Johann Michael Holzhey

Johann Michael Holzhey: The foundation of the Benedictine monastery in Isny, 1757

Johann Michael Holzhey (born April 10, 1729 in Grönenbach ; † January 30, 1762 in Riedlingen ) was a painter and fresco artist . His works can be found in the St. Georg monastery church in Isny.

Life

Johann Michael was the son of Caspar Holzhey from Grönenbach and his wife Maria, née Graff, from the Seefeld district . He was baptized on April 10, 1729 in the collegiate church of St. Philipp and Jakob in Grönenbach. Nothing is known about Holzhey's youth or apprenticeship, it can be assumed that he went to Kempten at a very young age . There was Franz Georg Hermann on behalf of the prince abbots busy. It is known that Holzhey worked for his son Franz Ludwig Hermann in 1752 as an assistant in the painting of the library in the Benedictine Abbey of St. Peter in the Black Forest . The work in the library was completed in December 1752, after which both went to Constance . Due to stylistic peculiarities in Holzhey's works, it can be assumed that he had contact with Franz Joseph Spiegler in Konstanz . The latter moved from Riedlingen to Constance in 1752. On August 6, 1754 , Holzhey enrolled at the Vienna Academy . This comes from the note “Holzhey Joan. Michael a Mahler von Grönenbach from the Kemptischen, dermahlen zu Nickelsdorff beymgemein Wirth “. During his time at the Vienna Academy, it was directed by the director Paul Troger , which influenced his later works. Information about the further course of studies or the duration of his studies is not known. On May 20, 1757, Holzey received the order from Abbot Basilius Sinner to paint the collegiate church of St. Georg in Isny and to create the paintings in the refectory . A few days later it is noted in the abbey's log book that “I have to pay 800 fl for the work to be done in front of the above-mentioned crack and work 800 fl along with the convent food; as well as the same design by those contestants, and it was stipulated that highly lobbly. House of God had to provide all the necessary things, be it colors or whatever name it might have. ”The program of the frescoes in the church with scenes from the Old and New Testament was given by a member of the convent . The frescos clearly borrow from the compositions and colors of the works of Paul Troger, Franz Joseph Spiegler, Felix Ivo Leicher and Franz Anton Maulbertsch . The structure of the figures is reminiscent of the works of Franz Ludwig Hermann. The paintings in the refectory are completely different from those in the church. The picture program shows the role of bread in the New Covenant in the three large-format representations on the ceiling and scenes from the life of the founder of the order Benedict of Nursia on the walls , which are juxtaposed with analogous scenes from the Old Testament. In these pictures Holzhey developed his own style that would also determine his future works. In 1757 or 1758 Holzhey went on a trip to Italy, where the last installment of his fee from Isny was transferred to him on February 17, 1760 in Rome . In the same year, on November 14, 1760, Holzhey was named in Riedlingen on the occasion of a municipal assembly. This dealt with his request "if [he] intends to marry the wedded Simon Grammin bored Brunnerin, to be accepted and accepted as a citizen for around 400 fl including the costs." At the hearing, Holzhey had to present his birth certificate, a certificate of good conduct and proof that he was not a serf to the magistrate . Based on this evidence and a payment of 385 guilders , he was granted citizenship . A day later he married Anna Maria Brunnerin. Johann Michael Holzhey died on January 30, 1762 at the age of 32.

Holzhey presumably depicted himself as a bar waiter in the picture of the Last Supper in the refectory in Isny and as a courtly butcher in the eastern fresco of the central nave in the monastery church.

Works (selection)

Ceiling painting in the monastery church of St. Georg in Isny
Ceiling and wall paintings in the refectory of the Benedictine monastery in Isny
14 stations of the cross in the Roman Catholic Church of St. Gallus in Gestratz

literature

Georg Paula : Johann Michael Holzhey . In: Lebensbilder from Bavarian Swabia, Vol. 16, 2004, ISBN 978-3-87437-478-1 , pp. 163–172.

Web links

Commons : Johann Michael Holzhey - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Information about Johann Michael Holzhey on South German Baroque
Barbara Rau: Holzhey's pictures saved in the refectory. schwäbische.de, January 2, 2013, accessed on August 15, 2015 .

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b Winfried ASSFALG: Riedlingen: A center for artists, but not an art center in the Baroque period (Part 2) . In: Schwäbische Heimat 1991/1, pp. 51–61. On the life and work of Holzhey cf. also Georg Paula: Johann Michael Holzhey, Johann Martin Seltenhorn and Michael Daenzel - three Swabian history painters at the Vienna Academy . In: Franz Anton Maulbertsch and his Swabian circle , Sigmaringen 1996, pp. 124–172; The work of the painter and fresco artist Johann Michael Holzhey (1729–1762) in the Isny Benedictine monastery . In: Reichsabtei St. Georg in Isny 1096–1802. Contributions to the history and art of the 900-year-old Benedictine monastery , Weißenhorn 1996, pp. 179–187.
^ Hermann Ginter : Südwestdeutsche Kirchenmalerei des Barock, The Constance and Freiburg Masters of the 18th Century , Augsburg 1930, p. 69; Hermann Brommer : Artist and craftsman in the new St. Petri church and monastery building in the 18th century , in: Hans-Otto Mühleisen (Ed.), St. Peter in the Black Forest, cultural-historical and historical contributions on the occasion of the 250th anniversary of the inauguration of the monastery church , Munich-Zurich 1977, pp. 50-93.
↑ Akademiearchiv Wien, Chronological recording protocol 1732–1765, Vol. 1b, fol. 138v. A second entry three days earlier can be found under number 17 in the alphabetical register of names 1754–1772, vol. 1c, pag. 100: “Holzhey Joan. Me :, From Grönenbach von Kemptischen Mahler, L: to Nicelstorf at the Würth. 3. Aug. "
↑ Quoted from Rupert Feuchtmüller: Some comments on paintings in Isny and Reute . In: Ernst Ziegler (Ed.), Art and Culture around Lake Constance. Ten years of the Langenargen Museum , Sigmaringen 1986, p. 161.
^ Adolf Schahl, Werner von Matthey, Peter Strieder, Georg Sigmund Graf Adelmann von Adelmannsfelden: The art monuments of the former district of Wangen , Stuttgart 1954, p. 151.
↑ Winfried ASSFALG: Riedlingen: A center for artists, but not an art center in the Baroque period (Part 2) . In: Schwäbische Heimat 1991/1, p. 59.
^ Georg Paula: Johann Michael Holzhey . In: Lebensbilder from Bavarian Swabia, Vol. 16, 2004, ISBN 978-3-87437-478-1 , pp. 163–172.

personal data
SURNAME	Holzhey, Johann Michael
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Holzhey, Hans Michael
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Painter and fresco artist
DATE OF BIRTH	April 10, 1729
PLACE OF BIRTH	Bad Groenenbach
DATE OF DEATH	January 30, 1762
Place of death	Riedlingen

[A7-1] Winfried ASSFALG: Riedlingen: A center for artists, but not an art center in the Baroque period (Part 2) . In: Schwäbische Heimat 1991/1, pp. 51–61. On the life and work of Holzhey cf. also Georg Paula: Johann Michael Holzhey, Johann Martin Seltenhorn and Michael Daenzel - three Swabian history painters at the Vienna Academy . In: Franz Anton Maulbertsch and his Swabian circle , Sigmaringen 1996, pp. 124–172; The work of the painter and fresco artist Johann Michael Holzhey (1729–1762) in the Isny Benedictine monastery . In: Reichsabtei St. Georg in Isny 1096–1802. Contributions to the history and art of the 900-year-old Benedictine monastery , Weißenhorn 1996, pp. 179–187.

[2] Hermann Ginter : Südwestdeutsche Kirchenmalerei des Barock, The Constance and Freiburg Masters of the 18th Century , Augsburg 1930, p. 69; Hermann Brommer : Artist and craftsman in the new St. Petri church and monastery building in the 18th century , in: Hans-Otto Mühleisen (Ed.), St. Peter in the Black Forest, cultural-historical and historical contributions on the occasion of the 250th anniversary of the inauguration of the monastery church , Munich-Zurich 1977, pp. 50-93.

[3] Akademiearchiv Wien, Chronological recording protocol 1732–1765, Vol. 1b, fol. 138v. A second entry three days earlier can be found under number 17 in the alphabetical register of names 1754–1772, vol. 1c, pag. 100: “Holzhey Joan. Me :, From Grönenbach von Kemptischen Mahler, L: to Nicelstorf at the Würth. 3. Aug. "

[4] Quoted from Rupert Feuchtmüller: Some comments on paintings in Isny and Reute . In: Ernst Ziegler (Ed.), Art and Culture around Lake Constance. Ten years of the Langenargen Museum , Sigmaringen 1986, p. 161.

[5] Adolf Schahl, Werner von Matthey, Peter Strieder, Georg Sigmund Graf Adelmann von Adelmannsfelden: The art monuments of the former district of Wangen , Stuttgart 1954, p. 151.

[6] Winfried ASSFALG: Riedlingen: A center for artists, but not an art center in the Baroque period (Part 2) . In: Schwäbische Heimat 1991/1, p. 59.

[7] Georg Paula: Johann Michael Holzhey . In: Lebensbilder from Bavarian Swabia, Vol. 16, 2004, ISBN 978-3-87437-478-1 , pp. 163–172.