Matthias Beule

Matthias Beule (born September 26, 1877 in Grevenbrück , † August 24, 1921 in Kreuzburg (Upper Silesia) ) was a German sculptor .

Life

education

Matthias Beule showed a talent for education and design from an early age. After completing an apprenticeship as a stonemason in Lippstadt in 1895 , he worked for a few years as a journeyman in the workshop of a Cologne sculptor. During this time, the monumental Gothic style of Cologne Cathedral left deep impressions on him and shaped his later work. Due to his talent, he was accepted by the Düsseldorf Art Academy at the turn of the century , where he graduated with honors.

Early professional years in Olpe and Düsseldorf

Beule subsequently worked as a freelance sculptor and specialized in church art. He worked in Rheinbach and from 1898 to 1907 in Peter Winkelnkemper's sculpture workshop in Erkelenz . In 1907 he married Maria Katharina Marx in Erkelenz.

He settled in Olpe from 1907 . He created the crucifixion group with the Madonna above the main portal as the first major work on the St. Martinus Church in Olpe, which was newly built after a fire . The west facade, designed using Gothic forms, and its sculptures above the side entrances also attracted a great deal of attention.

The Pietà and the Hubertus altar of the St. Servatius Church in Kirchveischede , the carved high altar in the Church of St. Antonius Einsiedler in Drolshagen- Iseringhausen and the Pietà of the place of worship in the cemetery of St. Nikolaus in Grevenbrück also come from his "Olper time" . The altarpiece in Iseringhausen is colored based on the example of Gothic carved altars . The task of the color versions was to give the work of art as an object of worship an unearthly sheen. The figures convey a lively impression with expressive faces, as they are known from the great late Gothic sculptors Tilman Riemenschneider or Veit Stoss .

In 1909 Beule moved to Düsseldorf . From here he designed and executed the entire ornamentation on the new domed structure of the parish church of St. Blasius in Balve . The elaborate, three-part portal of the Catholic Church of St. Elisabeth in Gerthe (1912/1913, neo-Romanesque ) also dates from this period ; the reliefs show influences from Art Nouveau .

Activity in Upper Silesia

In 1911 Beule received an order for the complete furnishing of the neo-Romanesque church of St. Paul in Friedenshütte ( Upper Silesia ). He created the statues of St. Florian and St. Barbara, the main altar and four side altars. Beule found particular recognition for the figures of saints, for which rural and working people from Upper Silesia were models. In anticipation of further large orders in Upper Silesia, he moved his headquarters to Bytom in 1912 . The entire interior of the neo-Romanesque Rosary Mother of God Church in Schlesiengrube was entrusted to him. The furnishings created by Beule also have neo-Romanesque features, the main and baptismal altars are worth mentioning. The Marien Altar in the Herz-Jesu-Kirche in Hindenburg -Rokittnitz shows that Beule was also well versed in the Baroque style . Other works by Beule in Upper Silesia can be found in the Laurentius Church in Antonienhütte , the parish church in Roßberg and the Hyacinth Church in Beuthen. One of his last works is a memorial in Godullahütte .

During the First World War , Beule was used as a medical soldier. He dedicated himself particularly to the seriously injured and tried to teach them arts and crafts skills in courses. In 1919 Bump fell ill with pulmonary tuberculosis from which he did not fully recover; he died on August 24, 1921 in Kreuzburg.

St. Martinus in Olpe
St. Martinus, main portal
St. Martinus, side portal
Rosary Church in Schlesiengrube
Rosary Church, high altar
Rosary Church, baptismal altar

reception

Beule enjoyed a high reputation for his works in the churches of Upper Silesia. The local historian Josef Boerger from Grevenbrück counted him in 1924 as one of the “Important Sauerlanders”.

Matthias Beule's work was later somewhat forgotten. In 2012, after long efforts - especially by members of the Beule family - the work of the sculptor was summarized in photo documentation and shown to the public as part of a special exhibition in the Museum of the City of Lennestadt .

The art historian Ulrike Monreal-Kaiser considers the winged altar in the Laurentiuskirche in Antonienhütte to be the most important work by Matthias Beule. She describes the splendid design of the tracery and the bunker as particularly impressive . The large winged altars were the most elaborate and artistically richest works on the threshold from the Gothic to the Renaissance and from the Middle Ages to the modern era.

literature

Joseph Boerger: Important Sauerland. In: Trutznachtigall, Heimatblätter für das Kurköln Sauerland (magazine of the Sauerländer Heimatbund), year 1924, pp. 19-21.
Hans Mieles: Matthias Beule. Sculptor in the Sauerland and Silesia. In: “De Suerlänner”, home calendar for the Sauerland region of Cologne , born in 1968, p. 23 ff.
Ulrike Monreal-Kaiser: Matthias Beule. An artist's life at the turn of the century. In: Annual issue of the Grevenbrück Heimat- und Verkehrsverein , No. 32 (2013), pp. 21–28.

Individual evidence

↑ Friedel Krings: The neo-Gothic sculpture center in Erkelenz . In: Heimatkalender des Kreis Erkelenz 1985 , pp. 79–92
↑ Ulrike Monreal-Kaiser: Matthias Beule. An artist's life at the turn of the century. In: Annual booklet of the Grevenbrück Heimat- und Verkehrsverein , No. 32 (2013), p. 23 f.
↑ Ulrike Monreal-Kaiser: Matthias Beule. An artist's life at the turn of the century. In: Annual booklet of the Grevenbrück Heimat- und Verkehrsverein , No. 32 (2013), p. 25.
↑ Christel Darmstadt (ed.): Sacred architecture in Bochum. Bochum 2003, ISBN 3-920612-94-9 , p. 60 f.
↑ Stone figures and reliefs at the Church of St. Elisabeth Bochum-Gerthe (1913) . Illustrated article on www.artibeau.de , accessed on February 2, 2017.
↑ Joseph Boerger: Significant Sauerlanders. In: Trutznachtigall, Heimatblätter für das Kurköln Sauerland (magazine of the Sauerländer Heimatbund), year 1924, p. 19.
↑ Jochen Kruse: Matthias Beule will not be forgotten. In: Westfalenpost (local part of the Olpe district) of November 7, 2012
↑ Ulrike Monreal-Kaiser: Matthias Beule. An artist's life at the turn of the century. In: Annual booklet of the Grevenbrück Heimat- und Verkehrsverein , No. 32 (2013), p. 27 f.

personal data
SURNAME	Dent, Matthias
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	German sculptor
DATE OF BIRTH	September 26, 1877
PLACE OF BIRTH	Grevenbrück
DATE OF DEATH	August 24, 1921
Place of death	Kreuzburg (Upper Silesia)

[1] Friedel Krings: The neo-Gothic sculpture center in Erkelenz . In: Heimatkalender des Kreis Erkelenz 1985 , pp. 79–92

[2] Ulrike Monreal-Kaiser: Matthias Beule. An artist's life at the turn of the century. In: Annual booklet of the Grevenbrück Heimat- und Verkehrsverein , No. 32 (2013), p. 23 f.

[3] Ulrike Monreal-Kaiser: Matthias Beule. An artist's life at the turn of the century. In: Annual booklet of the Grevenbrück Heimat- und Verkehrsverein , No. 32 (2013), p. 25.

[4] Christel Darmstadt (ed.): Sacred architecture in Bochum. Bochum 2003, ISBN 3-920612-94-9 , p. 60 f.

[5] Stone figures and reliefs at the Church of St. Elisabeth Bochum-Gerthe (1913) . Illustrated article on www.artibeau.de , accessed on February 2, 2017.

[6] Joseph Boerger: Significant Sauerlanders. In: Trutznachtigall, Heimatblätter für das Kurköln Sauerland (magazine of the Sauerländer Heimatbund), year 1924, p. 19.

[7] Jochen Kruse: Matthias Beule will not be forgotten. In: Westfalenpost (local part of the Olpe district) of November 7, 2012

[8] Ulrike Monreal-Kaiser: Matthias Beule. An artist's life at the turn of the century. In: Annual booklet of the Grevenbrück Heimat- und Verkehrsverein , No. 32 (2013), p. 27 f.