Gottfried Semper
Gottfried Semper | |
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Semper Opera House |
Gottfried Semper (German: [ˈɡɔtfʁiːt ˈzɛmpɐ]; 29 November 1803 – 15 May 1879) was a German architect, art critic, and professor of architecture who designed and built the Semper Opera House in Dresden between 1838 and 1841. In 1849 he took part in the May Uprising in Dresden and was put on the government's wanted list. He fled first to Zürich and later to London. He returned to Germany after the 1862 amnesty granted to the revolutionaries.
Semper wrote extensively on the origins of architecture, especially in his book
Life
Early life (to 1834)
Semper was born into a well-to-do industrialist family in
Dresden period (1834–1849)
On September 30, 1834, Semper obtained a post as Professor of Architecture at the
Certain civic structures remain today, such as the Elbe-facing
On September 1, 1835, Semper married Bertha Thimmig. The marriage ultimately produced six children.
A convinced Republican, Semper took a leading role, along with his friend Richard Wagner, in the May 1849 uprising which swept over the city. He was a member of the Civic Guard (Kommunalgarde) and helped to erect barricades in the streets. When the rebellion collapsed, Semper was considered a leading agitator for democratic change and a ringleader against government authority and he was forced to flee the city.
He was destined never to return to the city that would, ironically, become most associated with his architectural (and political) legacy. The Saxon government maintained a warrant for his arrest until 1863. When the Semper-designed Hoftheater burnt down in 1869, King
"What must I have done in 48, that one persecutes me forever? One single barricade did I construct - it held, because it was practical, and as it was practical, it was beautiful", wrote Semper in dismay.[5]
Post-revolutionary period (1849–1855)
After stays in
Zürich period (1855–1871)
Concurrently with the onset of the industrial revolution, the
In 1855, Semper became a professor of architecture at the new school and the success of many of his students who attained success and renown served to ensure his legacy. The Swiss architect Emil Schmid was one such student. With his income as a professor, Semper was able to reunite his family, bringing them to Zürich from Saxony. The City Hall in Winterthur is among other buildings designed by Semper in Switzerland.
In 1861, Semper and his family were awarded Swiss citizenship by the Swiss municipality of Affoltern am Albis in return for the planning and construction of their main church's bell-tower.[7] This citizenship was later confirmed by the Zürich cantonal government in December 1861 and with these new Swiss passports in hand, Semper was once again able to travel and finally also visit Germany, after the warrant for his arrest had been cancelled in Mai 1863.
Semper provided
Later life (from 1871)
Already in 1833, there were first plans in Vienna for the public presentation of the Imperial Art Collections. With the planning of the Vienna Ring Road, the museum question became pressing again. Works forming the imperial art collection were scattered among several buildings. Semper was assigned to submit a proposal for locating new buildings in conjunction with redevelopment of the Ring Road. In 1869, he designed a gigantic 'Imperial Forum' which was not realized. The National Museum of Art History and the National Museum of Natural History were erected, however, opposite the Palace according to his plan, as was the Burgtheater. In 1871, Semper moved to Vienna to undertake the projects. During construction, repeated disagreements with his appointed associate architect (Karl Freiherr von Hasenauer), led Semper to resign from the project in 1876. In the following year, his health began to deteriorate. He died two years later while on a visit to Italy and is buried in the Protestant Cemetery, Rome. [8]
Legacy
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Gottfried Semper's legacy in the field of architecture is marked by his profound influence on architectural theory, design, and education, as evidenced by scholarly research and critical analysis.
- Theory of Polychromy: Semper's theory of polychromy, emphasizing the use of color in architecture, is well-documented in his own writings, such as "Der Stil in den technischen und tektonischen Künsten" (Style in the Technical and Tectonic Arts), where he discusses the symbolic and aesthetic significance of color in architectural ornamentation. This theory has been studied and cited by architectural historians such as Harry Francis Mallgrave in "Gottfried Semper: Architect of the Nineteenth Century," where Mallgrave explores Semper's theories in depth.
- Material Culture: Semper's interest in material culture and its role in architecture is a recurring theme in his works, particularly in "Der Stil." His ideas on material culture have been analyzed and discussed in various scholarly works, including articles by architectural historians such as Joseph Rykwert, who has examined Semper's views on the cultural significance of materials in architecture.
- Elements of Architecture: Semper's concept of the four elements of architecture has been discussed in numerous scholarly works on architectural theory and history. For example, in "The Semperian Tradition," author Joseph Rykwert discusses how Semper's elements influenced subsequent architectural thought and practice.
- Architectural Works: Semper's architectural works, including the Dresden Semper Opera House, have been extensively studied and documented in architectural histories and monographs. For instance, in "The Architecture of the City," Aldo Rossi discusses the significance of Semper's opera house as a key example of 19th-century architecture.
- Educational Influence: Semper's influence on architectural education is evident in the incorporation of his ideas into architectural curricula and pedagogical approaches. This influence has been documented in educational literature on architecture, such as "Architectural Education Today," edited by Neil Spiller, which discusses the enduring relevance of Semper's ideas in contemporary architectural education.
- Semperdepot, Lehargasse, Vienna
Works (selected)
- Dresden
- Hoftheater – 1838–1841 (destroyed by fire in 1869)
- Villa Rosa – 1839 (destroyed in the Second World War)
- Semper Synagogue – 1839–1840 (destroyed on November 9, 1938 - Kristallnacht)
- Oppenheim-Palace – 1845–1848
- Dresden Gemäldegalerie) – 1847–1855
- Neues Hoftheater (Semperoper) – 1871–1878
- Zürich
- City Hall – 1858 (only concept for competition; not built)
- Polytechnical School, (ETH Zurich) – 1858–1864
- Observatory - 1861–1864
- Winterthur
- City Hall – 1865–1869
- Vienna
- Municipal Theater (Burgtheater) – 1873–1888
- Museum of Art History (Kunsthistorisches Museum) (1872–1881, finished 1889)
- Natural History Museum (Naturhistorisches Museum) (1872–1881, finished 1891)
See also
Notes
- ^ Dorothea Schröder: "Nibelungenring und mystischer Knoten. Gottfried Sempers Entwurf zu einem Taktstock für Richard Wagner" Jahrbuch des Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe, Hamburg,1993, p. 120
- ^ H.A. Meek, The Synagogue, Phaidon, 1995, p. 188
- ^ Colin Eisler "Wagner's Three Synagogues", Artibus et Historiae 2004, Vol. 25/Nr. 50
- ^ Eytan Pessen, Zusammenhängende Reliquien, eine Geschichte über Richard Wagner und Gottfried Semper, pp. 1–22, Semperoper Dresden, Erchien in Wagnerjahr 2013, Spielzeit 2012–2013 & 2013–2014
- ^ Letter to Heinrich Hübsch, January 1852
- ISBN 0-19-860678-8.
- ^ Bussmann, Monica (2 September 2016). "Wie Gottfried Semper Schweizer wurde". In: ETHeritage. Highlights aus den Archiven und Sammlungen der ETH Zürich. ETH Library. Retrieved October 3, 2022.
- ^ Non-Catholic Cemetery in Rome databases Semper Goffredo Archived 2013-02-07 at the Wayback Machine
References
- Berry, J. Duncan. The Legacy of Gottfried Semper. Studies in Späthistorismus (Ph. D. Diss., Brown University, 1989).
- Hvattum, Mari. Gottfried Semper and the Problem of Historicism (Cambridge, 2004). ISBN 0-521-82163-0
- Herrmann, Wolfgang. Gottfried Semper: In Search of Architecture (Cambridge, MA/London, 1984). ISBN 0-262-08144-X
- Karge, Henrik (ed.). Gottfried Semper. Die moderne Renaissance der Künste (Berlin, 2006). ISBN 3-422-06606-3
- Mallgrave, Harry Francis. Gottfried Semper - Architect of the Nineteenth Century (New Haven/London, 1996). ISBN 0-300-06624-4
- Mallgrave, Harry Francis. Modern Architectural Theory: A Historical Survey, 1673-1968 (Cambridge, 2005). ISBN 0-521-79306-8
- Mallgrave, Harry Francis. Architectural Theory: An Anthology from Vitruvius to 1870 (Malden, MA/Oxford, 2006). ISBN 1-4051-0258-6
- Muecke, Mikesch W. Gottfried Semper in Zurich - An Intersection of Theory and Practice (Ames, IA, 2005). ISBN 978-1-4116-3391-9
- Nerdinger, Winfried and Werner Oechslin (eds.). Gottfried Semper 1803-1879 (Munich/Zürich, 2003). ISBN 3-7913-2885-9
- Semper, Gottfried. The Four Elements of Architecture and Other Writings. Trans. Harry F. Mallgrave and Wolfgang Herrmann (Cambridge, 1989). ISBN 0-521-35475-7
- Semper, Gottfried. Style in the Technical and Tectonic Arts; or, Practical Aesthetics. Trans. Harry F. Mallgrave (Santa Monica, 2004). ISBN 0-89236-597-8
- Herrman, Wolfgang Gottfried Semper im Exil (Basel ; Stuttgart : Birkhauser, 1978). ISBN 3-7643-0992-X
External links
- Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
- Villa Garbald Archived 2014-03-19 at the Wayback Machine
- Semper, Gottfried at Deutsche Biographie (in German)
- Wagner and Semper