Peter Joseph Molitor

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Self-Portrait 1877

Peter Joseph Molitor (born September 19, 1821 in Koblenz , † May 15, 1898 in Oberlahnstein ) was a German painter from the Düsseldorf School .

Life

Koblenz in Molitor's year of birth

Family and youth

Molitor was born as the son of the married couple Peter Ferdinand Marcus Molitor from Meudt (1772-1838) and Maria Anna (née Aleff) from Koblenz. Molitor's father was a baker and had achieved reputation and a certain wealth in his profession through diligence and reliability. As early as 1804, he appeared as a French citizen in what was then the "Almanach d'adresses de la ville de Coblence" as the owner of the house at Kastorgasse 261 and subsequently acquired three other properties in the neighborhood by 1828.

Molitor probably attended the small school built between 1817 and 1819 at Kastorhof No. 6, which was built according to plans by the city architect Lassaulx . It is not yet known which further educational institution the young Molitor attended or which special training he received in Koblenz. It is believed that a discernible artistic disposition received support from Molitor, which the family found easy to finance. Molitor was probably taught the basics of painting through private tuition from Koblenz artists, or he took advantage of the state's ability to use drawing teachers who had been drawn to take over the school lessons in Prussian times .

Social environment

The family's life fell at a time when a remarkable number of Koblenz residents were striving for an artistic career, probably also because the city's art life was dominated by personalities from the visual arts. This enthusiasm for art had already begun in the electoral time of the art-loving Clemens Wenzeslaus , when he left Ehrenbreitstein and moved his residence to Koblenz. As then, after a brief stagnation in the French era , an economic and cultural upswing set in again in Koblenz, which also affected the middle class of the population.

Culture also benefited from the extensive construction work in the provincial capital. For example, the city library (1832) and the building of the Städtisch- Lang painting collection (1835) by Joseph Gregor Lang , whose collection may include works by the painters Januarius Zick , Conrad Zick , Benedikt Beckenkamp , Johann Baptist Bachta , Johannes Jakob Diezler or those found by Simon Meister . In addition, influential private groups of friends had formed who supported cultural matters with their own resources. The focus was on the friends of the La Roche family, Johann Joseph Görres , Johann Claudius von Lassaulx and the family of Franz Clemens Brentano .

It is also revealing that nine of the founding members of the Kunstverein for the Rhineland and Westphalia, founded in Düsseldorf in 1829, were from Cologne, but thirteen from Koblenz.

Since it in the emerging Prussian lacked provincial capital Koblenz still at an institution of secondary school for the fine arts, left Molitor in 1837 as a 16-year-old his hometown Koblenz to at the Düsseldorf Art Academy , which since 1826 under the direction of Wilhelm Schadow too of the most important training centers in Europe developed to continue his education.

Studied in Düsseldorf

Andreas Achenbach : The old academy in Düsseldorf , 1831

Studying at the Düsseldorf Art Academy followed a four-class system, the concept of which Wilhelm Schadow had published in 1828. The elementary class began with the basics of the graphic representation of simple geometric objects, up to the realistic reproduction of the human figure, in order to deepen the acquired skills in the following preparatory class by copying existing works of art history, as well as in working with living models . It was a concern of Schadow that a lot of emphasis was placed on promoting the individual characteristics of each of his students. After completing the “class for practicing students”, in which they made their own designs, particularly talented students were accepted into the “master class”. This was an essential innovation of Schadow, in which the teacher took on a less guiding than an advisory role. Here, however, the student, who previously left the academy after having acquired the basics, was able to benefit from the experiences of others.

For Molitor, this came about a long time later. His stay at the academy was short-lived. He had to abruptly interrupt his training in 1838 for family reasons, as his parents, father (October 1838) and a few months later his mother (May 1839) died in Koblenz. On the occasion of these events it became clear that Peter Joseph Molitor was not the only descendant of his parents, because it was said that “the family house initially remained in the possession of the Molitor siblings”.

Nothing was known about the time until Molitor's resumption of his studies at the Academy in 1841. On his return to Düsseldorf he continued his studies under von Schadow and Karl Ferdinand Sohn , a very respected portrait painter of the time. The now 20-year-old Molitor had also chosen a subject he liked and turned to history painting. He had grown in his profession and, from his beginnings in 1837/38 until he left the academy in autumn 1844, had received almost exclusively positive assessments from his teachers.

Molitor for the first time as a commissioned painter

The boy Werner (1845) is considered to be Molitor's first work.

His attested ability had strengthened the self-confidence of the young artist, so that he probably created his first painting in 1845, the panel painting Der Knabe Werner , which then adorned the altar of the Werner Chapel in Oberwesel into the 21st century .

Studies in Munich, Würzburg and Frankfurt

Documents from the Munich City Archives attest to Molitor's study visit to the Bavarian capital from mid-July to around the end of October 1846. He probably also painted the picture farmer with a clay pipe and jug there . Since it actually did not correspond to his preferred style, it is said to have been an experiment or “exercise piece” for him, for which he was inspired by the works of the Flemish painter Adriaen Brouwer . The Pinakothek , which opened in 1836, owned 17 late works by him. He is said to have deregistered from Munich for Würzburg in Franconia , where his trail is initially lost. Research into his stays in Frankfurt am Main with Philipp Veit , which is often mentioned in the literature , has not yet yielded any results. Molitor's whereabouts remain open for the period between autumn 1844 and his return to Koblenz around 1850, except for his stay in Munich. The oil painting Deluge , created in 1848 and clearly attributed to him, also falls during this period , the place of creation of which will probably remain unknown.

Works in Koblenz, Aachen and chapels

Molitor must have returned to Koblenz around 1850, as he was recorded in the city's address books until 1856 as a tenant in Castorhof No. 9. The portrait of Ms. Mainzer was created at this address in the year of his return , a picture whose style is reminiscent of his teacher son from his time in Düsseldorf. The title of the picture suggests a connection with a work by Simon Meister , whose painting from 1833 depicts the master printer Johan Wilhelm Mainzer.

Alfred Rethel : Entry of Charlemagne in 774 into Pavia , 1851

In the summer of 1851, through Ernst Deger , for whom he later worked, Molitor helped Alfred Rethel , his fellow student from the Düsseldorf Academy, with a commissioned work in Aachen . He had been commissioned to paint the Kaisersaal in Aachen's town hall since 1847 . Well, apparently ill while working on the fourth picture in the cycle - later generally referred to as the Charles Frescoes - Rethel had sought help among colleagues. This fourth scene, a representation showing the historical entry of Charlemagne after the successful siege of Pavia , was Rethel's last work and was created in collaboration with Molitor. The remaining four pictures of the planned cycle were created according to Rethel's designs by Joseph Kehren , who had also been trained at the Düsseldorf Academy.

Back in Koblenz he met his future wife Amalia Schneider, the daughter of the court carpenter Jakob Franz Schneider, whom he married on May 2, 1854. A year later he moved with her and his daughter Maria, born in 1856, to Kapellen (today Koblenz-Stolzenfels ), where their son Franz was born on September 17, 1857. However, Molitor's move was no accident. It was related to an offer from Degers to assist him with the painting of the castle chapel in Stolzenfels .

This work, begun in 1857 by Deger, who himself had been working on religious murals in the castle chapel at Stolzenfels on behalf of Friedrich Wilhelm IV since 1851 and completed this work around 1859/60, is seen today as a form of the master class system that emerged in the Düsseldorf Academy , in which Molitor was listed in the Degers class from 1854 to 1858.

Return to Düsseldorf

Wilhelm Schreuer : cheerful round in the paint box

After completing the work in the Stolzenfels Castle Chapel, Molitor left the Koblenz area again and moved to Düsseldorf with his relatives. For many years he had a permanent residence in the city of his education. The third child of the Molitor couple, his son Ferdinand Josef, was born here in May 1860. In the same year he became a member of the artists' association Malkasten , founded in Düsseldorf in 1848 , to whose content members of the painters and sculptors contributed with their artistic design. Documents from this time portray Molitor as a cheerful, sociable person. His field of work was still mainly in the area of ​​his hometown Koblenz, which had become quickly accessible via the railway line on the left bank of the Rhine since 1858 due to technical developments .

Major project in Arenberg

Between 1860/72 the pilgrimage church of St. Nikolaus in Arenberg was built in place of a partially medieval building . Here Molitor created large-format cross-way scenes in the Nazarene style , which were attached to picture panels on the wall of the nave (below the round windows). Scenes 1 to 5, 8 to 11 and 13 relate to Molitor, who worked in a division of labor with the Koblenz artist Johann Heinrich Lange (1823–1908), then resident in Aachen .

The works for Arenberg include a considerable number of drawings that Molitor made between 1876 and 1878 for the windows of St. Nicholas Church. The drawings were preserved, but the glass paintings based on Molitor's drawings were destroyed on New Year's Eve 1944/45 by the explosion of an aerial mine . The preparatory sketches include studies of various heads, one female and four male heads, which were developed for Arenberg. They were only given as a gift to the Middle Rhine Museum in Koblenz in 1991 . Apart from the woman's head, the others can be assigned and can be found in the Passion scenes. In one of the scenes (in the "Second Case"), Simon of Cyrene received a prominent face. It is the face of the artist Molitor.

The passion cycle in the parish church of St. Nicholas was one of the most time-consuming works of Molitor and is generally considered to be his main work. The work took six years and took place from 1876 to 1882, whereby the periods of preparation for sketches and the like are not taken into account. There are ten wall paintings in oil, which are about 6.5 m high and each measuring 2.14 × 2.51 m. They were all signed by Molitor. Two of the paintings were deliberately given the dates 1876 and 1882.

Picture cycle in Klotten

Molitor is said to have been in contact with the parish of St. Maxim in Klotten an der Mosel during the work in Arenberg , but neither the usual signature nor a date have been preserved on Molitor's work there, as they were later lost due to improper restorations . The current state of the pictures - these are also religious scenes in which Christ, Mary and other saints form the center - is described as severely impaired. Only through information in the following local chronicle could it be assumed with some certainty that this cycle of pictures was created by Molitor after 1880.

In the local history of the 1,300th anniversary of Klotten, the municipality's records state: “17. In March 1879 the master mason Wiss from Klotten received the order to weld out the church ”. It goes on: "Afterwards the Düsseldorf painter Peter Molitor [...] paints the large station pictures (Stations of the Cross) on the side walls of the new building".

Termination of club life and last work

At the turn of the year 1890/91 Molitor resigned his membership in the artists' association Malkasten, which had been maintained for decades, and resigned without giving any reason. At the end of his creative period, he produced over forty small-format drawings by around 1895, which were intended for the Association for the Dissemination of Religious Images in Düsseldorf, which was founded in 1841. The association worked with the copper engraver Josef Kohlschein , who then processed Molitor's drawings, as well as works by other artists, into reproductive copperplate engravings , such as the religious paintings by the Nazarenes Ernst Deger, Franz Ittenbach and Heinrich Lauenstein .

Relocation to Oberlahnstein and death

In 1897 Molitor gave up his residence in Düsseldorf and moved with his relatives (only the eldest son Franz is not mentioned) in the vicinity of his hometown Koblenz, to Oberlahnstein . His new home, Ostallee 2, was at the foot of the mountainside of Lahneck Castle . Whether he was able to enjoy his old age without health problems is an open question. Only nine months later, in May 1898, he succumbed to the consequences of a stroke.

Works (selection)

  • Der Knabe Werner , 1845, oil on wood, 2 × 1 m, formerly Werner Chapel Oberwesel
  • Farmer with clay pipe and jug , 1846 (?), Oil on panel, 30.4 × 26.5 cm, Braith-Mali-Museum , Biberach an der Riss (Inv. No. 1990–14748)
  • Deluge , 1848, oil on canvas, 120.5 × 104 cm, Middle Rhine Museum Koblenz (Inv.No.M 482)
  • Frau Mainzer , 1850, oil on canvas, 106.5 × 75 cm, Middle Rhine Museum Koblenz (Inv.No. 396)
  • Triptych for the 25th anniversary of the founding of the poor servants of Jesus Christ , 1876, oil on wood, 146 × 102.5 cm (central panel), 143 × 51 cm (wing), Dernbach , Provincial Office of the Dernbach Sisters, ADJC
  • First Fall of the Cross of Christ , 1876–1882, 2.51 × 2.14 m, St. Nikolaus, Koblenz-Arenberg
  • Communion picture Christ salvator mundi , drawn by Molitor, engraved by Rudolf Stang , 24.8 × 17 cm

literature

Web links

  • Christine Klaus (art historian): biography Peter Joseph Molitor (1821–1898). arenberg-info.de

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Christine Klaus: Peter Joseph Molitor (1821–1898) - a Koblenz painter. Life data with reference to the registry office Koblenz, the city archive Koblenz and the civil status register.
  2. ^ Christine Klaus: Peter Joseph Molitor (1821–1898) - a Koblenz painter. Information with reference to the manual for the residents of the city of Koblenz from 1828.
  3. ^ Herbert Dellwing , Reinhard Kallenbach: Monument topography Federal Republic of Germany. Volume 3.2: Koblenz city center . Worms 2004, ISBN 3-86134-390-8 , p. 154.
  4. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j Christine Klaus: Peter Joseph Molitor (1821–1898) - a Koblenz painter.
  5. ↑ Eduard Sebald et al. a .: The art monuments of Rhineland-Palatinate , Volume 9: The art monuments of the Rhein-Hunsrück district . Part 2: Former district of St. Goar, City of Oberwesel, State Office for Monument Preservation Rhineland-Palatinate (ed.), Deutscher Kunstverlag 1977, ISBN 3-422-00576-5 , p. 690 f.
  6. ^ Christine Klaus: Peter Joseph Molitor (1821–1898) - a Koblenz painter. Information with reference to the correspondence of Alfred Rethel with his brother Otto Rethel (March 1851) and his bride (August 1851). In: Josef Ponten: Alfred Rethel's letters. A selection . Berlin 1912, pp. 151–153 and 165.
  7. ^ Artist index auction house Michael Zeller Current letter L. Accessed on March 18, 2015 .
  8. ↑ Ulrike Weber, Dellwing a. Liessem: Cultural monuments in Rhineland-Palatinate. Monument topography Federal Republic of Germany. Volume 3.3: City of Koblenz. Districts. Wernersche Verlagsgesellschaft, Worms 2013, ISBN 978-3-88462-345-9 , pp. 34–36.
  9. ^ Christine Klaus: Peter Joseph Molitor (1821–1898) a Koblenz painter. Information with reference to Alfons Friedrich (Ed.): Klotten und seine Geschichte. For the 1300th anniversary of the place. Briedel 1997 (=  series Ortschroniken des Trier Land 29), p. 254.
personal data
SURNAME Molitor, Peter Joseph
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German painter
DATE OF BIRTH September 19, 1821
PLACE OF BIRTH Koblenz
DATE OF DEATH May 15, 1898
Place of death Oberlahnstein