Theodor Schnell the Younger

Theodor Schnell the Younger (* May 8, 1870 in Ravensburg ; † February 25, 1938 in Ravensburg) was a German sculptor and church decorator of late historicism . His work ranges from neo-Gothic and neo-Romanesque church furnishings over the Art Nouveau (1900) to almost a modernist for his contemporaries altars with echoes of Art Deco .

Neo-Gothic altars in Limpach, around 1900

Neo-Romanesque Altar of Mary in Hundersingen, 1906

High altar in Baienfurt, around 1927

Schnell was the youngest son of the sculptor Theodor Schnell the Elder. Ä. and received initial suggestions in his father's workshop. He went to Stuttgart to complete his studies . In 1891 Theodor Schnell d. J. joined the family business and immediately took over the artistic lead, in 1901 he officially took over the business. The workshop's sphere of activity soon expanded into central Switzerland, Graubünden, Vorarlberg and northern Württemberg. In 1918 King Wilhelm II of Württemberg awarded him the title of "Professor". From 1922 to 1938 he represented the state of Württemberg on the board of the Association for the History of Lake Constance and its Surroundings .

Schnell owned a large, high-quality collection of sacred sculptures from the Middle Ages to the Rococo. After his death, the collection was auctioned off at Lempertz in Cologne in 1939 and thus scattered.

Works

(Selection)

• High altar, parish church St. Anton, Ennetbürgen , 1892 (preserved)
• High altar, parish church Herz Jesu, Lungern , 1893 (replaced in 1949)
• Pulpit, parish and pilgrimage church of the Birth of Mary, Amtzell -Pfärrich, 1893 (preserved)
• High altar, side altars and pulpit, parish church of the Assumption of Mary, Domat / Ems , 1894
• Five altars and pulpit, Liebfrauenkirche, Ravensburg , 1896–1899 (not preserved)
• Chandelier, Liebfrauenkirche, Ravensburg (not preserved)
• Predella reliefs Death of Joseph and Nazareth House, Parish and Pilgrimage Church of the Birth of Mary, Amtzell -Pfärrich, 1900 (preserved)
• High altar and side altars, St. Georg parish church, Deggenhausertal -Limpach, around 1900 (preserved)
• High altar and choir stalls, parish church St. Martinus, Wangen im Allgäu , around 1900 (preserved)
• High altar and side altars, Collegiate Church of San Vittore Mauro, Poschiavo , 1902–1904 (preserved)
• High altar and two side altars, Parish Church of the Birth of Mary, Wolpertswende- Mochenwangen , 1903 (preserved)
• High altar, parish church St. Georg and Sebastian, Laupheim -Untersulmetingen, 1904 (preserved)
• Altar, forest chapel, Schöntal- Neusaß, 1906 (preserved?)
• High altar, parish church of St. Peter and Paul, Oberägeri , 1906–1907 (preserved)
• Altars in the parish church of St. Martin, Herbertingen- Hundersingen , 1906 (preserved)
• Altar with "Maria im Rosenhag", village chapel Bach, Wangen im Allgäu -Deuchelried, around 1910 (preserved)
• High altar, parish church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus , Bregenz , 1911 (preserved)
• Holy grave altar, Garrison Church St. Georg , Ulm, 1919 - using a group of figures by Joseph Dettlinger (preserved)
• High altar, parish church St. Bonifatius, Bad Nauheim , 1923 (removed in 1969; figures and reliefs preserved and inserted into the rear wall of the choir)
• War memorial for those who fell in World War I, Ravensburg main cemetery, 1924 (preserved)
• High altar, parish church of the Assumption of Mary, Baienfurt , around 1927 (preserved)
• Marienaltar, parish church St. Bonifatius, Bad Nauheim , 1930 (removed in 1969, statue of Mary preserved)
• Joseph Altar, Parish Church St. Bonifatius, Bad Nauheim , 1931 (removed in 1969, Joseph figure preserved)
• High altar, branch church St. Josef, Vaduz- Ebony, 1931 (preserved)
• 14th Helper Altar, Parish Church St. Bonifatius, Bad Nauheim , completed in 1938 by Max Seibold according to Schnells plans (preserved)
• Altar (?), Chapel of St. Josefsheim, Schruns (preserved)
• High altar, parish church St. Jakobus Maior , Bubsheim (preserved)
• Altar (altars?), Parish Church St. Elisabeth , Stuttgart-West (partially preserved?)
• High altar, Church of Our Lady, Stuttgart-Bad Cannstatt (destroyed in the war?)
• Restoration of an altar (?) With your own additions, parish church St. Georg, Königseggwald
• Restoration of an altar (?) With your own additions, Heilig-Kreuz-Münster , Rottweil
• Restoration of an altar (?) With your own additions, St. Maria Himmelfahrt Cathedral , Chur
• Equipment of the chapel of the Josefhaus, Ravensburg (not preserved)
• numerous war memorials and grave monuments, especially after 1918
• Schnell family grave, Ravensburg main cemetery (preserved)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Harald Derschka : The association for the history of Lake Constance and its surroundings. A look back at one hundred and fifty years of club history 1868–2018. In: Writings of the Association for the History of Lake Constance and its Surroundings , 136, 2018, pp. 1–303, here: p. 221.
2. ↑ mainly after Ralf Reiter: From historicism to modernity. The sacred art of the Ravensburger Werkstätte Theodor Schnell. 1864 to 1938. In: In the Oberland. Issue 1/2011, pp. 21-29
3. ↑ 1894 after Reiter 2011; 1903 to http://graubuendenkultur.ch/baudenkmaeler/detailausgabe.php?vortid=31353&saveref=1&keyword=grkult-barock
4. ↑ Tobias Hafner : Two new pieces of jewelry from the Church of Our Lady in Ravensburg. 1. The new nativity scene. 2. The chandelier . In: Archive for Christian Art , 34th year 1916, pp. 50–53 ( digitized version )
5. ↑ picture see http://www.ics.li/pfarreivaduz/CFDOCS/cmsout/admin/index.cfm?GroupID=110&MandID=1&meID=35&Lang=1

literature

• Hermann Eggart: Obituary for Theodor Schnell, in: Writings of the Association for the History of Lake Constance and its Surroundings , 64th year 1937 pp. 27–29 ( digitized version )
• Ralf Reiter: From historicism to modernity. The sacred art of the Ravensburger Werkstätte Theodor Schnell. 1864 to 1938. In: In the Oberland. Issue 1/2011, pp. 21-29
• Ralf Reiter: Ravensburg as a center of church art production in historicism, art nouveau and the beginning modern. The sculptors Theodor Schnell d. Ä., Theodor Schnell d. J. and Moriz Schlachter . In: Ulm and Upper Swabia. Magazine for history, art and culture . Vol. 58 (2013), ISBN 978-3-7995-8048-9 , pp. 387–437 (with catalog raisonné)
• Collection of Professor Theodor Schnell, Ravensburg. With 42 picture plates . Catalog for auction on April 21 and 22, 1939. Foreword by Adolf Feulner. (= Math. Lempertz'sche art auction; 400). Kunsthaus Lempertz, Cologne 1939 ( digitized version )

Web links

Commons : Theodor Schnell the Younger  - Collection of images, videos and audio files