The sculpture of The Holy Roman Empire spread its influence into the
already gothic style in Germany.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE [ edit ]
Situate the sculpture of the Holy Roman Empire within its Gothic and Renaissance counterparts.
KEY POINTS [ edit ]
The court of the Holy Roman Emperor, then based in Prague, played an important part in
forming the International Gothicstyle for sculpture in the late 14th century. The style was spread
around the wealthy cities of Northern Germany.
In Catholic parts of South Germany the Gothic tradition ofwoodcarving continued to flourish
until the end of the 18th century, adapting to changes in style through the centuries.
Veit Stoss, Tilman Riemenschneider and Peter Vischer the Elder were Dürer's contemporaries,
and their long careers covered the transition between the Gothic and Renaissance periods,
although their ornament often remained Gothic even after theircompositions began to reflect
Renaissance principles.
Veit Stoss was a leading German sculptor, mostly in wood, whose career covered the transition
between the late Gothic and the Northern Renaissance. His style emphasized pathos and emotion,
helped by his virtuoso carving of billowing drapery; it has been called "late Gothic Baroque".
TERMS [ edit ]
woodcarving
The art of carving and sculpting objects from wood.
Renaissance
The fourteenth century revival of classical art, architecture, literature and learning that originated
in Italy and spread throughout Europe over the following two centuries.
virtuoso
A person (especially a musician) with masterly ability, technique, or personal style
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Background
The court of the Holy Roman Emperor,
then based in Prague, played an important
part in forming the
International Gothicstyle of sculpture in
the late 14th century. The style was spread
around the wealthy cities of Northern
Germany by artists such Conrad von Soest
in Westphalia, Meister Bertram in
Hamburg, and, later, Stefan Lochner in
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Cologne. Hamburg was one of the cities in the Hanseatic League, then at the height of its
prosperity, and artists such as Master Francke, the Master of the Malchin Altar, Hans
Bornemann, Hinrik Funhof, and Wilm Dedeke, who survived into the Renaissance period,
succeeded Bertram in the city. Hanseatic artists painted commissions for Baltic cities in
Scandinavia and for modern Baltic States to the east. In the south, the Master of the Bamberg
Altar was the first significant painter based in Nuremberg, while the Master of Heiligenkreuz
and Michael Pacher worked in Austria.
Gothic Style in Sculpture
In Catholic parts of South Germany, the Gothic tradition ofwoodcarving continued to flourish
until the end of the 18thcentury, adapting to changes in style through the centuries. Veit Stoss
(d. 1533), Tilman Riemenschneider (d.1531), and Peter Vischer the Elder (d. 1529) were
Albrecht Dürer's contemporaries, and their long careers covered the transition between the
Gothic and Renaissance periods, although theirornament often remained Gothic even after
their compositionsbegan to reflect Renaissance principles. Two and a half centuries later,
Johann Joseph Christian and Ignaz Günther were leading masters in the late Baroque period,
both dying in the late 1770s, barely a decade before the French Revolution. A vital element in
the effect of German Baroque interiors was the work of the Wessobrunner School, a later
term for the stuccoists of the late 17th and 18th centuries. Another manifestation of German
sculptural skill was in porcelain ; the most famous modeler is Johann Joachim Kaendler of
the Meissen factory in Dresden, but the best work of Franz Anton Bustelli for the
Nymphenburg Porcelain Manufactory in Munich is often considered the greatest
achievement of 18th century porcelain.
Wessobrunner stucco at Schussenried Abbey
Schussenried Abbey (Kloster Schussenried, Reichsabtei Schussenried) was a Premonstratensian
monastery in Bad Schussenried, Upper Swabia, Baden­Württemberg, Germany.
Veit Stoss
Veit Stoss was a leading German sculptor, mostly working in wood, whose career covered the
transition between the late Gothic and the Northern Renaissance . His style
emphasizedpathos and emotion, helped by his virtuoso carving of billowing drapery; it has
been called "late Gothic Baroque". He had a large workshop, and in addition to his own works
there are a number by pupils. He is best known for the altarpiece in St. Mary'sBasilica in
Kraków, Poland.
Gothic Altar by Veit Stoss
The altar at in Kraków was not completed until 1489, and was the largest triptych of its time and, like his
other large works, required a large workshop including specialized painters and gilders.