Valentin Kuehne

Valentin Kühne , also Voltin Keune , (born May 27, 1656 in Anderbeck , † April 10, 1707 in Groß Quenstedt ) was a German carver of the North Harz Baroque.

Life

He learned from master Valentin Walter, who probably created the unsigned pulpit altar, dated 1681, and the furnishings for the castle chapel in the moated Westerburg . According to new knowledge, however, this is attributed to Martin Kraft.

Kühne married in 1682 in Groß Quenstedt the maid Marita Schneidewindt (* August 14, 1653 in Groß Quenstedt † March 13, 1718 Groß Quenstedt) with whom he had children David (* August 7, 1683, his godfather is Master Valentin Walter), Catharina ( * 1st Advent 1685), Andreas (* February 14, 1687), Otto Friedrich (* April 18, 1689, first baptism of Pastor Otto Breul from Gatersleben), Katharina Elisabeth (* March 6, 1690), Valentin (* 22 July 1691) and Magdalene (born April 28, 1695). His son David († May 7, 1735 in Groß Quenstedt) continued the workshop.

plant

In 1696 Kühne created the pulpit altar and the furnishings for the St. Petri Church in Groß Quenstedt. The color version comes from Tile Meutefind . The altar shows on the pulpit the blessing Jesus Christ with the globe and to the left of the pulpit the figures of Moses with the tablets of the law and on the right John the Baptist with the cross staff, on the left next to Christ Andrew with the cross and Thaddäus with the club, on the right Jacobus with the shell and Simon Kananäus . In the upper third are Peter with a cross and key, Paul with a book, Martin Luther in a gown with a Bible and John with a book. As the structure of the building continued to deteriorate, the St. Petri Church was demolished in 1978/79 except for the Romanesque tower. The altar is now in the St. Nikolai Church in Jessen (Elster) , which was extensively renovated from 1979–1994. In terms of art history, the altar "adjoins the altar of the Martinikirche in Halberstadt (1696), the main work of high baroque altar art in the Harz region".

In 1697/98 he created the pulpit altar and the organ prospect of the St. Stephen's Church in Westerhausen, which shows Jesus Christ with the globe and cross and the four evangelists on the pulpit. Next to it is Peter on the right and Andreas on the left. The Lord's Supper is depicted behind the altar table. Above the pulpit are the crucified, on the right Martin Luther in a gown with a Bible and on the left a bearded bishop with a book. It is probably about the Church Father Ambrosius as a symbol for church chant. According to another tradition, the figure is supposed to represent the Halberstadt mission bishop Hildegrim , who died in 827 .

In 1700, Kühne created a richly carved confessional in St. Stephen's Church in Gatersleben . His son David had to complete the pulpit altar (1710). Here a renaissance pulpit was re-used, which is flanked by the figures of Moses and Aaron. In the essay there is a painting of the Man of Sorrows, Luther and an angel. The crucifixion group forms the upper end.

Since 1697, in Kleinalsleben , a Anhalt exclave originally belonging to the Reichsstift Gernrode, collections have been made for new church furnishings. In 1716 the altar created by David Kühne was erected. The pulpit by Dancker from Neuhaldensleben was originally carried by a figure of Moses (by Kühne?).

The emphasized integration of Luther figures is striking. Evangelical preaching began as early as 1523 in Groß Quenstedt and Westerhausen. The Lutheran faith was officially recognized in the Reichsstift Gernrode in 1530, in the County of Blankenburg-Regenstein (Westerhausen) in 1530/39 and in Magdeburg / Halberstadt in 1541 after the Diet of Calbe. At the time the baroque altars were erected, Groß Quenstedt, Westerhausen and Gatersleben were the official seats in the Prussian principality of Halberstadt.

Valentin Kühne also made the baptismal angels for the church of Groß Quenstedt (today Jessen) as well as the baptismal angels attributed to him from Hoppenstedt (around 1695), Rödersdorf (late 17th century) and Schwanebeck (around 1690, today Neustadt / Südharz).

literature

• Paul Jonas Meier : Kühne, Valentin . In: Hans Vollmer (Hrsg.): General lexicon of fine artists from antiquity to the present . Founded by Ulrich Thieme and Felix Becker . tape 22 : Krügner – Leitch . EA Seemann, Leipzig 1928, p. 61 . (one-line short entry, only mentioned Westerhausen).
• Dehio-Handbuch der Deutschen Kunstdenkmäler , Saxony-Anhalt I, administrative district Magdeburg, Deutscher Kunstverlag, Munich / Berlin 2002, ISBN 3-422-03069-7 Saxony-Anhalt II: administrative districts Dessau and Halle, Deutscher Kunstverlag, Munich / Berlin 1999, ISBN 3-422-03065-4 , relates to Art. Westerburg, Groß Quenstedt, Jessen, Westerhausen, Gatersleben, Kleinalsleben (partially corrected).
• Bernd Feicke : Valentin and David Kühne - two outstanding wood carvers of the North Harz Baroque. In: Quedlinburger Annalen. 9, 2006, pp. 48–56, color tables pp. 18–19.
• Bernd Feicke:  Valentin Kühne. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 29, Bautz, Nordhausen 2008, ISBN 978-3-88309-452-6 , Sp. 789-793.
• Bettina Seyderhelm (ed.): Baptism angel in Central Germany. Winged baptismal devices between Salzwedel and Suhl. Regensburg 2009, pp. 57, 140, 146-147, 329-330, 347-348.

Remarks

1. ↑ Seyderhelm, p. 56 f.
2. ^ Dehio manual.