- Joseph Anton Feuchtmayer
Joseph Anton Feuchtmayer (baptized
6 March 1696 inLinz ; †2 January 1770 in Mimmenhausen, near Salem) was an importantRococo stuccoist and sculptor, active in southern Germany and Switzerland.J. A. Feuchtmayer was a member of the famous
Feuchtmayer family of theWessobrunner school . He was the son ofFranz Joseph Feuchtmayer (1660–1718); the nephew of Johann Michael Feuchtmayer (the Elder) andMichael Feuchtmayer (b. 1667); the first cousin ofFranz Xaver Feuchtmayer (the Elder) (1705–1764) andJohann Michael Feuchtmayer (the Younger) (1709–1772); and the first cousin once removed of Franz Xaver Feuchtmayer (the Younger) (b. 1735).Joseph Anton began studying sculpture in
Augsburg in 1715 and did work inWeingarten starting in 1718. After the death of his father Franz Joseph, he took over his father's workshop inMimmenhausen . At the same time, he became the "house sculptor" of the monastery in Salem, delivering for them his first commission, the organ case for the Salemer Münster.Feuchtmayer was influenced by (among others) the Italian stuccoistDiego Francesco Carlone , with whom he worked inWeingarten . From him he learned the production techniques for creating the stucco figures with highly polished surfaces that would make Feuchtmayer famous.Alongside such notable artists as
Johann Joseph Christian andFranz Joseph Spiegler , Feuchtmayer worked for the most part on the Baroque monastic churches along theUpper Swabian Baroque Route . His most well-known work is theputto on the "Bernhardsaltar" in Birnau called the "Honigschlecker" ("honey eater"), a reference St. Bernard's rhetorical gift. ["Germany: A Phaidon Cultural Guide". Oxford: Phaidon, 1985. p. 710. ISBN 0-7148-2354-6.]Feuchtmayer's house and workshop in Mimmenhausen are now a [http://www.feuchtmayermuseum.de/ museum] dedicated to the life and work of the artist.
Major Works
*
Beuron —Benedictine Abbey of St. Martin and St. Maria (high altar)
*Meersburg —Chapel in the Neues Schloss (stucco)
*St. Peter im Schwarzwald —St. Peter's Abbey in the Black Forest (sculptures on pillars, Apostle figures on altars)
*Salem—Cistercian Abbey Church (four confessionals, organ case)
*Überlingen — Cistercian Priory of Birnau (window frames, "Maria Immaculata", stucco, statue, altars, pulpit, altar figures, stations of the cross)
*Überlingen —Franziskanerkirche (high altar)
*Weingarten —Benedictine Monastery of St. Martin of Tours and St. Oswald (choir stalls)
*Wurznach—Catholic Parish Church of St. Verena (figures on high altar)
*Zeil, nearLeutkirch im Allgäu —Catholic Parish Church of Mariä Himmelfahrt (high altar)References
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