Beuron Art School

Gabriel Wuger

of the Beuron Art School, 1868.

The Beuron art school was founded by a

Benedictine monks in Germany in the late 19th century.^[1]

Notables

In addition to the first

Gabriel Wuger (1829-1892). Several Benedictine artists worked within the school, including Jan Verkade.^[1]^[2]

Principles

Beuronese art is principally known for its

murals with "muted, tranquil and seemingly mysterious colouring".^[3] Though several different principles were in competition to form the canon for the school, "[t]he most significant principle or canon of the Beuronese school is the role which geometry played in determining proportions."^[4]

Lenz elaborated the philosophy and canon of a new artistic direction, which was based on the elements of ancient Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Byzantine and early Christian art. Some of the other principles that Lenz used to define the Beuronese style include:

The art speaks to the mind of the viewer. The art is itself worshipful and invites the viewer to worship. It does not stand out boldly of itself but is part of an environment of worship.

Works are anonymous, done by group effort, and not for the glory of the artist, but of God.

As in icons, the Beuronese style favors imitation over originality, with freehand copying revealing an artist's true genius.

There is full integration of art and architecture. Painting and sculpture are not "stick-ons" to an
architectural plan but an integral part of it. Beuronese art encompasses painting, architecture, altar vessels, and furnishings.^[5]

Collections

St. Benedict Medal by Desiderius Lenz

, made for the 1400th anniversary of the birth of St. Benedict in 1880

One of the most complete collections of Beuronese art is located at Conception Abbey in Conception, Missouri, which was founded by Benedictine monks who immigrated to the United States from Engelberg Abbey in Switzerland. According to the abbey's website, "Beuronese art was revolutionary for its time, and also characteristic of its time. It offered a stylized, simplified, and hieratic approach to art which went against the grain of contemporary romantic forms."^[6]

A series of murals entitled "Life of the Virgin" was created under the direction of Desiderius Lenz, Gabriel Wuger, and Lukas Steiner between 1880 and 1887 for the Benedictine Abbey of Emmaus in

St. Anselm College in Goffstown, New Hampshire. The church was demolished in 1996. However, the "Life of the Virgin" series was restored and relocated to Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church in Carnegie, Pennsylvania

. A second set of duplicates resides at the Abbey Church of the Immaculate Conception Benedictine Abbey in Conception, Missouri.

Legacy

Beuronese art has been suggested by several scholars to have had a large influence on the Austrian painter Gustav Klimt. In 1898, shortly after the beginning of the Vienna Secession, Father Desiderius Lenz had his book published - Zur Aesthetic der Beuroner Schule (On the Aesthetics of the Beuron School). It is assumed that Klimt read Lenz's work with enthusiasm, and images of the Beuron Abbey, for instance, may show sections of the decorated ceiling which appear to have made quite a direct impact on Klimt's decorative, golden paintings.

References

^
ISBN 90-5867-591-2
page 144

^ www.kilidavid.com on Verkade
^ abtei-st-hildegard.de Archived September 28, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
^ www.conceptionabbey.org Murals Archived September 19, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
^ www.angelusonline.org Archived September 28, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
^ www.conceptionabbey.org on murals

External links

[Coomans-1] 
ISBN 90-5867-591-2
page 144

[2] www.kilidavid.com on Verkade

[3] tei-st-hildegard.de Archived September 28, 2007, at the Wayback Machine

[4] www.conceptionabbey.org Murals Archived September 19, 2007, at the Wayback Machine

[5] www.angelusonline.org Archived September 28, 2007, at the Wayback Machine

[6] www.conceptionabbey.org on murals

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