Sebastian Mutzl

Sebastian Mutzl (born May 8, 1831 in Landshut ; † February 28, 1917 in Enkering ) was a German Catholic clergyman, art collector and artist of the 19th century in the diocese of Eichstätt .

Pastor Sebastian Mutzl, Enkering, portrait, graphic collection of the Eichstätt University Library (1917)

Life

His parents were the high school teacher, art expert and artist Sebastian Mutzl (senior) (* 1797; † 1863), from 1845 school principal in Eichstätt, and Rosina nee. Zehentner (* 1804; † 1882). He attended high school in Eichstätt and studied philosophy and theology at the Episcopal Lyceum there from 1850-55. In 1855 he was ordained a priest. Then he was a cooperator in Monheim , in 1858 in Eutenhofen , in 1859 in Neumarkt in der Oberpfalz and in 1862 in Ornbau . In 1864 he visited the painter Friedrich Overbeck (* 1789, † 1869), whom he admired on a trip to Rome . In 1866 he became a pastor in Enkering. In addition to pastoral care, he devoted himself to his passion, collecting Christian art and his own artistic activity. Soon he was a highly respected artist in Catholic Bavaria, who was also allowed to work artistically outside the diocese of Eichstätt. He worked in the Nazarene style as a painter (oil, frescoes), draftsman, restorer and architect . In 1888 he was appointed to the Episcopal Spiritual Council and in 1893 he was elected Dean of the Priestly Chapter Greding . In 1899 he donated 64 objects from his extensive collection to the Episcopal Seminary in Eichstätt as a fund for a planned diocesan museum ; further works of art were added after his death. In 1905 he was awarded the Bavarian Order of Ludwig . He died in his rectory at the age of 85.

Appreciation

Even as a student, Mutzl was influenced by the Munich Nazarenes such as Peter Cornelius and Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld in his drawings , later Heinrich Maria von Hess , Johann Schraudolph and Friedrich Overbeck joined them. With the exception of the youth drawings, he took all of his motifs from Christian beliefs. His spontaneous, spirited youth work is still appealing today; portrait drawing suited him. Like the few oil paintings from his hand, the watercolors and gouaches, which were only created in the later phase, are not of very high quality. His Nazarene style, following the early renaissance, corresponded to the sense of art of his time. Some of his works therefore had to give way to works of art from earlier eras. The Nazarene taste did not last long, however, so that his works were almost entirely destroyed in the course of the 20th century. The present still benefits from Mutzl's collecting activity, however, as Gothic sculptures, medieval panel paintings and reliefs, hand drawings and glass paintings, which were often abandoned to decay or misused, were discovered and rescued by him with an expert eye and are now a selection in the Eichstätt Cathedral Treasury and Diocesan Museum you can see.

Ceiling painting by Sebastian Mutzl in the church in Ilbling

Works (selection)

• Neumarkt in der Oberpfalz , chapel of the school sisters, 1859 painting (fresco?) Of a protective cloak Madonna (not preserved)
• Ingolstadt , Münster, 1860–63 Participation in the neo-Gothic design, paintings of side altar saints
• Ornbau , Chapel of Matris Dolorosa, 1863 painting
• Wemding , Spitalkirche, 1863 copy of medieval paintings for the Augsburg Museum
• Mitteleschenbach , Gernbacher Kapelle, altar erected in 1864/65 according to his designs
• Berching, St. Lorenz Church, 1868 management of the renovation work, installation of two altars based on his designs
• Dietfurt an der Altmühl , Franciscan monastery, Antoniuskapelle, 1870 Antonius von Padua frescoes
• Ilbling , Filialkirche St. Briccius, tabernacle, 1873 draft, carving and setting of a figure of Christ by hand, 1884 restoration management (Mutzl's furnishings still preserved!)
• Enkering, parish church St. Otmar, 1875 overpainting of older frescoes with frescoes from the life of the church patron (1953 reversal)
• Scheyern Abbey , Holy Cross and Assumption Church , 1876–79 interior and exterior remodeling in neo-Romanesque and Nazarene styles, 1886/87 construction of a seminar chapel based on his designs, 1891 repainting of the prelature chapel, 1893 picture cycle in the royal chapel
• Zell bei Heideck , chapel of the deaf-mute institution, 1877 frescoing together with the painter Wirsching the Elder. Ä.
• Dillingen , former Franciscan monastery, in 1882 the painting line for the burial chapel of Regens Johann Evangelist Wagner
• Eichstätt, Dom , 1882–87, neo-Gothic refurbishment (high altar and organ case paintings; relief and glass window designs)
• Eichstätt, bishop's palace, house chapel, 1885 ceiling paintings on the history of the diocese
• Hohenwart , deaf-mute institution, built in 1885 chapel based on his designs
• Mettendorf near Greding , pilgrimage church, 1885–87 involved in the restoration
• Lutzmannstein , parish church, 1894 restoration based on his designs
• Eichstätt, Gesellen- (Kolping-) House, 1904 stage curtain design

The painter Wirsching in Dietfurt and his son Sebastian, the Deiningen painter Georg Lang, the Eichstätter painter Alois Süßmayr and the sculptor Johann Wirth created works based on his designs .

Sebastian Mutzl's collection, around 1915/20, postcard

Fonts

• (Collection register), 1899 (handwritten).
• The Diocesan Museum. In: Franz Xaver Herb et al. (Ed.): Eichstätts Kunst . Munich 1901, pp. 83-89.

He also wrote obituaries , which were published in the Eichstätter Pastoralblatt or in the Lyceums annual report.

Archival material

• Estate 17 (Sebastian Mutzl), in the Eichstätt University Library
• Various works by Mutzl in the graphic collection of the University Library Eichstätt

literature

• Adam Hirschmann: Sebastian Mutzl. A memorial sheet. In: Pastoralblatt des Bistums Eichstätt 64 (1917), pp. 96-98, 100f.
• Theodor Neuhofer: Contributions to the art history of the district of Eichstätt. In: Collective sheet of the historical association Eichstätt 59 (1961/62), p. 60
• Felix Mader (editor): The art monuments of Middle Franconia. I. City of Eichstätt . Munich 1924 (Reprint Munich / Vienna 1981), p. 750
• Felix Mader (editor): The art monuments of Middle Franconia. II. Eichstätt District Office . Munich 1928 (Reprint Munich / Vienna 1982), pp. 97, 138
• Andreas Bauch: On the rebuilding of the Diocesan Museum. Prehistory, expansion and order. In: Collective sheet Historischer Verein Eichstätt 75 (1982), pp. 215-221
• Andreas Bauch: Diocesan Museum Eichstätt (Art Guide 1331). Munich and Zurich: Schnell 1982
• Alois Wittig: "Nazarener" Sebastian Mutzl , in: Historische Blätter für Stadt und Landkreis Eichstätt 31 (1983), No. 1
• Siegfried Schieweck-Mauk: List of the works of Sebastian Mutzl , Eichstätt 1986 (typed)
• Susanne Peither: Sebastian Mutzl - a Nazarene from Eichstätt . In: Collective sheet Historischer Verein Eichstätt 84 (1991), pp. 129-141
• Sebastian Mutzl (1831-1917). Priests, artists and collectors in the Eichstätt diocese. (Exhibition catalog). Cathedral Treasury and Diocesan Museum, Eichstätt 2002

Web link

• Diocesan Museum Eichstätt