Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach
Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach | |
---|---|
Born | |
Died | 5 April 1723 | (aged 66)
Nationality | Austrian |
Occupation | Architect |
Buildings |
Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach (20 July 1656 – 5 April 1723) was an Austrian architect, sculptor, engraver, and architectural historian whose Baroque architecture profoundly influenced and shaped the tastes of the Habsburg Empire.[1] His influential book A Plan of Civil and Historical Architecture (1721) was one of the first and most popular comparative studies of world architecture. His major works include Schönbrunn Palace, Karlskirche, and the Austrian National Library in Vienna, and Schloss Klessheim, Holy Trinity Church, and the Kollegienkirche in Salzburg.
Early life
Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach was born in
In 1671, at the age of sixteen, Johann moved to Rome and joined the workshop of his fellow Austrian Johann Paul Schor and of the great Gian Lorenzo Bernini, who gave him ample opportunities to study both ancient and modern sculpture and architecture.[6] By 1685, he had followed Schor to Naples, where he was reported to have amassed a considerable fortune serving the Spanish viceroy.[7]
Back in Austria in 1687, Fischer von Erlach was installed as a fashionable and sought-after architect. Commissions were plentiful, as royalty and highest echelons of aristocracy sought to repair the damage inflicted on their country residences by the Ottoman Turks in the course of their 1683 campaign. Fischer's understanding of an urbane Baroque idiom appeared superior to that prevalent in Central Europe, and in 1687 he secured the key position of court architect, which he would retain in the service of three emperors.
Service under Emperor Joseph I
During the 1690s, which have been described as the most fruitful period of Fischer's career, he adapted the Italian Baroque to local needs and traditions. In 1690, he won great acclaim for two temporary triumphal arches constructed in Vienna to celebrate Joseph I's coronation. He later personally instructed Joseph in architectural arts, so successfully that in 1696 the monarch elevated Johann Fischer to the nobility, as Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach.
In his 17th-century designs and commissions, Fischer von Erlach embraced Berniniesque's powerful curving lines, seeking to convey a sense of movement. His other inspirations included
Thus Fischer presided over the genesis and early evolution of a distinctive brand of Baroque architecture, which would shape the architectural tastes of the Austrian aristocracy for decades to come. His emblematic design from the 1690s was the Winter Palace of Prince Eugene of Savoy,[1] commenced in 1695 in Vienna. As Hans Aurenhammer put it, this edifice represented "a new type of town palace characterized by impressive form, structural clarity, and the dynamic tension of its decoration".
Salzburg and late works
Fischer's expertise in
Fischer's visit to Dalmatia brought back to Western Europe the influence of the classical Diocletian's Palace and provided Europe with one of the first professional architectural glimpses of this notable Roman monument.
After Joseph I's death in 1711, Fischer von Erlach was rarely entrusted with new commissions, as the more pleasing and less demanding designs of his rival
Clam-Gallas Palace in Prague, commenced in 1713, was one of his last designs for a stately town residence. Much imitated by later architects, the structure highlights Fischer's enthusiasm for Palladian facades, which became ever more pronounced during the last period of his work.
But it is
Selected works
- Pestsäule, Graben, Vienna, Austria, 1687
- Pilgrimage Church Maria Straßengel high altar, Graz, Austria, 1687
- Ruprecht von Eggenberg mausoleum alterations, Ehrenhausen, Austria, 1690
- Palais Augarten, Vienna, Austria, 1688–92
- Count Schlick summer house, Vienna, Austria, 1692
- Palais Strattman, Vienna, Austria, 1692
- Palais Schönborn-Batthyány, Vienna, Austria, 1692–93
- Schloß Niederweiden hunting lodge, Lower Austria, Austria, 1693
- Pferdeschwemme, Salzburg, 1693
- Hofmarstall stables portal, Salzburg, Austria, 1694
- Schönbrunn Palace, Vienna, Austria, 1695
- Parnas fountain on Zelný trh (Cabbage market), Brno 1696
- Schloss Neuwaldegg, Vienna, Austria, 1697
- Winter Palace of Prince Eugene, Vienna, Austria, 1695–97
- Schloss Klessheim, Salzburg, Austria, 1700
- Pilgrimage Church in Kirchental, Lofer, Salzburg, Austria, 1694–1701
- Holy Trinity Church (Dreifaltigkeitskirche), Salzburg, Austria, 1694–1702
- Johannesspitalskirche, Salzburg, Austria, 1699–1703
- Mariazell Basilica high altar, Mariazell, Austria, 1692–1704
- St. Mark's Church (Markuskirche, formerly Ursulinenkirche), Salzburg, Austria, 1699–1705
- Stadtpalais Liechtenstein side portal, Vienna, Austria, 1705
- Kollegienkirche (Collegiate Church), Salzburg, Austria, 1696–1707
- Franciscan Church high altar, Salzburg, Austria, 1708
- Palais Lobkowitz, Vienna, Austria, 1709–11
- Palais Trautson, Vienna, Austria, 1710–12
- Perchtoldsdorf plague column, Vienna, Austria, 1713
- Bohemian Court Chancellery, Vienna, Austria, 1708–14
- Clam-Gallas Palace, Prague, 1714–18
- Cekin Mansion, Ljubljana, 1720
- Palais Schwarzenberg, Vienna, Austria, 1720–22
- Stallburg, Vienna, Austria, 1723
- Karlskirche, Vienna, Austria, 1716–23
- Wrocław Cathedral electoral chapel, Wrocław, Poland, 1716–24
- Austrian National Library plans, Vienna, Austria, 1723–26
Gallery
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Pestsäule, Graben, Vienna, 1687
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Ruprecht von Eggenberg mausoleum, Styria, 1690
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Palais Augarten, Vienna, 1688–92
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Palais Strattman, Vienna, 1692
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Palais Schönborn-Batthyány, Vienna, 1692–93
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Schloß Niederweiden, Lower Austria, 1693
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Pferdeschwemme, Salzburg, 1693
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Schönbrunn Palace, Vienna, 1695
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Schloss Neuwaldegg, 1697
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St. Mark's Church, Salzburg, 1699
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Schloss Klessheim, Salzburg, 1700
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Holy Trinity Church, Salzburg, 1694–1702
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Collegiate Church, Salzburg, 1696–1707
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Franciscan Church high altar, Salzburg, 1708
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Palais Trautson, Vienna, 1710–12
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Bohemian Court Chancellery, Vienna, 1708–14
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Palais Schwarzenberg, Vienna, 1720–22
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Karlskirche, Vienna, 1716–23
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Stallburg, 1723
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Austrian National Library, Vienna, 1723–26
References
Citations
- ^ a b Aurenhammer, Hans. "Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 4 October 2013.
- ^ Aurenhammer 1973, p. 16.
- ^ Aurenhammer 1973, pp. 16–17.
- ^ Aurenhammer 1973, p. 17.
- ^ Aurenhammer 1973, pp. 17–18.
- ^ Aurenhammer 1973, pp. 19–21.
- ^ Aurenhammer 1973, p. 22.
Bibliography
- Aurenhammer, Hans (1973). J. B. Fischer von Erlach. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. ISBN 9780713904406.
- Dotson, Esther Gordon (2012). J. B. Fischer Von Erlach: Architecture as Theater in the Baroque Era. New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN 9780300166682.
- Kreul, Andreas (2006). Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach: Regie der Relation. Salzburg: Anton Pustet. ISBN 9783702505349.
- Lorenz, Hellmut (1992). Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach. Zürich: Verlag für Architektur. ISBN 9783760881324.
- Polleroß, Friedrich (1995). Fischer von Erlach und die Wiener Barocktradition. Vienna: Böhlau Verlag. ISBN 9783205984009.
- Sedlmayr, Hans (1997). Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach. Stuttgart: Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt. ISBN 9783421031358.
- Toman, Rolf (1999). Vienna: Art and Architecture. Cologne: Könemann. ISBN 9783848005307.
External links
- Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach at archINFORM
- New International Encyclopedia. 1905.
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- Encyclopedia Americana. 1920. .
- "Fischer von Erlach" photos by Georg Parthen
- Entwurff Einer Historischen Architectur (Vienna 1721) doi:10.3931/e-rara-9300, (Leipzig 1725) Digitalised version, University of Heidelberg
- Literature by and about Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach in the German National Library catalogue
- Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach in Austria-Forum (in German) (at AEIOU)
- Entry about Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach in the database Gedächtnis des Landes on the history of the state of Lower Austria (Lower Austria Museum)
- Fischer von Erlach – photographs by Georg Parthen
- Medals of Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach in: Digitales Belvedere