JORG BREU THE ELDER Jórg Bren the Elder is published in the series HISTORIES OF VISION edited by Caroline van Eck, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam Images are cultural constructions with their own poetics and histories, but so is vision itself. The aim of this series is to reconstruct these histories. It will be devoted to the study of works of art considered as ways of seeing, viewing practices, and the various codifications of visual perception connected with the arts and artistic theories through the ages. FORTHCOMING, IN THE SAME SERIES Defining Devotions Nineteenth-Century Explorations of Later Buddhist Art in South Asia Janice Leoshko A Landscape of Grace and Terror: Modernism and the Maeght Foundation Jan Birksted Andrew Morrall Jörg Breu the Elder Art, culture and belief in Reformation Augsburg First published 2001 by Ashgate Publishing Published 2016 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017, USA Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business Copyright © Andrew Morrall, 2001 The author has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as the author of this work. All rights reserved No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication data Morrall, Andrew Jorg Breu the Elder : art, culture and belief in Reformation Augsburg. - (Histories of vision) 1. Breu, Jorg 2. Art - 16th century - Germany 3. Reformation and art - Germany I. Title 709.2 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication data Morrall, Andrew Jorg Breu the Elder : art, culture, and belief in Reformation Augsburg / Andrew Morrall. p. cm. - (Histories of vision) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 1-84014-608-7 1. Art, German - Germany - Augsburg. 2. Art, Renaissance - Germany - Augsburg. 3. Breu, Jorg, ca. 1480-1537 - Criticism and interpretation. 4. Reformation and art - Germany - Augsburg. I. Title. II. Series. N6886.A9 M67 2001 759-3-dc2i 2001022061 ISBN 13: 978-1-84014-608-0 (hbk) Typeset in Palatino by Manton Typesetters, Louth, Lincolnshire, UK Contents List of illustrations vn Acknowledgements xv Introduction: The artist's smile 1 1 The artist and his workshop, C.1498-C.1517 11 Beginnings: the Austrian altarpieces 11 Economic background 19 Works in fresco 21 Panel painting: style and patronage 23 The artist as designer 38 Woodcuts 39 Designs for sculpture 43 Designs for glass 33 The drawings for the Months of the Year 36 Painters, glaziers and glass-painters 61 2 The turn towards Italy 73 Augsburg and the South 73 The Aufhausen Madonna 76 The Prayerbook of Maximilian I 78 Image and verse 79 The frescoes for the Augsburg Town Hall 98 The organ shutters of the Fugger Chapel in St Anna, Augsburg 103 The large wings 107 The trip to Italy 111 The small organ shutters 113 Style and dating 123 3 Breu and the Reformation 136 The course of the Reformation in Augsburg 136 The Reformation and the arts 138 The Chronicle 139 Breu's Protestantism: a case study in Reformation piety 142 Painting and the Reformation 131 Woodcut illustrations 131 The soldier as unrepentant thief 134 v VI CONTENTS Garlic, the Jews and 'the sleep of ignorance': The Mocking of Christ 173 St Thomas as Exemplar of Faith: humanist responses to the Reformation and the origins of the Emblem 186 The St Ursula Altarpiece: iconoclasm and the image question 189 Breu and Zwinglianism 193 The Holy Works of Mercy 196 4 The 'deutsch' and the 'welsch': neoclassicism and its uses 218 3 Conclusion 244 Appendix: Hand-list of surviving or recorded designs for glass and glass roundels 233 Bibliography 239 Index 273 List of Illustrations Introduction: The artist's smile o.i Self-portrait, chalk, heightened with red on paper. 31 x 20.8 cm. Formerly Pommersches Landesmuseum, Stettin. 3 0.2 Hans Burgkmair, Self-portrait, 1317, black chalk. 29.9 x 19.3 cm. Hamburger Kunsthalle, Hamburg. 6 1 The artist and his workshop, c. 1498-c. 1517 1.1 The Flagellation of Christ, oil on panel, outer wing, Aggsbach Altarpiece. 80.3 x 126.7 cm* Chorherrenstift, Herzogenburg. 12 1.2 The Crowning of Thorns, oil on panel, outer wing, Aggsbach Altarpiece. 86.3 x 126.3 crrL Chorherrenstift, Herzogenburg. 13 1.3 Jan Polak, The Crowning of Thorns, fresco, 1473. Pfarrkirche, Pipping. 14 1.4 Anonymous broadsheet: Passionis Jesu Christi via contemplationis et meditationis quadruplex, woodcut (Augsburg, Ludwig Hohenwang, c. 1477). Photo: Warburg Institute, London. 16 1.3 The Agony in the Garden, oil on panel, outer wing, Melk Altarpiece. 134 x 93 cm. Melk, Stift. 19 1.6 The Adoration of the Magi, signed and dated 1318, oil on panel. 160 x 80 cm. Mittelrheinisches Landesmuseum, Koblenz. 23 1.7 Hans Holbein the Elder, Portrait of a Man in a Fur Hat, varnished tempera on panel. 41.3 x 29.3 cm. Öffentliche Kunstsammlung, Basel. 26 1.8 Leonard Beck, Adoration of the Magi, oil on panel. 183 x 113.8 cm. Städtische Sammlungen, Augsburg. 28 1.9 The Deposition, oil on panel. 87 x 34.3 cm. Private collection. 29 1.10 The Deposit ion, underdrawing, detail of the head of St John. 30 1.11 The Deposit ion, underdrawing, colour notation. 31 1.12 Madonna and Child, oil on panel. 33.9 x 39 cm. Private collection. 32 1.13 Albrecht Dürer, Adoration of the Magi (B. 87), woodcut, from the Life of the Virgin series. 29.6 x 20.9 cm. Photo: Warburg Institute, London University. 33 1.14 The Madonna and Child with Sts Barbara and Catherine, signed and dated 1312, oil on panel. 73 x 32 cm. Formerly Kaiser Friedrich Museum, Berlin. 34 1.13 Albrecht Dürer, Madonna and Child in a Hall, pen, ink and watercolour on paper. 40.9 x 27 cm. Öffentliche Kunstsammlung, Basel. 33 1.16 The Fugger Chapel, St Anna, Augsburg. 36 1.17 The Holy Kinship, oil on panel. Private collection. 38 1.18 Virgin and Child, with Sts Pelagius and Conrad, woodcut Missale Constantiense (Augsburg, E. Ratdolt, 1304). 22.6 x 14.3 cm. Photo: Warburg Institute, London University. 40 VII VIII LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 1.19 The Mocking of Christ, from Wolfgang von Maen, Das leiden Jesu Christi... (Augsburg, Hans Schönsperger, 1515), woodcut. 14.3 x 9.3 cm. Photo: Warburg Institute, London University. 41 1.20 Title-page to Fortunatus und seinen Seckel (Augsburg, Hans Otmar, 1509), woodcut. 16 x 12 cm. Photo: Warburg Institute, London University. 43 1.21 Title-page to Die Ritterliche und lobwirdig Raysz ... Ludowico Vartomans von Bologna ... (Augsburg, Hans Miller, 1515), woodcut. 13 x 9.9 cm. Photo: Warburg Institute, London University. 44 1.22 The Flagellation, black chalk on paper. 27.2 x 26.7 cm. National Museum, Warsaw. 43 1.23 Anon., Flagellation, carved relief in Solnhofen limestone. 28.7 x 27 cm. Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nuremberg. 46 1.24 Andrea Mantegna (attrib.), The Flagellation with the Pavement, engraving. 34.4 x 28.8 cm. Photo: Warburg Institute, London University. 47 1.23 Jörg Breu the Younger, Body of a Habsburg Prince, woodcut. Österreichische Staatsarchiv, Vienna. 48 1.26 The Passover Feast, pen and brown ink and grey wash on paper. 98.3 x 21.1 cm. Public Library and Art Gallery, Folkestone. 49 1.27 Victor Kayser, The Passover Feast, carved relief in Solnhofen limestone. 28 x 79 cm. Szepüveszeti Museum, Budapest. 30 1.28 Design for an epitaph with the Fourteen Auxiliary Saints, pen and black ink on paper. 44 x 30.3 cm. Nationalmuseum, Stockholm. 31 1.29 'PaxtafeT Reliquary, silver-gilt with enamel panels, South German, illustration to Halle'sches Heiltumsbuch, Man. 14, fol. io6v. Schloßbibliothek, Aschaffenburg. 32 1.30 Hans Daucher, Virgin and Child in an architectural setting, 1320, carved relief in Solnhofen limestone. 41.8 x 31 cm. Städtische Sammlungen, Maximilianmuseum, Augsburg. 33 1.31 Sol, pen and black ink on paper. 23.7 cm diam. Museum der bildenden Künste, Leipzig. 34 1.32 The Four Temperaments, pen and black ink. 24 cm diam. Recorded Boerner, Leipzig, Sale: 28 November 1912; present whereabouts unknown. Photo: The Witt Library, London University. 33 1.33 Tournament Scene, pen and black ink over black chalk. 23.3 cm diam. J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles. 36 1.34 The Hungarian War, pen and black ink on paper. 24.8 x 23 cm. Staatliche Graphische Sammlung, Munich. 37 1.33 The Month of January, pen and black ink and wash. 23.7 cm diam. Graphische Sammlung, Albertina, Vienna. 39 1.36 The Month of June, pen and black ink on paper. 24.7 cm diam. Kunstsammlung der Universität, Göttingen. 60 1.37 The Month of October, silver-stained glass roundel. 28 cm diam. Städtische Sammlungen, Maximilianmuseum, Augsburg. 63 1.38 Joseph and Potiphar's Wife, yellow-stained glass roundel. 24 cm diam. Bayerisches Nationalmuseum, Munich. 64 1.39 After Monogrammist SZ, based on a composition by Jörg Breu, Architectura, silver-stained glass roundel. 22.2 cm diam. The Cloisters, New York. 63 1.40 After Jörg Breu, Mercatura, silver-stained glass roundel, signed with monogram and dated 1362. 28 cm diam. Museum für Kunstgewerbe, Dresden. 66 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS IX 2 The turn towards Italy 2.1 Hans Burgkmair, Madonna and Child with St Luke, woodcut, 1507. 22.1 x 15.1 cm. British Museum, London. 77 2.2 Prayerbook of Maximilian, fol. 82V: St Peter, pen and red ink on vellum. 19.6 x 28 cm. Bibliothèque Municipale, Besançon. © Photographie J-Paul Turpin. 80 2.3 Prayerbook of Maximilian, fol. 76r: Angel, pen and red ink on vellum. 19.6 x 28 cm. Bibliothèque Municipale, Besançon. © Photographie J-Paul Turpin. 81 2.4 Prayerbook of Maximilian, fol. 92V: St John on Patmos, pen and green ink on vellum. 19.6 x 28 cm. Bibliothèque Municipale, Besançon. © Photographie J-Paul Turpin. 82 2.5 Prayerbook of Maximilian, fol. 8ir: Christ on a Mountain, pen and green ink on vellum. 19.6 x 28 cm. Bibliothèque Municipale, Besançon. © Photographie J-Paul Turpin. 83 2.6 Prayerbook of Maximilian, fol. 87r: St Christopher, pen and red ink on vellum. 19.6 x 28 cm. Bibliothèque Municipale, Besançon. © Photographie J-Paul Turpin. 83 2.7 Prayerbook of Maximilian, fol. 8qr: King David, pen and red ink on vellum. 19.6 x 28 cm. Bibliothèque Municipale, Besançon. © Photographie J-Paul Turpin. 86 2.8 Prayerbook of Maximilian, fol. 73 V: Orpheus, pen and green ink on vellum. 19.6 x 28 cm. Bibliothèque Municipale, Besançon. © Photographie J-Paul Turpin. 87 2.9 Prayerbook of Maximilian, fol. 8or: Arion, pen and green ink on vellum. 19.6 x 28 cm. Bibliothèque Municipale, Besançon. © Photographie J-Paul Turpin. 88 2.10 Peregrino da Cesena, Arion, niello. Photo: Warburg Institute, London University. 89 2.11 Peregrino da Cesena, Mercury Conferring the Son of Semele to îno, niello. Photo: Warburg Institute, London University. 90 2.12 Prayerbook of Maximilian, fol. 86v: Woman Suckling Child with Eagle, pen and green ink on vellum. 19.6 x 28 cm. Bibliothèque Municipale, Besançon. © Photographie J-Paul Turpin. 91 2.13 Prayerbook of Maximilian, fol. 77V: Prudentia, pen and green ink on vellum. 19.6 x 28 cm. Bibliothèque Municipale, Besançon. © Photographie J-Paul Turpin. 92 2.14 Prayerbook of Maximilian, fol. 83r: Fortune, pen and red ink on vellum. 19.6 x 28 cm. Bibliothèque Muncipale, Besançon. © Photographie J-Paul Turpin. 93 2.15 Prayerbook of Maximilian, fol. 9m David and Goliath, pen and red ink on vellum. 19.6 x 28 cm. Bibliothèque Municipale, Besançon. © Photographie J-Paul Turpin. 94 2.16 Albrecht Dürer, Allegorical Portrait of Emperor Maximilian I, detail of the Triumphal Arch, woodcut, 192 blocks. 340.9 x 292.2 cm. Photo: Warburg Institute, London University. 96 2.17 Prayerbook of Maximilian, fol. 78V: Crane, pen and green ink on vellum. 19.6 x 28 cm. Bibliothèque Municipale, Besançon. © Photographie J-Paul Turpin. 97 2.18 Battle of Naked Men, pen and greyish-brown ink on paper. 22.1 x 30.6 cm. Staatliches Museum, Kupferstichkabinett, Berlin. Photo: Jorg P. Anders 98