Sigefridus (goldsmith)

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Sigefridus: Patroclus Shrine, Soest, around 1311

Sigefridus or Zigefridus , also called Master Sigefridus , was a goldsmith at the beginning of the 14th century. Between 1311 and 1330 he created the Patroclus Shrine for the St. Patrokli Cathedral in Soest , one of the largest medieval reliquary shrines in Westphalia .

The oak reliquary box contained the physical remains of St. Patroclus and was with from Silver driven, gilded figures of Christ , Mary and the saints decorated and with precious stones occupied. Sold to the Berlin museums in 1841 , it was an important example of medieval goldsmithing. It was lost in 1945 in the fire in the Friedrichshain bunker in Berlin . Only a few figures have survived, but the appearance of the shrine can be reconstructed on the basis of old photo documentation. Some of the surviving figures came back into the possession of the Berlin museums.

The Soest work of the master Sigefridus stands at the transition of the art of the Romanesque to the Gothic . Europe-wide politics and trade relations had brought new artistic impulses to Westphalia and the structure of the shrine is based on the emerging Gothic architecture. He shows his figures, created with high artistic skill, in a nave decorated with pillars and a transept with Gothic architectural elements . Even from its remains and preserved photographs, it is still possible to see the symbolism and significance of gold in the church when the shrine was built and how goldsmithing created important church treasures with a ceremonial function but also political power.

A book cover made of gold and decorated with precious stones in Westphalia around 1320 or 1330, which depicts the enthroned Mother of God, comes from the vicinity of the workshop of the master Sigefridus. It can be found today in the LWL State Museum for Art and Cultural History in Münster.

literature

  • Propstei-Kirchengemeinde St. Patrokli (ed.): The Holy Patroclus (Festschrift 1964). Soest 1964
  • LWL: Golden book cover from the Gothic period in the State Museum . In: Sauerland No. 1 (1987) magazine of the Sauerland Heimatbund - Westfalia picta. P. 18
  • Philipp Demandt, Kulturstiftung der Länder (ed.): Capsa gloriosi martiris beati Patrocli nostri patroni: The shrine of St. Patroclus from Soest . Berlin 2004
  • Staatliche Museen zu Berlin (Ed.): Lost - returned. The Shrine of Saint Patroclus and His Fate . Press release on the exhibition December 5, 2003 to January 11, 2004 in the sculpture collection in the Commerzbank building. Berlin 2004
  • National Museums in Berlin - Sculpture Collection and Museum of Byzantine Art (Ed.): The Shrine of St. Patroclus from Soest (Patrimonia 280). Berlin 2009
  • Kaiser Friedrich-Museums-Verein: Complete directory of sculptures . On-Line Edition (Accessed December 2011)
  • LWL State Museum for Art and Cultural History, Münster, (Hrsg.): Goldene Mittelalterliche Schatzkunst in Westfalen. Münster February 26th - May 28th 2012 . Exhibition description o. J. (2011)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Kaiser Friedrich-Museums-Verein (Ed.): Complete directory of sculptures . Online edition (accessed December 2011).
  2. ↑ see for example A. Ludorff: Die Bau- und Kunstdenkmäler des Kreis Soest . Munster i. W. 1905
personal data
SURNAME Sigefridus
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Zigefridus; Master Sigefridus
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Goldsmith
DATE OF BIRTH 14th Century
DATE OF DEATH 14th Century