Jorg Breu the Elder: art, culture, and belief in Reformation Augsburg

309 Pages·2002·619.122 MB·English

by  Breu, Jörg;Morrall, Andrew

JORG BREU THE ELDER
Jórg Bren the Elder is published in the series
HISTORIES OF VISION
edited by Caroline van Eck, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam
Images are cultural constructions with their own poetics and histories,
but so is vision itself. The aim of this series is to reconstruct these histories.
It will be devoted to the study of works of art considered as ways of seeing,
viewing practices, and the various codifications of visual perception
connected with the arts and artistic theories through the ages.
FORTHCOMING, IN THE SAME SERIES
Defining Devotions
Nineteenth-Century Explorations of Later Buddhist Art in South Asia
Janice Leoshko
A Landscape of Grace and Terror: Modernism and the Maeght Foundation
Jan Birksted
Andrew Morrall
Jörg Breu the Elder
Art, culture and belief in Reformation Augsburg
First published 2001 by Ashgate Publishing
Published 2016 by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017, USA
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
Copyright © Andrew Morrall, 2001
The author has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to
be identified as the author of this work.
All rights reserved No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any
form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented,
including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system,
without permission in writing from the publishers.
Notice:
Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only
for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication data
Morrall, Andrew
Jorg Breu the Elder : art, culture and belief in
Reformation Augsburg. - (Histories of vision)
1. Breu, Jorg 2. Art - 16th century - Germany 3. Reformation
and art - Germany
I. Title
709.2
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication data
Morrall, Andrew
Jorg Breu the Elder : art, culture, and belief in Reformation Augsburg / Andrew
Morrall.
p. cm. - (Histories of vision)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 1-84014-608-7
1. Art, German - Germany - Augsburg. 2. Art, Renaissance - Germany - Augsburg.
3. Breu, Jorg, ca. 1480-1537 - Criticism and interpretation. 4. Reformation and
art - Germany - Augsburg. I. Title. II. Series.
N6886.A9 M67 2001
759-3-dc2i
2001022061
ISBN 13: 978-1-84014-608-0 (hbk)
Typeset in Palatino by Manton Typesetters, Louth, Lincolnshire, UK
Contents
List of illustrations vn
Acknowledgements xv
Introduction: The artist's smile 1
1 The artist and his workshop, C.1498-C.1517 11
Beginnings: the Austrian altarpieces 11
Economic background 19
Works in fresco 21
Panel painting: style and patronage 23
The artist as designer 38
Woodcuts 39
Designs for sculpture 43
Designs for glass 33
The drawings for the Months of the Year 36
Painters, glaziers and glass-painters 61
2 The turn towards Italy 73
Augsburg and the South 73
The Aufhausen Madonna 76
The Prayerbook of Maximilian I 78
Image and verse 79
The frescoes for the Augsburg Town Hall 98
The organ shutters of the Fugger Chapel in St Anna, Augsburg 103
The large wings 107
The trip to Italy 111
The small organ shutters 113
Style and dating 123
3 Breu and the Reformation 136
The course of the Reformation in Augsburg 136
The Reformation and the arts 138
The Chronicle 139
Breu's Protestantism: a case study in Reformation piety 142
Painting and the Reformation 131
Woodcut illustrations 131
The soldier as unrepentant thief 134
v
VI CONTENTS
Garlic, the Jews and 'the sleep of ignorance': The Mocking of
Christ 173
St Thomas as Exemplar of Faith: humanist responses to the
Reformation and the origins of the Emblem 186
The St Ursula Altarpiece: iconoclasm and the image question 189
Breu and Zwinglianism 193
The Holy Works of Mercy 196
4 The 'deutsch' and the 'welsch': neoclassicism and its uses 218
3 Conclusion 244
Appendix: Hand-list of surviving or recorded designs for glass
and glass roundels 233
Bibliography 239
Index 273
List of Illustrations
Introduction: The artist's smile
o.i Self-portrait, chalk, heightened with red on paper. 31 x 20.8 cm.
Formerly Pommersches Landesmuseum, Stettin. 3
0.2 Hans Burgkmair, Self-portrait, 1317, black chalk. 29.9 x 19.3 cm.
Hamburger Kunsthalle, Hamburg. 6
1 The artist and his workshop, c. 1498-c. 1517
1.1 The Flagellation of Christ, oil on panel, outer wing, Aggsbach
Altarpiece. 80.3 x 126.7 cm* Chorherrenstift, Herzogenburg. 12
1.2 The Crowning of Thorns, oil on panel, outer wing, Aggsbach
Altarpiece. 86.3 x 126.3 crrL Chorherrenstift, Herzogenburg. 13
1.3 Jan Polak, The Crowning of Thorns, fresco, 1473. Pfarrkirche, Pipping. 14
1.4 Anonymous broadsheet: Passionis Jesu Christi via contemplationis et
meditationis quadruplex, woodcut (Augsburg, Ludwig Hohenwang,
c. 1477). Photo: Warburg Institute, London. 16
1.3 The Agony in the Garden, oil on panel, outer wing, Melk Altarpiece.
134 x 93 cm. Melk, Stift. 19
1.6 The Adoration of the Magi, signed and dated 1318, oil on panel. 160 x
80 cm. Mittelrheinisches Landesmuseum, Koblenz. 23
1.7 Hans Holbein the Elder, Portrait of a Man in a Fur Hat, varnished
tempera on panel. 41.3 x 29.3 cm. Öffentliche Kunstsammlung, Basel. 26
1.8 Leonard Beck, Adoration of the Magi, oil on panel. 183 x 113.8 cm.
Städtische Sammlungen, Augsburg. 28
1.9 The Deposition, oil on panel. 87 x 34.3 cm. Private collection. 29
1.10 The Deposit ion, underdrawing, detail of the head of St John. 30
1.11 The Deposit ion, underdrawing, colour notation. 31
1.12 Madonna and Child, oil on panel. 33.9 x 39 cm. Private collection. 32
1.13 Albrecht Dürer, Adoration of the Magi (B. 87), woodcut, from the
Life of the Virgin series. 29.6 x 20.9 cm. Photo: Warburg Institute,
London University. 33
1.14 The Madonna and Child with Sts Barbara and Catherine, signed and
dated 1312, oil on panel. 73 x 32 cm. Formerly Kaiser Friedrich
Museum, Berlin. 34
1.13 Albrecht Dürer, Madonna and Child in a Hall, pen, ink and
watercolour on paper. 40.9 x 27 cm. Öffentliche Kunstsammlung,
Basel. 33
1.16 The Fugger Chapel, St Anna, Augsburg. 36
1.17 The Holy Kinship, oil on panel. Private collection. 38
1.18 Virgin and Child, with Sts Pelagius and Conrad, woodcut Missale
Constantiense (Augsburg, E. Ratdolt, 1304). 22.6 x 14.3 cm. Photo:
Warburg Institute, London University. 40
VII
VIII LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
1.19 The Mocking of Christ, from Wolfgang von Maen, Das leiden Jesu
Christi... (Augsburg, Hans Schönsperger, 1515), woodcut. 14.3 x
9.3 cm. Photo: Warburg Institute, London University. 41
1.20 Title-page to Fortunatus und seinen Seckel (Augsburg, Hans Otmar,
1509), woodcut. 16 x 12 cm. Photo: Warburg Institute, London
University. 43
1.21 Title-page to Die Ritterliche und lobwirdig Raysz ... Ludowico Vartomans
von Bologna ... (Augsburg, Hans Miller, 1515), woodcut. 13 x 9.9 cm.
Photo: Warburg Institute, London University. 44
1.22 The Flagellation, black chalk on paper. 27.2 x 26.7 cm. National
Museum, Warsaw. 43
1.23 Anon., Flagellation, carved relief in Solnhofen limestone. 28.7 x 27 cm.
Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nuremberg. 46
1.24 Andrea Mantegna (attrib.), The Flagellation with the Pavement,
engraving. 34.4 x 28.8 cm. Photo: Warburg Institute, London
University. 47
1.23 Jörg Breu the Younger, Body of a Habsburg Prince, woodcut.
Österreichische Staatsarchiv, Vienna. 48
1.26 The Passover Feast, pen and brown ink and grey wash on paper. 98.3
x 21.1 cm. Public Library and Art Gallery, Folkestone. 49
1.27 Victor Kayser, The Passover Feast, carved relief in Solnhofen limestone.
28 x 79 cm. Szepüveszeti Museum, Budapest. 30
1.28 Design for an epitaph with the Fourteen Auxiliary Saints, pen and
black ink on paper. 44 x 30.3 cm. Nationalmuseum, Stockholm. 31
1.29 'PaxtafeT Reliquary, silver-gilt with enamel panels, South German,
illustration to Halle'sches Heiltumsbuch, Man. 14, fol. io6v.
Schloßbibliothek, Aschaffenburg. 32
1.30 Hans Daucher, Virgin and Child in an architectural setting, 1320, carved
relief in Solnhofen limestone. 41.8 x 31 cm. Städtische Sammlungen,
Maximilianmuseum, Augsburg. 33
1.31 Sol, pen and black ink on paper. 23.7 cm diam. Museum der
bildenden Künste, Leipzig. 34
1.32 The Four Temperaments, pen and black ink. 24 cm diam. Recorded
Boerner, Leipzig, Sale: 28 November 1912; present whereabouts
unknown. Photo: The Witt Library, London University. 33
1.33 Tournament Scene, pen and black ink over black chalk. 23.3 cm diam.
J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles. 36
1.34 The Hungarian War, pen and black ink on paper. 24.8 x 23 cm.
Staatliche Graphische Sammlung, Munich. 37
1.33 The Month of January, pen and black ink and wash. 23.7 cm diam.
Graphische Sammlung, Albertina, Vienna. 39
1.36 The Month of June, pen and black ink on paper. 24.7 cm diam.
Kunstsammlung der Universität, Göttingen. 60
1.37 The Month of October, silver-stained glass roundel. 28 cm diam.
Städtische Sammlungen, Maximilianmuseum, Augsburg. 63
1.38 Joseph and Potiphar's Wife, yellow-stained glass roundel. 24 cm diam.
Bayerisches Nationalmuseum, Munich. 64
1.39 After Monogrammist SZ, based on a composition by Jörg Breu,
Architectura, silver-stained glass roundel. 22.2 cm diam. The
Cloisters, New York. 63
1.40 After Jörg Breu, Mercatura, silver-stained glass roundel, signed with
monogram and dated 1362. 28 cm diam. Museum für Kunstgewerbe,
Dresden. 66
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS IX
2 The turn towards Italy
2.1 Hans Burgkmair, Madonna and Child with St Luke, woodcut, 1507. 22.1
x 15.1 cm. British Museum, London. 77
2.2 Prayerbook of Maximilian, fol. 82V: St Peter, pen and red ink on vellum.
19.6 x 28 cm. Bibliothèque Municipale, Besançon. © Photographie
J-Paul Turpin. 80
2.3 Prayerbook of Maximilian, fol. 76r: Angel, pen and red ink on vellum.
19.6 x 28 cm. Bibliothèque Municipale, Besançon. © Photographie
J-Paul Turpin. 81
2.4 Prayerbook of Maximilian, fol. 92V: St John on Patmos, pen and green
ink on vellum. 19.6 x 28 cm. Bibliothèque Municipale, Besançon.
© Photographie J-Paul Turpin. 82
2.5 Prayerbook of Maximilian, fol. 8ir: Christ on a Mountain, pen and green
ink on vellum. 19.6 x 28 cm. Bibliothèque Municipale, Besançon.
© Photographie J-Paul Turpin. 83
2.6 Prayerbook of Maximilian, fol. 87r: St Christopher, pen and red ink on
vellum. 19.6 x 28 cm. Bibliothèque Municipale, Besançon.
© Photographie J-Paul Turpin. 83
2.7 Prayerbook of Maximilian, fol. 8qr: King David, pen and red ink on
vellum. 19.6 x 28 cm. Bibliothèque Municipale, Besançon.
© Photographie J-Paul Turpin. 86
2.8 Prayerbook of Maximilian, fol. 73 V: Orpheus, pen and green ink on
vellum. 19.6 x 28 cm. Bibliothèque Municipale, Besançon.
© Photographie J-Paul Turpin. 87
2.9 Prayerbook of Maximilian, fol. 8or: Arion, pen and green ink on vellum.
19.6 x 28 cm. Bibliothèque Municipale, Besançon. © Photographie
J-Paul Turpin. 88
2.10 Peregrino da Cesena, Arion, niello. Photo: Warburg Institute, London
University. 89
2.11 Peregrino da Cesena, Mercury Conferring the Son of Semele to îno,
niello. Photo: Warburg Institute, London University. 90
2.12 Prayerbook of Maximilian, fol. 86v: Woman Suckling Child with Eagle,
pen and green ink on vellum. 19.6 x 28 cm. Bibliothèque Municipale,
Besançon. © Photographie J-Paul Turpin. 91
2.13 Prayerbook of Maximilian, fol. 77V: Prudentia, pen and green ink on
vellum. 19.6 x 28 cm. Bibliothèque Municipale, Besançon.
© Photographie J-Paul Turpin. 92
2.14 Prayerbook of Maximilian, fol. 83r: Fortune, pen and red ink on vellum.
19.6 x 28 cm. Bibliothèque Muncipale, Besançon. © Photographie
J-Paul Turpin. 93
2.15 Prayerbook of Maximilian, fol. 9m David and Goliath, pen and red ink
on vellum. 19.6 x 28 cm. Bibliothèque Municipale, Besançon.
© Photographie J-Paul Turpin. 94
2.16 Albrecht Dürer, Allegorical Portrait of Emperor Maximilian I, detail of
the Triumphal Arch, woodcut, 192 blocks. 340.9 x 292.2 cm. Photo:
Warburg Institute, London University. 96
2.17 Prayerbook of Maximilian, fol. 78V: Crane, pen and green ink on
vellum. 19.6 x 28 cm. Bibliothèque Municipale, Besançon.
© Photographie J-Paul Turpin. 97
2.18 Battle of Naked Men, pen and greyish-brown ink on paper. 22.1 x
30.6 cm. Staatliches Museum, Kupferstichkabinett, Berlin. Photo:
Jorg P. Anders 98