Simon of Taisten

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Christophorus fresco in Taisten
Christophorus fresco in noses by Simon von Taisten (around 1500)
Madonna and Child, fresco in Mitterolang (around 1500)
John on Patmos, fresco in Mitterolang (around 1500)

Simon von Taisten , actually Simon Mareigl or Marenkl (* around 1450 / 1455 probably in Tesido , South Tyrol , † 1515) was a late Gothic Tyrolean painter . Numerous frescoes , panels and altarpieces in the area of ​​the former front county of Görz ( Pustertal , East Tyrol , western Carinthia ) have been preserved from his hand .

Life

Simon was probably born around 1450/1455 in Taisten in the Pustertal court of Welsberg. The nickname “Mareigl” refers to the Marenklhof located there. His first training took place in the environment of the master Leonhard von Brixen , so the frescoes of St. Georg in Taisten offered the young painter a suitable opportunity to study the style of the 1450s, which was already outdated for the 1470s. After Leonhard's death in 1474, Simon still benefited artistically from the workshop of Friedrich and Michael Pacher in the 1470s and thus adopted Pacher's formulations without having been their pupil.

Simon created his altars in collaboration with a carving workshop which, according to the commissioning abbess of the Sonnenburg monastery, Stammliste der Künigl (1472–1498) bears the name “Master of the Künigl altars”. In this altar workshop, he and his brother Veit, who worked as a carver, created numerous works for the Pustertal on both sides of the watershed on the Toblacher Feld .

The first works can be found before 1474 in the Sonnenburg Benedictine monastery. Since Master Simon regularly dated his work, the other works can be easily understood. In 1474 he created wall paintings in Aufkirchen / Toblach , in 1479 he worked in the church of Vierschach , in 1481 in Mitterolang and Taisten, then until 1484 at the Lord's Passion in the pilgrimage church of Obermauern with the 29 passion scenes and the martyrdom of St. Sebastian. Around 1484 the painting of the church of Geiselsberg was made , the depiction of Christophorus in 1489. In 1490 the passion paintings were made on the facade of St. Jakob in Taisten, 1491/92 the choir frescoes and the crucified in St. Magdalena in Niederdorf , 1491 the lamentation fresco on the parish church of Taisten. Around 1495/1500 the choir was painted in Obermauern. Later works include murals in St. Jakob in Taisten (1501), St. Anna in Niederdorf (1503), St. Mauritius in Innichen (1503), and St. Jakob in Dietenheim (1506). The painting of the castle chapel of Stein Castle (Dellach im Drautal) dates from 1505 and, like in Bruck Castle (Lienz), shows the Görzischen donor coats of arms several years after the family died out. The last testimonies to his work are the Christophorus fresco in Aufkirchen and the Annunciation in St. Anna in Niederdorf.

From the end of the 1480s a southern influence can be seen in Simon's pictures, which is why it is assumed that he could have been in Friuli during this time . Alternatively, a stay in the region around Padua is considered possible for Simon, justified with business relationships with Paola Gonzaga , which would have given him the opportunity for further training. These connections were given by the Gorizia commissioned work, but with regard to the stay in Italy, just as little can be justified as the legendary justification for the construction and painting of the Magdalenskirche in Niederndorf due to a healing of the countess in the baths of Prags (a previous building has been in Niederndorf since 1271 documented).

Between 1490 and 1496, Simon von Taisten also worked in the castle of the Counts of Gorizia, Schloss Bruck in Lienz. The two-story Romanesque castle chapel, built at the end of the 13th century, was given a new pictorial program in the middle of the 15th century. Simon continued the Gothic redesign, which began in 1442 with the addition of a ribbed vault by the Görzer Bauhütte and in 1452 with the design of the apse dome by Nikolaus Kennner , with a broad cycle of pictures. In keeping with the theology of the time and looking at the Gorizia dynasty, the representations follow the central theme of the request for supernatural protection and eternity through posterity: scenes from the life of Mary ( Annunciation , the death of Mary , Madonna in protective cloak ), the Passion of Christ (e.g. the Mount of Olives Scenery) and saints as advocates in the afterlife (here especially the Helper Cycle in the apse of the lower chapel). Among the heavenly inhabitants there are also those who commissioned the frescoes, Count Leonhard von Görz (1444–1500) and his wife Paola Gonzaga (1464–1496). The coat of arms in the lute bay of the upper lap (the coat of arms of those of Gorizia and Gonzaga is carried to heaven by an angel) suggests that this part was conceived as an "eternal memorial" to the now dying noble family. Apart from religious art, Simon was also busy with mundane painting work, as a letter from 1507 shows. In this he turns to King Maximilian (the later emperor) with the request to settle the bill for work that he had done during Count Leonhard's lifetime in his town house on today's Lienz main square, namely "painted a number of Slittentruhen, Kuchlwagen, Camerwagen, Tabard gilded and painted 70 spies, and made differently in his grace abode. And from such work I have done, I no longer receive a gulden from his grace and already pay me for and for put off, so that is gone. In that his grace went away with death. [...] Symon painter of Taisten ” . Payment will be made in installments in the coming years up to 1509.

Simon von Taisten probably died around 1515.

plant

Simon von Taisten showed himself to be quite skilled both as an artist and as a businessman. With his workshop moored in Taisten he was able to quickly complete a large number of orders; his connection with two leading construction companies in the region helped him to work with clients who were often undemanding in terms of their wishes. In his large works, the focus was often on adequate representation, for example in the form of a donor's picture or by adding the donor's coat of arms.

Erich Egg describes Taisten as “good craftsmanship, somewhat dry. The perspective halos, the falling angels, attempts at perspective in rows of houses and interiors are based on the Pacher. The stocky figures and the densely packed scenes betray folklore and some ineptitude, while the successful close connection between people and landscape is the painter's strength. In terms of coloring, the old Gothic canon of colors takes the place of Pacher's light and shadow and their tonal values. In spite of all the restrictions, Simon von Taisten translates the Pacherian ideas into the popular ” .

Employed as a fresco painter in the summer, he kept the workshop in the winter months as a panel painter and altar builder with his brother Veit as well as through simple painting work on various stately everyday objects. Simon skillfully applied new techniques like woodblock printing and also demonstrated efficiency through repetition. Numerous compositions can be found not just once, but repeatedly in different places.

Frescoes

  • around 1474, Benedictine monastery Sonnenburg, Ursula with 10,000 virgins
  • 1474, Toblach-Aufkirchen, To Our Lady of Sorrows - St. Mary , nave frescoes (St. Christophorus , two church fathers , Magdalena with two angels )
  • around 1479, Vierschach, Magdalenenkirche, painting
  • around 1480, Sonnenburg Benedictine monastery, fresco fragments
  • 1481, Mitterolang, Aegydius Church, Last Supper and apparition of Mary
  • 1481 or 1491, Welsberg-Taisten, Erasmus Chapel of the parish church, Lamentation of Christ
  • until 1484, pilgrimage church of Obermauern, 29 passion scenes
  • 1484, Geiselsberg, St. Wolfgang, apse painting (four evangelist symbols , Pietà , keystone )
  • 1484, pilgrimage church of Obermauern, Sebastian fresco
  • 1484, St. Lorenzen, parish church, Christ on the Mount of Olives (outer wall)
  • 1489, Geiselsberg, St. Wolfgang, Christophorus fresco (tower - outside), saints (via entrance portal)
  • around 1490, Gsies, St. Martin, passion scene (Ecce-homo)
  • around 1490, Obertilliach, St. Nikolaus in Moos, three saints in the apse, crucifixion and Christophorus (outside)
  • around 1490, St. Johann im Spital / Sonnenburg, frescoes
  • around 1490, St. Johann im Spital / Sonnenburg, Volto Santo and Saints
  • 1490, Welsberg-Taisten, St. Jakob cemetery chapel, passion frescoes (outside, west wall)
  • 1491, Niederdorf, St. Magdalena in Moos, choir frescoes (4 evangelist symbols, annunciation, washing of feet by Magdalena)
  • 1492, Niederdorf, St. Magdalena in Moos, Christophorus fresco
  • around 1495, upper walls, painting of the choir
  • before 1495, Pfalzen, Dorfstrasse towards St. Virgil Church, wayside shrine (Passion, Crucifixion, Mount of Olives - last temptation, resurrection)
  • 1495, Taisten, St. George, sundial (outside, south wall), crucified Christ (outside, apse) and Madonna Enthroned with St. Sebastian and St. Blasius (outside, north wall)
  • before 1496, Lienz, Bruck Castle, painting of the castle chapel (Marientod; 14 Holy Helpers and John the Baptist , Stephanus , Ottilie , Pantaleon , Florian , Antonius von Padua , Alexius ; Nativity , Annunciation, Protective Madonna, Last Judgment and beginning of the flagellation, four Evangelists and four church fathers)
  • around 1498, Obermauern, Maria's death
  • 1498, Taisten, St. Georg, keystone tablets (tools of the Passion of Christ, Blasius von Sebaste , Martin von Tours , Florian, Georg )
  • around 1500, upper walls, intercession and wall tabernacle
  • 1501, Welsberg-Taisten, St. Jakob cemetery chapel, altar wall frescoes (four evangelist symbols, Trinity) and nave paintings (parts of the Last Judgment)
  • 1503, Innichen, former Mauritius church (today Burgweg 4), Sebastian martyrdom
  • 1503, Niederdorf, Chapel of St. Anna, carrying the cross
  • 1505, Dellach im Drautal, Stein Castle, painting of the castle chapel (four saints, scene of the Mount of Olives, crucifixion, four evangelists)
  • 1505, Taisten, St. George, triumphal arch wall ( annunciation, mercy seat , evangelist symbols, saints) and nave (crucifixion)
  • 1506, Dietenheim, Apostle Jakobus the Elder , Gregor's Mass
  • around 1515, Percha, St. Kassian, Christophorus fresco
  • 1515, Niederdorf, Chapel of St. Anna, Annunciation fresco
  • 1515, Toblach-Aufkirchen, To Our Lady of Sorrows - St. Maria, Christophorus fresco

Panel paintings

literature

  • Josef Weingartner : Die Kunstdenkmäler Südtirols, Vol. 1 , Vienna 1923, Reg. S. 600 (Taisten).
  • Heinrich Waschgler: The painter Simon von Tesido (Taisten) , in: Der Schlern, 16, 1935, pp. 290–303. (on-line)
  • Erich Egg : Gothic in Tyrol. The winged altars , Innsbruck 1985, ISBN 3-85218-013-9 .
  • Leo Andergassen : Simon von Taisten - court painter to Count Leonhard von Görz , in: Skira (ed.), Circa 1500. State exhibition 2000 Mostra storica , Innsbruck / Milan 2000, pp. 41–44.
  • Louis Oberwalder, Peter Thomas Ruggenthaler: The Church of Our Lady Maria Snow. Obermauern in Virgen , Innsbruck / Bozen 2003, ISBN 3-7066-2350-1 .
  • Gertrud Pfaundler-Spat: Tyrol Lexicon . StudienVerlag, Innsbruck 2005, ISBN 978-3-7065-4210-4 , pp. 564-565.
  • Parish to the Hll. Ingenuin and Albuin (eds.): The work of the late Gothic painter Simon in the churches of Taisten (= Peda art guide, no. 794). Kunstverlag Peda, Passau 2011, ISBN 978-3-89643-794-5 .
  • Jörg Riedel, restoration report Kapelle Museum Schloss Bruck , Vienna 2017, unpublished.
  • Elisa De Gaetani, catalog raisonné for the exhibition "Mal mir den Himmel" , Schloss Bruck 2018.
  • Stefan Weis, texts for the exhibition "Mal mir den Himmel" , Schloss Bruck 2018.

Web links

Commons : Simon von Taisten  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Archive Museum Schloss Bruck, Oberforcher Collection, OG1, Diverse Department, Artists, Map "Simon von Taisten 1", copy of the original source: Shops from Hof ​​1507, Tyrolean State Archives, fol. 105.
  2. ↑ Erich Egg: Gothic in Tyrol. The winged altars, Innsbruck 1985, pp. 200–201.
personal data
SURNAME Simon of Taisten
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Simon Mareigl; Simon Marenkl
BRIEF DESCRIPTION South Tyrolean painter of the late Gothic period
DATE OF BIRTH around 1450 or 1455
PLACE OF BIRTH unsure: Taisten
DATE OF DEATH around 1515