Johann Friedrich Städel

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Logo Stadel.jpg

Johann Friedrich Städel (born November 1, 1728 in Frankfurt am Main ; † December 2, 1816 there ) was a German private banker and patron .

Life

Städel's father was Johann Daniel Städel from Strasbourg , who moved to Frankfurt in 1718, opened a “spice trade” and in 1719 married Maria Dorothea Petzel, daughter of a wealthy businessman. After the death of his parents in 1777 and 1778, Johann Friedrich Städel initially continued the business, but increasingly did financial transactions. Eventually he switched completely to banking, for example through credit deals with the city of Frankfurt and the Bishop of Strasbourg. He lived in his parents' house on Kornmarkt until 1777 before moving into his own house on Roßmarkt .

From 1770 onwards, Städel collected paintings and drawings, which he bought in Paris , Amsterdam , London , but also in Frankfurt. Until Städel's death, the collection consisted of around 500 paintings, mostly by Flemish, Dutch and German artists of the 17th and 18th centuries Century; in addition around 2000 prints ( copperplate engravings ) and drawings. Johann Wolfgang Goethe , who visited the Städel several times to view the works, showed interest in the copper engravings from the collection .

Städel was unmarried and remained childless. In 1793 he planned for the first time an art foundation, possibly inspired by the opening of the Louvre as a public gallery in the same year. In 1811 he asked Prince Karl Theodor von Dalberg for the foundation decree. In the will , which was last changed in 1815, he decreed that both a public art collection should be established, the Städelsche Kunstinstitut , and an art school, which should be taught free of charge regardless of gender and religion, the Städelschule , today the state art college . It was the first civil establishment of this kind. All of the works of art owned by the Städel were transferred to the foundation, but initially remained in the house on Roßmarkt.

His will became the starting point of a famous legal controversy in the 19th century. The administrators commissioned by him applied to the city of Frankfurt for approval of a foundation and at the same time accepted the inheritance on behalf of the institute . In 1817, however, two women from Strasbourg, who were largely related, got in touch. They challenged the will with the argument that no one could be an heir who had not yet existed legally at the time of death and sued for the estate to be surrendered. The legal dispute concerned first the city court, then the appellate court of the city of Frankfurt and finally the higher appellate court of the free cities of Hamburg, Bremen, Lübeck and Frankfurt. It was not until twelve years after Städel's death that the court proceedings were ended by a settlement in 1828. The now three plaintiffs received a quarter of the estate of around 300,000 guilders. The estate also suffered from the legal costs. It was only after its existence was secured that the institute was able to start working properly.

The legal question raised by Städel's will was only regulated decades later in Section 84 of the Civil Code . Accordingly, today a foundation for the donation of the founder is considered to have been created before his death if it is only recognized as having legal capacity after his death. So she is also hereditary.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Hans Flick and Christian von Oertzen: Foundations due to death are prone to disputes , in: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung , August 7, 2007, p. 21.
personal data
SURNAME Städel, Johann Friedrich
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German private banker and patron
DATE OF BIRTH November 1, 1728
PLACE OF BIRTH Frankfurt am Main
DATE OF DEATH December 2, 1816
Place of death Frankfurt am Main