Theodor Sockl
Theodor Benedikt Sockl (born April 15, 1815 in Vienna ; † December 25, 1861 there ) was an Austrian painter and photographer.
He was born the son of the master carpenter and inventor Johann Gottlieb Sockl and Sophie Sockl, née Shurer von Waldheim. Among his siblings was the writer Sophie von Scherer , née Sockl. From 1834 to 1836 Sockl studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna, initially as a student of sculpture, but later developed an interest in painting. In 1841 he painted the portrait of his youngest brother, Hermann Karl Sockl, when he was 16 years old (paintings lost) and in 1843 he painted an altarpiece for the Piarist Church of Maria Treu in Josefstadt, Vienna.
From around 1846 he lived in Transylvania , where he appeared in the artistic circle of Theodor Glatz, who recommended him locally as a talented painter. He taught painting in Hermannstadt (today's Sibiu) at the Brukenthal Art Gallery , where he met his future wife, Clara Adelheid Soterius von Sachsenheim , as a student in 1847 . Your portrait, which was made in that year, is regarded as characteristic of the Biedermeier period in Transylvania; The personality of the model, the color theory and the subtle elegance of the dress are expressed against an idyllic background. The original painting went missing in England, but a copy was found by Theodor's nephew, Dr. med. Arthur Soterius von Sachsenheim , before handing over the original painting to Theodor's Sons in England in 1905. This copy is now in the Brașov Art Museum.
Theodor and Clara began to live together out of wedlock, much to the displeasure of their widowed mother and the rest of the family (at that time she was considered by everyone as the black sheep of the family). But despite the resistance of the family, who were reluctant to give their consent to the wedding - due to Theodor's insecure job and also his differences in religion and status - the couple were married on August 12, 1847 in Mehadia .
They then left Transylvania and initially lived in Graz , Austria, where their eldest son, Victor Franz Theodor, was born in 1848. They then moved to Vienna, where their second son, Theodor Friedrich Adolf, was born in 1849, but who died in 1850.
In the context of the revolution of 1848 in the Austrian Empire, an open letter sent by his sister Sophie von Scherer to the Würzburger Bishops' Conference in 1848 caused a public controversy, as she called for church reforms, such as B. the abolition of celibacy and the worship of the German language. Theodor Sockl then wrote a public letter in which he reproached his sister for Protestant convictions. In return, she refuted her brother's objections in a public reply.
In the summer of 1850 he returned to Sibiu with his wife and son, where they settled in the house of Soterius. Her daughter, Ottilie Clara Sophie, was born there in 1851. At this time, Theodor painted another portrait of Clara Adelheid and other members of the Soterius von Sachsenheim family. He also painted:
- two door panels with a man (Asklepios) and a woman (Hygieia), commissioned by a pharmacist named Molnaush in Heltaurgasse, Sibiu, approx. 1852 (both in the Brukenthal Museum , No. 1493 & 1494);
- a portrait of Emperor Franz Joseph as a young man, c. 1852 (Brukenthal Museum, no. 1365);
- the founder of the Sibiu Sparkasse, Michael Fr. Herbert (Brukenthal Museum, No. 2122);
- an unknown businessman from Sibiu (also in the Brukenthal Museum, No. 1113).
In Benignis Volkskalender of 1853 there was an advertisement of “Theodor Sockl as painter of academic portraits and history painter in Fleischergasse no. 110”. But the economic and social environment that remained from the European revolutions of 1848/49 made it difficult for Theodor to earn a living. As a result, he was forced to live a volatile wandering life to find work. In the meantime, Clara gave painting and drawing lessons. In 1853 Sockl bought photographic equipment in Bucharest in order to earn his living in this way. In 1854 he moved his photo studio to Sibiu, where Clara colored some of the photographs, as the custom of this developing art form dictated. But over the next few years they had to travel all over the country to make a living from photography. In 1857 they lived in Oravița in the Hungarian Banat, where another son, Carl Franz Albert, was born.
However, Sockl could not prevent part of his property from being mortgaged. Finally, he decided to move with his family from Orșova an der Donau to Vienna, Austria, where they arrived on October 28, 1857. He painted fourteen oil paintings for the local Ursuline monastery, for which he received 210 fl. CM. It is not known where they initially lived, but in October 1859 the family moved into an apartment in Fünfhaus at 231 Hauptstrasse, where they also set up a photo studio. Clara, who suffered from lung problems, died on July 25, 1861 at the age of 38. A few months later, on December 25th, Theodor followed her to the grave at the age of 46. To cover the funeral expenses, Theodor's brother, Moritz, sold the remaining paintings, including hundreds of sketches, to a Viennese used goods dealer.
In Brukenthal Museum and the Transylvanian Museum in Gundelsheim paintings are kept of Sockls. Some are also privately owned and some are missing.
The sons Victor and Carl emigrated to England around 1889. Victor founded and ran a very successful greeting card company called Sockl and Nathan . Carl was her accountant. The daughter Ottilie became a teacher and lived in Switzerland. Neither Victor nor Ottilie married and had no children. Carl married his cousin Emma, the daughter of Theodor's brother Hermann. They had six children, five of whom survived early childhood. They all lived and died in England. Two of them had children of their own.
literature
- MJ Tataru: Sockl Theodor Benedikt. In: Austrian Biographical Lexicon 1815–1950 (ÖBL). Volume 12, Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Vienna 2001-2005, ISBN 3-7001-3580-7 , p. 392 f. (Direct links on p. 392 , p. 393 ).
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ MJ Tataru: Sockl Theodor Benedikt. In: Austrian Biographical Lexicon 1815–1950 (ÖBL). Volume 12, Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Vienna 2001-2005, ISBN 3-7001-3580-7 , p. 392 f. (Direct links on p. 392 , p. 393 ).
- ↑ Radu Popica: Arta germană din Transilvania în colecţia Muzeului de Artă Braşov (PDF; 3.0 MB) Art Museum Brașov. 2011. Archived from the original on May 15, 2015. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved July 12, 2013.
- ^ Clara Soterius von Sachsenheim, 1847 . Brașov Art Museum. Retrieved July 12, 2013.
- ↑ a b c d e f Julius Bielz, A Hermannstädter Malerkreis around 1850 , in "Forschungsungen zur Volks- und Landeskunde", XIII, 1970, No. 1, pp./S. 37-66 . Retrieved July 12, 2013.
- ↑ Scherer, Sophie from 1817 - 1876 . Austrian National Library . Archived from the original on July 6, 2013. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved July 19, 2013.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Sockl, Theodor |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Sockl, Theodor Benedikt |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Austrian painter and photographer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | April 15, 1815 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Vienna |
| DATE OF DEATH | December 25, 1861 |
| Place of death | Vienna |