Peter Parler

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Bust of Peter Parler in the Triforium Gallery of Prague Cathedral

Peter Parler (also Peter von Gemünd , Parlerius, Parlerz and in Czech Petr Parléř ) (* 1330 or 1333 in Schwäbisch Gmünd ; †  July 13, 1399 in Prague ) from the Parler family was a German sculptor and one of the most important cathedral builders of the Middle Ages. Its buildings belong to the Gothic period . From about 1356 he lived in Bohemia , especially in Prague, where he created his most famous works.

Life

Peter Parler's high grave in St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague

Little is known about Peter Parler's youth. He came from a family of master builders in Gmünd and learned the profession of stonemason in the Dombauhütte Cologne . His father Heinrich Parler was a stonemason at the Cologne cathedral building at the time . After completing his training, he worked for some time in Cologne , where he married Druda (Gertrud), the daughter of the master builder Bartholomäus von Hamm. This marriage resulted in three children, two sons ( Johann Parler the Younger and Wenzel Parler ) and a daughter.

In 1360 he owned a house on Castle Square in Prague and was elected a lay judge at that time . His first wife died in the 1360s, because when Parler returned to Cologne in 1370, he had control of his wife's inheritance. He married Agnes von Bur and in the same year bought a second house on Prague Castle Square. He ceded both houses to his wife and child from his second marriage. The purchases of the houses, the marriage of his daughter and the number of children led in part to legal disputes; Peter Parler was wealthy and seems to have worked well into old age. On a board on St. Vitus Cathedral from 1396, he is still mentioned as a master builder and in 1401 he was mentioned for the last time, deviating from the otherwise specified date of death. Of his children only Johann stayed in Prague, Wenzel later worked in Nördlingen and Vienna .

Many of his works were destroyed in the Hussite Wars and the sculpture school was closed. A chiseled self-portrait of him with his mark and double angle is in the cathedral gallery of St. Vitus Cathedral.

plant

Peter Parler's most famous creation is St. Vitus Cathedral , to which Emperor Charles IV of Schwäbisch Gmünd had appointed him as master builder of the cathedral in Prague , after he had spent a few days in Swabia and Gmünd in 1356, where Peter Parler worked on the Kreuzkirche. In Prague he took over the position of master builder from the late master builder Matthias von Arras . In 1358 he was commissioned to build the Charles Bridge over the Vltava. With 16 semicircular arches with a span of 25 meters, it was a technical masterpiece of its time - a construction work that had not been considered possible until then. The bridge was completed in the time of Peter Parler and has shaped the face of Prague ever since. His father Heinrich Parler the Elder , his brother Johann and he were significantly involved in the construction of the Holy Cross Minster in Schwäbisch Gmünd. It is the largest Gothic hall church in southwest Germany.

Peter Parler's genius is evident not only in technical terms, but also in how he developed the French concept of the cathedral . He was way ahead of his time in this and mastered the rare art of "transforming joie de vivre into architecture".

He completed the construction of Karlstein Castle , which Matthias von Arras had started in 1334 without leaving any planning documents. In the process, he eliminated the construction defects that other builders had created four years before him. He also built the town church in Kolín on the Elbe and the Karlshof in Prague. Some sources also consider him to be the author of the plans up to the level of the arcades for the cathedral of St. Barbara in Kuttenberg , the construction of which was started by his son Johann Parler . His older son Wenzel Parler also worked with Peter Parler .

Numerous smaller buildings, which he either managed himself or had his pupils carry out, were built beyond the borders of Bohemia to Silesia and Lusatia and also in Moravia and the Bavarian Upper Palatinate .

In addition to the construction work, Peter Parler distinguished himself as a sculptor, chaser, modeler and painter. He founded a sculpture school in Bohemia. His first hand-made figure seems to be that of Saint Wenceslas, completed around 1360, which is signed with his mark and is located in St. Vitus Cathedral. The marble tomb erected for Cardinal and Archbishop Johann Očko von Wlašim shows the perfect mastery of technology and materials. Furthermore, a number of princely tombs and other works, such as the Madonna with the sparrow in the Church of the Assumption of Mary in Glatz , are attributed to Parler and his sculpture school , while the figure of King Ottokar I is said to come exclusively from his hand. His choir stalls were destroyed in a fire in 1541. In the cathedral treasure there are reliquary containers made by him in the Gothic style, which were so unique that they were reproduced hundreds of times by others. In his painted sculptures, he limited himself to polychrome paintings of his sculptures.

The buildings at a glance

Peter Parler built the following buildings in Bohemia:

Surname

Peter Parler's surname is derived from a job title. A "parlerius" or "parlerus", later Parlier , referred to a master of the building trade, the "spokesman" of the building works (see parlieren, parliament ), which has been preserved to this day in the word foreman .

Honors

The Parler-Gymnasium in Schwäbisch Gmünd is named after Peter Parler.

The German Foundation for Monument Protection and the Association of German Stonemasons award the Peter Parler Prize every two years to stonemasons who have made a name for themselves in the preservation of cultural assets (especially restorations).

The steamship Kaiser Franz Josef was named Peter Parler .

Individual evidence

  1. According to NDB and GND. The ADB states differently: "In a document from 1401 Peter is mentioned for the last time, so he should have reached the age of 70 years."
  2. ^ Bernhard GrueberGmünd, Peter (also Parler) . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 9, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1879, pp. 275-279.
  3. Peter Parler. In: arch INFORM ; Retrieved December 1, 2009.
  4. Monuments 4/2013, p. 16

literature

Web links

Commons : Peter Parler  - collection of images, videos and audio files
Wikisource: Peter von Gmünd called Parler  - sources and full texts