5th unchanged edition. tape 4 : Raab – Vezzo . Literary Institute, Rütten & Loening, Frankfurt a. M. 1921, p. 240 ( Textarchiv - Internet Archive ).
• Schwarzeburger, Johann Bernhard . In: Hans Vollmer (Hrsg.): General lexicon of fine artists from antiquity to the present . Founded by Ulrich Thieme and Felix Becker . tape 30 : Scheffel – Siemerding . EA Seemann, Leipzig 1936, p. 368 .

Individual evidence

1. ^ The church at Brake
2. ↑ ^{a b c} Weilburg Castle in the Scientific Image Archive for Architecture.
3. ↑ Alwin Schultz: II. The sculpture. In: Introduction to the Study of Modern Art History. 2. Increased edition. Leipzig / Prague, 1887, p. 252 ( Textarchiv - Internet Archive ).
4. ↑ The Church of Brake (1701–1703)
5. ^ Tomb of Count August Schaumburg-Lippe  in the German Digital Library
6. ^ Hospital church Oberursel
7. ↑ Hospitalkirche St, Barbara on taunus.info.
8. ^ The Chronicle of Nieder-Erlenbach on frankfurt.de, accessed on February 22, 2020.
9. ↑ Statuette of Domitian in the Green Vault in Dresden ( Memento of the original from November 29, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
10. ^ Wolfram Koeppe (ed.): Art of the Royal Court: Treasures in Pietre Dure from the Palaces of Europe. Exhibition catalog, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 2008, ISBN 978-1-58839-288-6 (p. 260: Two Statuettes of Roman Emperors)
11. ↑ Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden: Holländischer Schiffer ( Memento of the original from November 29, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.