Joseph Moosbrugger

The title of this article is ambiguous. For other people of the same name, see Josef Moosbrugger .

Joseph Moosbrugger , also Josef Moosbrugger and Joseph Mosbrugger , (born March 10, 1810 in Konstanz , † October 13, 1869 there ) was a German painter. He came from the Mosbrugger family, famous for their builders, plasterers and painters, and his paintings were primarily devoted to landscape motifs. He was mainly active in Konstanz and Munich .

Joseph Moosbrugger: Constance; Oil on canvas; Image size: 30 × 46.5 cm; Municipal Wessenberg Gallery Constance

Life

Joseph Mosbrugger was the sixth and last child of the painter Wendelin Mosbrugger (1760–1849) and his second wife Anna Maria Hüetlin (1774–1829). His siblings were Leopold Mosbrugger (1796–1864), mathematician, August Moosbrugger (1802–1858), architect, lyceum professor and Grand Ducal building inspector in Wertheim, and Friedrich Mosbrugger (1804–1830), portrait painter. The Mosbrugger family, as well as the maternal Hüetlin family, an old Constance patrician family, were considered to be influential and setting the tone in Constance society. Important people from the city's scene frequented the house, including Ignaz Heinrich von Wessenberg , Count Thurn-Valsassina, the consecrated and later Archbishop Hermann von Vicari and the painter Marie Ellenrieder .

Joseph Moosbrugger: Untitled (courtyard of the Konstanzer Wessenberghaus); Oil on paper laid down on cardboard; Image size: 38 × 47.4 cm; Rosgarten Museum Konstanz

A happy and carefree childhood as well as the many stays in the family's summer house, the so-called Sattlerhäusle ^(∗) , contributed to Mosbrugger developing a pronounced feeling for nature. Since he had come into contact with painting at an early age through the profession of his father and older brother Friedrich and himself showed talent in this field, he spent a lot of time making landscape sketches. He was a bad student, so studying was out of the question. Instead, he was able to get his family trained as a painter. He received his first instruction in his father's workshop. In self-study he created sketches of the area around Constance. With the intention of becoming a portrait painter, he followed his brother Friedrich to Munich.

On November 25, 1829, Mosbrugger joined the painting class at the Art Academy in Munich, initially focusing on portraiture.

Mosbrugger's early days in Munich were only moderately successful as he struggled with his school-based studies and lacked hard work and perseverance. Instead, he maintained social life and spent a lot of time on walks and excursions. It soon became clear that portraiture did not correspond to Mosbrugger's inclinations. Under the influence of his friend Eduard Schleich , he finally turned to landscape painting and changed the subject. Schleich also acted as a liaison to other artists and their paintings. In particular, representatives of Munich landscape painting around Georg von Dillis , Heinrich Bürkel , Max Josef Wagenbauer and Wilhelm von Kobell shaped Mosbrugger and his work.

Mosbrugger lived out his fondness for the landscape on excursions to the countryside and into the mountains; on regular visits to his home town of Constance, he also discovered Lake Constance as a subject.

Joseph Mosbrugger: Landscape near Bregenz; Oil on wood; Image size: 26 × 38 cm; Municipal Wessenberg Gallery Constance

“The loveliness and grace [sic], the comforting, unpretentious character of our seascape corresponded entirely to his own nature, and even his sunny nature could not even bring it to deep shadows, to harsh seriousness, to dark threatening in the picture. Nature was to him a dear, [sic] good-natured smiling friend, he [sic] he had an eternally open and receptive heart. "

- Friedrich Pecht

Although he earned some money by selling smaller credits, he had to struggle with financial hardship, which was probably one of the reasons for his frequent stays in Constance and which contributed to his final return to Lake Constance in 1856.

Even when he was over 40, he was dependent on a grand ducal grant, as his correspondence with the court in Karlsruhe shows. Thanks to this source, details are known from his life in the 1850s, while little information is available about his time in Munich. Among other things, he had hoped to be able to take part in the Paris World Exhibition in 1855 and so on Emperor Napoleon III. to meet to win him over. However, this hope was not to be fulfilled. By Frederick I of Baden , he was commissioned, the Karlsruhe Palace and the towns of Baden paint. He created views of Constance, Freiburg , Heidelberg and Wertheim as well as pictures of Meersburg and the island of Mainau . However, he did not find permanent supporters in the grand ducal family and no further commissions were made.

In contrast, Ignaz Heinrich Freiherr von Wessenberg also bought Mosbrugger works over the years and proved to be a reliable sponsor. After Wessenberg's death, Mosbrugger was appointed curator of the Wessenberg collection of paintings by the city of Constance . In 1863 he created the first inventory and in 1866 the first catalog of the collection, which he looked after until his death.

In the spring of 1869, Mosbrugger fell ill with a lung disease, was in need of care and had to be hospitalized. He died there in October 1869.

Work and style

Joseph Mosbrugger: Lorettokapelle (Konstanz-Allmannsdorf); Oil on canvas; Image size: 39.3 × 63 cm; Municipal Wessenberg Gallery Constance

Joseph Mosbrugger's work focuses on a few, narrowly defined landscape themes that he found mainly in Upper Bavaria , Switzerland , Baden and Württemberg. Since most of the pictures from the Munich era have been lost and the location of the location is less known, his oeuvre is dominated by the paintings depicting Lake Constance.

Mosbrugger painted his hometown particularly often, preferably from the north-west with the Alps as the background backdrop. There were also views of Meersburg Castle , Kreuzlingen Monastery , Mainau Island , Reichenau , Feldkirch , the “witch's house” near Bregenz and the “Heidenhöhlen” near Überlingen . But parts of the lake that are difficult to locate and oil sketches from Constance have also been preserved.

Mosbrugger's compositions are based on recurring construction schemes: many paintings are framed by trees at the edge of the picture. They mark the fixed point from which the depth of the landscape opens up. Other images move the lake shore zone into the center; The painter usually starts from an oval bay that opens on one side to the lake. A third group of images offers a view of striking buildings or the vast country from an elevated position.

What is striking is the idealized, often formulaic frozen view of the landscape. At best, people appear as staffage figures. The artist painted popular motifs several times. While the paintings, executed in the smooth oil glaze technique, are of topographical accuracy, the oil sketches created in the last years of the artist's life are captivating due to the freer use of painterly means and the choice of more unconventional motifs. Because of their realism and immediacy, these works are undoubtedly the high point of Mosbrugger's work.

Joseph Mosbrugger: Meersburg; Oil on copper; Image dimensions: 35.3 × 46.5 cm; Municipal Wessenberg Gallery Constance

Art market and exhibitions

• 1836: Art exhibition in Halberstadt; u. a.
• 1837: Drawing of pictures by the Kunstverein München; u. a.
• 1837: Karlsruhe art exhibition with the work "Abbey in Gottlieben on Lake Constance"; u. a.
• 1839: "View of Gottlieben Castle" and "Heimgarten Mountains" raffle at the Munich Art Association; u. a.
• 1839: Karlsruhe art exhibition. "Landscape on Lake Constance" by Joseph Mosbrugger; u. a.
• 1844: St. Gallen art exhibition; u. a.
• 1858: Kunsthalle in Karlsruhe with "Lookout from Mainau Island"

Works (selection)

• 1836: Inner Paradieser Tor in Constance; Oil on canvas; 40 x 32.8 cm; Rosgarten Museum Konstanz.
• approx. 1841: View of Constance from the north; Oil on canvas; 43.5 x 57.8 cm; Freiburg, Augustinian Museum.
• n.d.: Meersburg Castle; Oil on copper; 35.3 x 46.5 cm; Constance, Zähringer Foundation , Wessenberg Municipal Gallery.
• 1847: "Hexenhäuschen" near Bregenz; Oil on wood; 32 × 35 cm; Constance, Zähringer Foundation, Wessenberg Municipal Gallery .
• 1850: View of Konstanz and Säntis; Oil on canvas; 59 × 85.5 cm; Friedrichshafen, Zeppelin Museum .
• n.d.: View of Hohentwiel and Untersee; Oil on canvas; 69 × 98 cm; Friedrichshafen, Zeppelin Museum.
• 1851: Landscape with a view of Freiburg; Oil on canvas; 58 × 85 cm; State Art Gallery Karlsruhe . (From the series of Baden cities for the Grand Duke of Baden)
• before 1852: view of Heidelberg and the Neckar valley; Oil on canvas; 57.5 × 86 cm; State Art Gallery Karlsruhe. (From the series of Baden cities for the Grand Duke of Baden)
• before 1855: Gottlieben Castle with Arenenberg ; mentioned in a letter from Mosbrugger dated March 15, 1855; Part of the Paris World's Fair 1855 ; lost.
• before 1856: landscape with Hohenzollern Castle ; Oil study on paper; 29.2 x 41.4 cm; State Art Gallery Karlsruhe. (From the Friedrich-Luisen-Album of 1856, sheet 43)
• 1865: Loretto Chapel in Constance; Oil on canvas; 39 x 62.5 cm; Constance, Municipal Wessenberg Gallery.
• n.d.: courtyard of the Wessenberghaus in Constance; Oil study on paper, mounted on cardboard; 38 x 47.4 cm; Constance, Rosgarten Museum.

literature

• Moosbrugger, Joseph . In: Hans Vollmer (Hrsg.): General lexicon of fine artists from antiquity to the present . Founded by Ulrich Thieme and Felix Becker . tape 25 : Moehring – Olivié . EA Seemann, Leipzig 1931, p. 109 .
• Friedrich Pecht: The family of the Constance Mosbrugger. In: Konstanzer Zeitung. 23/24 X. 1869. Nekrolog. Transcript by Hans Giess: July 24, 1969, City Archives Konstanz.
• Michael Bringmann, Sigrid von Blanckenhagen: The Mosbrugger. The Constance painters Wendelin, Friedrich and Joseph Mosbrugger. ed. v. Kunstverein Konstanz, Weißenhorn 1974, ISBN 3-87437-100-X .
• Barbara Stark (Ed.): Ignaz Heinrich von Wessenberg: 1774–1860 - Church prince and art lover . Städtische Wessenberg-Galerie, Konstanz 2010, ISBN 978-3-929768-26-8 (On the occasion of the exhibition Ignaz Heinrich von Wessenberg. 1774–1860, Church prince and art lover, Städtische Wessenberg-Galerie Konstanz. June 20 - September 12, 2010) .

annotation

^(∗) The Sattlerhäusle, the predecessor building of the Ergatshauser Hof, was probably a little west of the Ergatshauser substation in Konstanz, Wollmatinger Straße 68. The article by Gernot Blechner also contains some pencil drawings by Joseph and Friedrich Moosbrugger.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Michael Bringmann, Sigrid von Blanckenhagen: The Mosbrugger. The Constance painters Wendelin, Friedrich and Joseph Mosbrugger. P. 236.
2. ↑ Michael Bringmann, Sigrid von Blanckenhagen: The Mosbrugger. The Constance painters Wendelin, Friedrich and Joseph Mosbrugger. Pp. 119-121.
3. ↑ ^{a b} Michael Bringmann, Sigrid von Blanckenhagen: The Mosbrugger. The Constance painters Wendelin, Friedrich and Joseph Mosbrugger. P. 121.
4. ^ Friedrich Pecht: The family of the Constance Mosbrugger. P. 2.
5. ↑ 01570 Joseph Mosbrugger. In: Academy of Fine Arts Munich (ed.): Matriculation book. Volume 1: 1809-1841. ( matrikel.adbk.de , Digitale-sammlungen.de ).
6. ↑ Michael Bringmann, Sigrid von Blanckenhagen: The Mosbrugger. The Constance painters Wendelin, Friedrich and Joseph Mosbrugger. Pp. 125-129.
7. ^ Friedrich Pecht: The family of the Constance Mosbrugger. Pp. 3-5.
8. ^ Friedrich Pecht: The family of the Constance Mosbrugger. In: Konstanzer Zeitung. 23/24 X. 1869. Nekrolog. Transcript by Hans Giess: July 24, 1969, City Archives Konstanz, pp. 4–5.
9. ↑ Michael Bringmann, Sigrid von Blanckenhagen: The Mosbrugger. The Constance painters Wendelin, Friedrich and Joseph Mosbrugger. Pp. 136-138.
10. ↑ Barbara Stark (ed.): Ignaz Heinrich von Wessenberg: 1774-1860 - Church prince and art lover. P. 29 f.
11. ^ Friedrich Pecht: The family of the Constance Mosbrugger. P. 6.
12. ↑ Ludwig Schorn (Ed.): Art sheet. 17th year, No. 44, Cotta, Stuttgart / Tübingen June 2, 1836, p. 186 (right column below, digital-sammlungen.de )
13. ↑ Ludwig Schorn (Ed.): Art sheet. Volume 18, No. 37, Cotta, Stuttgart / Tübingen1 1837, p. 148.
14. ↑ Ludwig Schorn (Ed.): Art sheet. 19th year, No. 17, Cotta, Stuttgart / Tübingen 1838, p. 67.
15. ↑ Moosbrugger, Joseph, also Mosbrugger. In: Georg Kaspar Nagler : New general artist lexicon. Volume 9: Meglinger. – Müller, Jan. EA Fleischmann, Munich 1840, pp. 445-446 ( Textarchiv - Internet Archive ).
16. ↑ Ludwig Schorn (Ed.): Art sheet. Volume 21, No. 30, Cotta, Stuttgart / Tübingen April 14, 1840, p. 119.
17. ↑ Ludwig Schorn (Ed.): Art sheet. Volume 25, No. 95, Cotta, Stuttgart / Tübingen 1844, p. 399.
18. ↑ Michael Bringmann, Sigrid von Blanckenhagen: The Mosbrugger. The Constance painters Wendelin, Friedrich and Joseph Mosbrugger. P. 138.
19. ↑ Gernot Blechner: The Sattlerhäusle in Ergaten - On the history of the Ergatshauser Hof . In: Delphin-Kreis (Ed.): From districts, buildings and originals from Constance and the Swiss neighborhood (=  Constance contributions to the past and present . New series volume 1 ). Südkurier GmbH, Konstanz 1986, ISBN 3-87799-077-0 , p. 13-39 .