Sunday, December 23, 2018

Gothic Sculptors


Before going on to personal details, the wiki category named with a few more, one person didn't even give his name:

Lamentation of Christ from Žebrák is a lime wood relief of the common subject of the Lamentation of Christ, from about 1510. It ranks among the finest works of Late Gothic sculpture in Bohemia. The anonymous artist, who is called the "Master of the Žebrák Lamentation of Christ" after this work, probably had his workshop in České Budějovice and could have been the same person as the woodcarver Alexandr (Alexandr Schniczer) who was in charge of that town’s guild between 1503 and 1516.[1] The relief is now part of the permanent collection of medieval art at the National Gallery in Prague.


That's how modest certain artists were in the Middle Ages. But, unlike an idealistic prejudice, not all. This very idealistic prejudice may have come from less familiarity with Gothic artists and therefore less ability naming them, so you say "they didn't sign their works" - some didn't, but many did or the artists was otherwise known, from contract and payment. A few others had birth or death year so uncertain I could not use them for a statistic like this ... here are those I could use for statistics*:

  • André Beauneveu (born c. 1335 in Valenciennes, died c.1400 in Bourges) was an Early Netherlandish sculptor and painter, born in the County of Hainaut (Valenciennes is today in France), who is best known for his work in the service of the French King Charles V, and of the Valois Duke, Jean de Berry. His work in all media shows a generally naturalistic and 'sculptural' style, characteristic of the 'Pucellian revival' of the latter 14th century.

  • Arnolfo di Cambio[1] (c. 1240 – 1300/1310) was an Italian architect and sculptor.

  • Matteo di Cione (1330–1380) was an Italian sculptor, notable for being the brother of three of the great painters of Gothic Florence, Nardo di Cione, Jacopo di Cione and Andrea di Cione. The di Cione (pronounced dee choh’ nay) brothers often worked collaboratively, and Matteo is known to have supplied marble for Orcagna's altarpiece in the Orsanmichele (c.1381).

  • Andrea di Cione di Arcangelo (c. 1308 – August 25, 1368), better known as Orcagna, was an Italian painter, sculptor, and architect active in Florence. He worked as a consultant at the Florence Cathedral and supervised the construction of the facade at the Orvieto Cathedral

  • Simón de Colonia (Burgos, hacia 1450 - Burgos, 1511) fue un arquitecto y escultor español, hijo del arquitecto gótico Juan de Colonia y padre del también arquitecto y escultor Francisco de Colonia.

  • Juan o Hans de Colonia (Colonia, ca. 14101​ - Burgos, 1481) fue un arquitecto alemán, que introdujo en Castilla el estilo gótico flamígero. Se le considera, junto a Enrique Egas, el representante más destacado del mismo en España. Fue padre y abuelo, respectivamente, de los también arquitectos Simón y Francisco de Colonia.

  • Francisco de Colonia (Burgos, c. 1470 - ibídem, 1542) fue un arquitecto y escultor español.

  • Gregor Erhart (ca. 1470?–1540) was a German sculptor who was born at Ulm, the son of sculptor Michel Erhart. Gregor spent his working career at Augsburg, where he was made master in 1496, and where he died. Attributions of sculpture to his workshop, mixing Late Gothic and Renaissance formulas, are based on a single documented work originally from the Cistercian Kaisheim Abbey, which was lost in World War II.

  • Michel Erhart (c. 1440 to 1445 – after 1522, Ulm) was a German late Gothic sculptor who lived and worked in Ulm.

  • Madern Gerthener (1360/1370 – 1430) was a German stonemason and late Gothic architect. (Self portrait on Eschenheimer Tor in Frankfurt, which I never noticed when living or visiting there).

  • Henning van der Heide (sometimes von der Heide/Heyde, ca. 1460 - 1521) was a German late Gothic sculptor. Little is known about van der Heide's personal life. He was trained in the workshop of Bernt Notke (and worked with him on his famous Saint George and the Dragon statue in Stockholm) and seems to have lived and worked in Lübeck, present-day Germany. In 1485 he married, and in 1487 he purchased a house in Königstraße street of Lübeck. In 1513 he was made alderman at the guild of painters. He seems to have retired in 1519, when his workshop passed to his oldest son. For a craftsman of his age he appears to have been unusually wealthy as he managed to purchase three houses, one for each of his sons. (Or perhaps houses were cheaper then? Or craftsmen better paid?) Works attributable to van der Heide include ... a sculpture of St. Jerome in Vadstena Abbey, Sweden.

  • Adam Kraft (or Krafft) (c. 1460? – January 1509) was a German stone sculptor and master builder of the late Gothic period, based in Nuremberg and with a documented career there from 1490.

  • Lorenzo Maitani (c. 1275–1330) was the Italian architect and sculptor primarily responsible for the construction and decoration of the façade of Orvieto Cathedral.

  • Hans Multscher (ca. 1400–1467) was a German sculptor and painter. He made himself acquainted with new artistic styles from northern France and the Netherlands, and became a free citizen of the city of Ulm in 1427. There, he married Adelheid Kitzin the same year. He ran his own business as a painter and sculptor, together with his brother Heinrich Multscher. Multscher died in Ulm.

  • Bernt Notke (c. 1440 – before May 1509) was a late Gothic artist, working in the Baltic region. He has been described as one of the foremost artists of his time in northern Europe.

    He's the reason I started this statistic, and here is how I came across him:

    The statue was commissioned by Sten Sture the Elder following his victory over the Danish army in the Battle of Brunkeberg in 1471. During the battle, Sten Sture put his army under the protection of Saint George. Although not signed by him, the sculpture is widely attributed to the workshop of Bernt Notke.[1][2][3][4][5] Notke, who had his workshop in Lübeck, lived in Sweden between 1491 and 1497 and was a frequent visitor to the country before that. The sculpture was inaugurated on New Year's Eve 1489 by a papal nuncio.

    Saint George and the Dragon (Notke)
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_George_and_the_Dragon_(Notke)


    Obviously, at the battle of Brunkeberg and following years up to 1489, Sweden was still a Catholic country.

  • Pere Oller (fl. 1394 - 1442) was a Catalan Gothic sculptor.

  • Peter Parler (German: Peter von Gemünd, Czech: Petr Parléř, Latin: Petrus de Gemunden in Suevia; 1333 – 13 July 1399) was a German-Bohemian architect and sculptor from the Parler family of master builders. Along with his father, Heinrich Parler, he is one of the most prominent and influential craftsmen of the Middle Ages. Born and apprenticed in the town of Schwäbisch Gmünd, Peter worked at several important late Medieval building sites, including Strasbourg, Cologne, and Nuremberg. After 1356 he lived in Prague, capital of the Kingdom of Bohemia and seat of the Holy Roman Empire, where he created his most famous works: St. Vitus Cathedral and the Charles Bridge.

  • Heinrich Parler the Elder (also Heinrich of Gmünd, German: Heinrich von Gemünd der Ältere; c. 1310 – c. 1370), was a German architect and sculptor. His masterpiece is Holy Cross Minster, an influential milestone of late Gothic architecture in the town of Schwäbisch Gmünd, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Parler also founded the Parler family of master builders and his descendants worked in various parts of central Europe, especially Bohemia. His son, Peter Parler, became one of the major architects of the Middle Ages. The family name is derived from the word Parlier, meaning "foreman".

  • Johann Parler the Younger (Czech: Jan Parléř, German: Johann Parler der Jüngere; c. 1359 – 1405/06), was a Bohemian architect of German origin from the prominent Parler family of architects, master builders, and sculptors. He was the son of famous Gothic architect Peter Parler, the builder of Saint Vitus Cathedral and Charles Bridge in Prague. His uncle (i.e. Peter’s brother) was Johannes von Gmünd also known as Johann Parler the Elder, a German Gothic master builder who was architect of Freiburg Minster and also rebuilt the damaged Basel Minster.

  • Wenzel Parler (Czech: Václav Parléř, c. 1360 – 1404) was an architect and sculptor from the Parler family of German-Bohemian master builders and son of Peter Parler. He worked on Gothic churches in the Holy Roman cities of Prague, Nördlingen, and Vienna during the Late Middle Ages.

  • Master Paul of Levoča (Hungarian: Lőcsei Pál mester, Slovak: Majster Pavol z Levoče) was a medieval carver and sculptor of the 15th and 16th century, active mostly in the town of Levoča (Hungarian: Lőcse) in the Kingdom of Hungary (today in Slovakia). Most documents about him vanished at the Levoča fire in 1550. So, neither his surname, nor dates or places of birth and death are known. It is assumed that he was born between 1470 and 1480. He must have died between 1537 (when he is still mentioned on record) and 1542 (when his widow is mentioned).

  • Anton Pilgram (also Anton Pilchramb) (around 1460, Brno (?) – 1516, Vienna) was a late medieval Austrian (German) architect and sculptor active in the area of today's Czech Republic (Moravia), Austria and western Germany. Pilgram is known as the sculptor of the portal of Old City Hall in Brno and craftsman of the pulpit in St. Stephen's Cathedral, Vienna. He spent a major part of his life in Brno, Moravia.

  • Andrea Pisano (Pontedera 1290 – 1348 Orvieto)[1][2] also known as Andrea da Pontedera, was an Italian sculptor and architect.

  • Bonanno Pisano (Pisa) (c.1150 - c.1200), active in the 1170s and 1180s, was an Italian sculptor, mixing Byzantine and classical elements. Giorgio Vasari wrongly attributed the realization of the Leaning Tower of Pisa to him in his Vite. Pisano was born in Pisa and worked there most of his life. In the 1180s, he departed for Monreale, in Sicily, where he completed the doors to the cathedral before returning to Pisa, where he died. Pisano was buried at the foot of the leaning tower, where his sarcophagus was discovered in 1820.

  • Giovanni Pisano (c. 1250 – c. 1315) was an Italian sculptor, painter and architect, who worked in the cities of Pisa, Siena and Pistoia. He is best known for his sculpture which shows the influence of both the French Gothic and the Ancient Roman art. Henry Moore, referring to his statues for the facade of Siena Cathedral, called him "the first modern sculptor".

  • Nicola Pisano (also called Niccolò Pisano, Nicola de Apulia or Nicola Pisanus; c. 1220/1225 – c. 1284[1]) was an Italian sculptor whose work is noted for its classical Roman sculptural style. Pisano is sometimes considered to be the founder of modern sculpture.

  • Gil de Siloé (los historiadores del arte también le nombran como Gil de Siloe o, simplemente, Gil Siloe), fue un escultor castellano en estilo gótico activo en los últimos años del siglo XV. Hijo suyo fue Diego de Siloé, escultor y arquitecto en estilo renacentista. Su nacimiento puede datarse alrededor de 1440-50 y probablemente no mucho antes. / Gil de Siloé (Antwerp? 1440s – Burgos, 1501)

  • Diego de Siloé —también citado por los historiadores como Diego de Siloe— (Burgos; c. 1495-Granada; 22 de octubre de 1563),1​ arquitecto y escultor castellano, uno de los primeros artistas del Renacimiento en este país.

  • Claus Sluter (1340s in Haarlem[1] – 1405 or 1406 in Dijon) was a sculptor of Dutch origin.[2] He was the most important northern European sculptor of his age and is considered a pioneer of the "northern realism" of the Early Netherlandish painting that came into full flower with the work of Jan van Eyck and others in the next generation.

  • Veit Stoss (also: Veit Stoß and Stuoss; Polish: Wit Stwosz; before 1450 – about 20 September 1533) 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".[1] 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's Basilica in Kraków, Poland. (Ołtarz Wita Stwosza)


With a lot** of divergent figures, we get a divergent overall statistic, and I'll be giving the two extremes:

44 46 46 48 50 50 55 | 56 | 57 58 59 60 60 60 60 |
01 02 03 04 05 06 07 | 08 | 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 |
44 46 47 48 50 50 55 | 56 | 58 60 60 61 61 61 64 |

| 61 61 61 65 65 65 66 | 67 | 68 68 70 71 72 77 83
| 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 | 23 | 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
| 65 65 66 66 67 68 68 | 70 | 70 70 71 72 72 82 83

So, minimum and maximum on both views, both long and short view, 44 and 83.

Lower quartile also identic, at 56.

Median is 60 to 61 on short view and 64 to 65 on long view.

And upper quartile is either 67 or 70.

So, on the short view, half died between 56 and 67 around 60 to 61, and on the long view, half died between 56 and 70 around 64 to 65.

Were those lives really so short, as people like to pretend?

If you look at their work, the lives were not ugly. As far as the work is a measure of the personal life, which is questionable. But on average, if many artists live ugly lives, art tends to be ugly, and if many artists live beautiful lives, art tends to be beautiful. Medieval art was.

Hans Georg Lundahl
Paris IV
CHristmas Vigil
24.XII.2018

* Down to end of stats material, text is from wiki, my own few words are in italics. So are things taken from Spanish wiki. But they are in Spanish. ** From here back to normal.

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