Johann Christian Schmidt (sculptor)

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The high altar in Wormditt is attributed to both Johann Christian Schmidt and Johannes Frey .

Johann Christian Schmidt (also Schmid , Schmitt ), (* 1701 ; † May 18, 1759 in Rößel ) was a German sculptor of the late Baroque who worked in East Prussia .

life and work

Schmidt was born as the son of Johannes Schmidt (* 1656). His place of birth is not certain; however, it should not have been Rößel. His father was probably a carpenter and sculptor. Schmidt came to Rößel at the beginning of the 1720s. In 1724 he worked in Rößel as a lay judge ("Schöppe"). In 1724 he married Elisabeth Peucker, the daughter of the sculptor and citizen of Rößel, Christoph Peucker . When he got married, Schmidt was called a “sculptor and citizen” who worked in Rößel. Schmidt was possibly Peucker's journeyman in Rößel, where he then probably worked as a sculptor. Schmidt achieved a remarkable social advancement within the Roessel citizenship. After his work as a lay judge, he became a council member in Rößel and church provisional.

In 1736 he was mentioned in connection with the transfer of the high altar donated and created by his father-in-law Peucker for the Franciscan church in Cadinen . At the time, Schmidt, like Peucker, was unable to manage the transfer himself for reasons of illness.

Schmidt was married twice; his second wife was called Catarina and was not a daughter of Peucker. Schmidt had three sons, Josef Schmidt (* 1731), Christian Bernhard Schmidt (* 1734, † 1784) and Andreas Schmidt (* 1726, † 1789), all of whom were active as sculptors. The most common name variant is the spelling Schmidt .

Schmidt's work spans a period of more than 30 years. He initially created some smaller works in Rößel; In addition to his work as a wood sculptor, he was also active as a stone sculptor during his creative period. His first documented work is the stone carvings of the Immaculate Conception of Mary in the churchyard of the pilgrimage church Heiligelinde from 1732; Schmidt received a total of almost 420 guilders for his craftsmanship and the stone material . Schmidt's main works include the high altar in the Catholic Kreuzkirche near Braunsberg , on which he worked according to an entry in the annals of the Rößeler Kollegium in April 1738, and the pulpit of the Catholic parish church in Freudenberg . Schmidt is not expressly named in the documentary mention; From the fact that at that time there was no other sculptor living in Rößel, it can be assumed that Schmidt's authorship was confirmed. Schmidt also created confessionals, communion benches, several sculptures of the Holy Cross and a figure of John the Baptist for the Catholic parish church in Rößel .

Schmidt is the sculptor of the pulpit (1740) in the Catholic parish church in Süssenthal and the pulpit (1745) in the Catholic parish church in Schlitt (Skolity) , Heilsberg district; the attributions are considered certain.

The high altar in Wormditt is attributed to both the sculptor Johannes Frey and Johann Christian Schmidt. In addition, some stone sculptures in Allenstein, Glockstein, Springborn, Wormditt and Heilsberg are attributed to Schmidt; In the case of some works, however, the connection with Schmidt can ultimately remain open, according to Anton Ulbrich .

Catalog raisonné

Documented works
  • 1732: Stone carving of the Immaculate Conception of Mary in the churchyard of the pilgrimage church Heiligelinde .
  • 1738: High altar in the Catholic Kreuzkirche near Braunsberg .
  • 1752: Pulpit of the Catholic parish church in Freudenberg .
Attributions
  • 1740 and 1744: Wormditt , high altar; is attributed to both Johannes Frey and Johann Christian Schmidt.
  • 1740: Pulpit in the Catholic parish church in Süssenthal.
  • 1745: Pulpit in the Catholic parish church to Schlitt (Skolity) , Heilsberg district.
  • 1752: Pulpit in the Catholic parish church in Freudenberg .
  • 1737: Figure of the blessing Savior with the globe of the cross in the Guttstadter Strasse in Allenstein.
  • 1750: Statue of Maria in Glockstein.
  • 1752: two sandstone statues in the churchyard of the monastery church in Springborn.
  • 1756: statue of St. Johannes von Nepomuk in Wormditt on the bridge over the river Derewenz.
  • 1756: statue of St. Katharina in the courtyard of the outer bailey of the bishop's palace in Heilsberg.

literature

  • Anton Ulbrich : Johann Christian Schmidt, also Schmid and Schmitt. In: History of sculpture in East Prussia from the end of the 16th century to around 1870. Volume 2, Königsberg 1929, pp. 594–608.
  • Anton Ulbrich: Sculptor of the Schmidt family in Rößel (The sons of JCSchmidt from Rößel). In: History of sculpture in East Prussia from the end of the 16th century to around 1870. Volume 2, Königsberg 1929, pp. 694–721.
  • Anton Ulbrich: Art history in East Prussia from the time of the order to the present. Königsberg 1932, p. 190.
  • Anton Ulbrich: Schmidt (Schmid, Schmitt), Johann Christian . 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. 149 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Ulbrich: Johann Christian Schmidt,…. 1929, pp. 604–605 and p. 611: "If, besides Frey, one should name a sculptor who could be considered for this work, then it is Johann Christian Schmidt."
  2. ^ A b c d e Anton Ulbrich : Schmidt (Schmid, Schmitt), Johann Christian . 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. 149 .
  3. ↑ Ulbrich: Johann Christian Schmidt,…. 1929, p. 594 f.
  4. ↑ a b c d e Ulbrich: Johann Christian Schmidt,…. 1929, p. 598.
  5. ↑ a b c d e f Ulbrich: Johann Christian Schmidt,…. 1929, p. 595.
  6. ^ Anton Ulbrich: Sculptor of the Schmidt family in Rößel (The sons of JCSchmidt from Rößel). 1929, p. 694 f. and p. 706 f.
  7. ↑ Ulbrich: Johann Christian Schmidt,…. 1929, p. 595 and p. 597.
  8. ↑ Ulbrich: Johann Christian Schmidt,…. 1929, pp. 597-598.
  9. ↑ Ulbrich: Johann Christian Schmidt,…. 1929, pp. 599-601.
  10. ↑ Ulbrich: Johann Christian Schmidt,…. 1929, p. 595 f.
  11. ↑ Ulbrich: Johann Christian Schmidt,…. 1929, pp. 595-596 and p. 602.
  12. ↑ Ulbrich: Johann Christian Schmidt,…. 1929, p. 595 and p. 597.
  13. ↑ Ulbrich: Johann Christian Schmidt,…. 1929, p. 598 f.
  14. ↑ Ulbrich: Johann Christian Schmidt,…. 1929, p. 598 and p. 603.
  15. ↑ Ulbrich: Johann Christian Schmidt,…. 1929, p. 603.
  16. ↑ Ulbrich: Johann Christian Schmidt,…. 1929, p. 599.
  17. ↑ Ulbrich: Johann Christian Schmidt,…. 1929, pp. 599-600.
  18. ↑ a b Ulbrich: Johann Christian Schmidt,…. 1929, p. 600.
  19. ↑ Ulbrich: Johann Christian Schmidt,…. 1929, p. 601: “Who was the creator of this work of art? Maybe Schmidt in Rößel, to whom we owe the beautiful work of the conception in Heiligelinde, maybe Perwanger , the able sculptor in Tolkemit …. His main activity in the forties and fifties and his considerable skill speak for Perwanger. "
personal data
SURNAME Schmidt, Johann Christian
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German sculptor of the late baroque
DATE OF BIRTH 1701
DATE OF DEATH May 18, 1759
Place of death Rössel