Simon Troger

Simon Troger (born October 13, 1693 in Abfaltersbach , † September 25, 1768 in Munich-Haidhausen ) was an ivory carver , as well as house and court sculptor for the Bavarian electors .

Life

Simon Troger was born on October 13, 1693 as the fourth of eleven children of Vitus and Maria. Aßmayr was born in Abfaltersbach. On the same day Simon was baptized in the branch church of St. Andrä in Abfaltern. Studiosus Troger appears as godfather, probably a brother of his father Vitus Troger. Growing up in a large family in Abfaltersbach, Simon began his career in a thoroughly rural way: he lived at home until 1721 and was mainly employed as a shepherd.

education

Statues (1750) of beggars in the German Historical Museum (Berlin)

Simon Troger learned to be a sculptor and from 1721 worked as an assistant to Meister Schmiedecker in Merano , before working for the carver Nikolaus Moll in Innsbruck from around 1723–1725 . From 1730 the name Simon Troger already appears in Munich , in connection with Andreas Faistenberger , who also came from Tyrol and in whose workshop Simon worked for two years. Finally he founded his own studio in Haidhausen near Munich in 1733 .

Further insights into the living conditions of the artist are provided in the notes made in November 1758 by the Bavarian privy councilor Josef E. Freiherr von Obermair (1724–1789) on two sheets of paper, which were found in his estate. They give the impression that these are notes that the baron had made from a personal conversation with Simon Troger (Secret House Archive Munich via Privy Councilor Obermair).

These notes made the sculptor's South Tyrolean ancestry evident, and it also states that Simon married at the age of 32 and that he and his wife were “not the most devout”. All combination figures by Simon Troger himself are mostly made of ivory and were not combined with wood as usual to save ivory, but because of the decorative effect. Since there is little information about the prices of sculptures at the time, the value information contained in the catalog of the Bavarian National Museum is of particular importance. The groups mentioned, consisting of ivory and wood, the individual figures of which almost all have mouth-blown glass inset eyes, are owned by the Bavarian National Museum .

According to tradition, the Munich princely court had enough ivory, since Maximilian III. Joseph used the noble material for turning work. It can be assumed that Simon's large-figured works were usually commissioned by the Elector as objects of representation and sometimes also served as presents. In Schleißheim Palace , groups of figures from Troger were exhibited as show pieces in the large gallery on specially made tables until 1812. In contrast to other carvers, who often designed outsiders of society ( cripples and beggars ) as combination figures, the Troger workshop was almost exclusively devoted to mythological and biblical topics. All of Troger's well-known characters appear sublime and balanced in their facial expressions and gestures. The hands of his figures are particularly characteristic of Troger's style; that's how you imagine real mountain farmers' hands.

Troger's works were never numerous; they were royal gifts. A " sacrifice of Abraham ", in which several leg figures are connected by wooden garments, became particularly well known ; as well as a group “ Cain and Abel ”, which is now in Vienna. Later fakes are numerous. But these are mostly made of wood with the addition of small leg plates for the meat parts. The largest collection of works by Simon Troger is in the Bavarian National Museum in Munich.

Simon Troger, who had gone blind in recent years, died on September 25, 1768 at the age of almost 75 in Haidhausen .

Works

• Samson tears up the Nemean lion
• Cain kills Abel, whom he has trodden down
• Abraham sacrifices Isaac
• Rape of Proserpine
• Ride silence
• Sigmaringer Madonna
• Francis of Assisi
• Sacrifice of Isaac in the Museo di Santa Giulia in Brescia
• Bacchus on the chariot in the Hermitage (Saint Petersburg)
• Rape of Proserpine in the Hermitage (Saint Petersburg)

Picture gallery

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  Bacchus on the chariot in the Hermitage Museum (Saint Petersburg)

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  Rape of Proserpine in the Hermitage Museum (Saint Petersburg)

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  Sacrifice of Isaac in the Pinacoteca Tosio Martinengo in Brescia

literature

• Wilhelm Schmidt:  Troger, Simon . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 38, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1894, p. 634.
• Eugen von Philippovich : Simon Troger and other ivory artists from Tyrol. ( Schlern writings 216). Wagner, Innsbruck 1961