Franz Johann Joseph Bock
Encyclopedia
Franz Johann Joseph Bock (1823–1899) was a German theologian, archaeologist, and art historian
.
on March 5, 1823. He was the son of Franz Joseph Bock Burtscheider (baptized February 22, 1796), who was a lifeguard. His mother, Agnes Dotru, died when Bock was a young child. He was the only child of this marriage and was raised at first by his grandmother and later by his father. His father had a simple education and didn't earn much, however still was able to send him to the seminary of Kaiser-Karls-Gymnasium and later to study theology at the University of Bonn
(1846–49). In 1850 he became a chaplain at the Krefeld
parish church of St. Dionysius and was there until April 1853.
s and precious gold items from the Rhenish church treasures when they were first presented to the public. He established a factory of silk production with special designs based on models from Middle Ages patterns. These silks then were used in church items and church related vestments. Bock took a two year art history tour study period between 1855 and 1857 to collect from different countries throughout Europe ideas and materials. Much of this information eventually ended up in his two volume writing Geschichte der liturgischen Gewander des Mittelalters. He published many other works relative to Christian art and antiquities. Bock spent eight years in preparing his principal work Die Kleinodien des heiligen romuchen Reiclis deuticher Nation neht den Kroninsignien Bohmeiis, Ungarns uni der Lombar.
Bock was one of the founders of the archbishop art museum Kolumba
(a.k.a. "Diözesanmuseum") at Cologne
. In 1853 he made many art and textile purchases for the museum when he traveled around France. He became the founder of a new branch of classical studies when he introduced his work The History of the liturgical vestments of the Middle Ages (1859–71), which was the first scientific study of the origin and development of ecclesiastical robes with regard to fabric, color, design, editing and ritual significance. When Bock had the opportunity to sell textile fragments to various interested parties (i.e. museums) he would just cut it off from some precious medieval textile he found. His radical treatment of original medieval material earned him the nickname "Scissor Bock." For example when Bock found the Cloth of St Gereon
at the old Saint Gereon church he just cut it into four fragments and sold them to museums in Berlin, Lyon and London around 1863 to 1875. These cloth fragments are considered to be of the oldest Western tapestry still in existence.
Bock was a pastor at Cologne from about 1857. From 1854-1875 he was an Executive Board Member of Arts Christian Society for the Archdiocese of Cologne. He was also appointed honorary canon of Aachen Cathedral
in 1862. Bock maintained close relationships with like-minded connoisseurs and patrons such as the Cologne Archbishop Johannes von Geissel
, the Bishop of Munster Johann Georg Müller
, Prince Karl Anton of Hohenzollern
and to families of the Rhineland and Westphalian nobility and local artisans such as the sculptor Friedrich Wilhelm Mengelberg
.
Art history
Art history has historically been understood as the academic study of objects of art in their historical development and stylistic contexts, i.e. genre, design, format, and style...
.
Early life
Bock was born in the town of BurtscheidBurtscheid
Burtscheid is a town in western Germany, near Aachen. It was founded in the year 997 AD and was an independent town till 1897. From 1816 it was administrative capital of the district of Aachen. In 1897 Burtscheid became part of the city of Aachen...
on March 5, 1823. He was the son of Franz Joseph Bock Burtscheider (baptized February 22, 1796), who was a lifeguard. His mother, Agnes Dotru, died when Bock was a young child. He was the only child of this marriage and was raised at first by his grandmother and later by his father. His father had a simple education and didn't earn much, however still was able to send him to the seminary of Kaiser-Karls-Gymnasium and later to study theology at the University of Bonn
University of Bonn
The University of Bonn is a public research university located in Bonn, Germany. Founded in its present form in 1818, as the linear successor of earlier academic institutions, the University of Bonn is today one of the leading universities in Germany. The University of Bonn offers a large number...
(1846–49). In 1850 he became a chaplain at the Krefeld
Krefeld
Krefeld , also known as Crefeld until 1929, is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located northwest of Düsseldorf, its centre lying just a few kilometres to the west of the River Rhine; the borough of Uerdingen is situated directly on the Rhine...
parish church of St. Dionysius and was there until April 1853.
Career
Bock founded in 1852 the first large exhibition of ancient masterpieces of Christian art. In that year he curated a national exhibition on 100 medieval vestmentVestment
Vestments are liturgical garments and articles associated primarily with the Christian religion, especially among Latin Rite and other Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, Anglicans, and Lutherans...
s and precious gold items from the Rhenish church treasures when they were first presented to the public. He established a factory of silk production with special designs based on models from Middle Ages patterns. These silks then were used in church items and church related vestments. Bock took a two year art history tour study period between 1855 and 1857 to collect from different countries throughout Europe ideas and materials. Much of this information eventually ended up in his two volume writing Geschichte der liturgischen Gewander des Mittelalters. He published many other works relative to Christian art and antiquities. Bock spent eight years in preparing his principal work Die Kleinodien des heiligen romuchen Reiclis deuticher Nation neht den Kroninsignien Bohmeiis, Ungarns uni der Lombar.
Bock was one of the founders of the archbishop art museum Kolumba
Kolumba
The Kolumba is an art museum in Cologne, Germany. It is located on the site of the former St. Columba church, and run by the Archdiocese of Cologne...
(a.k.a. "Diözesanmuseum") at Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
. In 1853 he made many art and textile purchases for the museum when he traveled around France. He became the founder of a new branch of classical studies when he introduced his work The History of the liturgical vestments of the Middle Ages (1859–71), which was the first scientific study of the origin and development of ecclesiastical robes with regard to fabric, color, design, editing and ritual significance. When Bock had the opportunity to sell textile fragments to various interested parties (i.e. museums) he would just cut it off from some precious medieval textile he found. His radical treatment of original medieval material earned him the nickname "Scissor Bock." For example when Bock found the Cloth of St Gereon
Cloth of St Gereon
The Cloth of St Gereon is a mural tapestry of a repeat pattern with a decorative motif of a bull being attacked by a griffin, a fantastic creature with the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle. The Cloth of St Gereon is the oldest known European tapestry still existing, dating to the...
at the old Saint Gereon church he just cut it into four fragments and sold them to museums in Berlin, Lyon and London around 1863 to 1875. These cloth fragments are considered to be of the oldest Western tapestry still in existence.
Bock was a pastor at Cologne from about 1857. From 1854-1875 he was an Executive Board Member of Arts Christian Society for the Archdiocese of Cologne. He was also appointed honorary canon of Aachen Cathedral
Aachen Cathedral
Aachen Cathedral, frequently referred to as the "Imperial Cathedral" , is a Roman Catholic church in Aachen, Germany. The church is the oldest cathedral in northern Europe and was known as the "Royal Church of St. Mary at Aachen" during the Middle Ages...
in 1862. Bock maintained close relationships with like-minded connoisseurs and patrons such as the Cologne Archbishop Johannes von Geissel
Johannes von Geissel
Johannes von Geissel was a German Catholic Archbishop of Cologne and Cardinal.-Life:Gessel was born in Gimmeldingen in the Electoral Palatinate....
, the Bishop of Munster Johann Georg Müller
Roman Catholic Diocese of Münster
The Diocese of Münster is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in Germany. It is a suffragan diocese of the Archdiocese of Cologne. Bishop Felix Genn is the current Bishop of the Diocese of Münster. He was ordained to the priesthood on July 11, 1976 and was appointed...
, Prince Karl Anton of Hohenzollern
Prince Karl Anton of Hohenzollern
Prince Karl Anton of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen was a member of the Princely House of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen. Karl Anton was the third and youngest son of Leopold, Prince of Hohenzollern and his wife Infanta Antónia of Portugal...
and to families of the Rhineland and Westphalian nobility and local artisans such as the sculptor Friedrich Wilhelm Mengelberg
Friedrich Wilhelm Mengelberg
Friedrich Wilhelm Mengelberg was a German-Dutch sculptor, architect of church interiors, and art collector. His work promoted the Gothic Revival architectural-style in churches throughout Germany and the Netherlands...
.
Death
Bock died in Aachen April 30, 1899. The city of Aachen made Bock an honorary grave in the Campo Santo in Rome, where a bronze plaque commemorates him.Works
- History of the liturgical vestments of the Middle Ages (2 vols., Bonn, 1859).
- The jewels of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation gene together with the regalia Bohemia, Hungary and Lombardy with 58 chromo-lithographic plates (Vienna, 1864).
- History of liturgical garments of the Middle Ages. (3 volumes, Bonn 1859-71)
- Die Goldschmiedekunst auf der Höhe ihrer technischen und ästhetischen Ausbildung, plastisch nachgewiesen in einer Sammlung von Originalabgüssen der hervorragendsten kirchlichen Gefäße und Geräthschaften vom 10.-16. Jahrhundert, with a descriptive text and a foreword by Francis Bock, Cologne 1855
- BaldachinBaldachinA baldachin, or baldaquin , is a canopy of state over an altar or throne. It had its beginnings as a cloth canopy, but in other cases it is a sturdy, permanent architectural feature, particularly over high altars in cathedrals, where such a structure is more correctly called a ciborium when it is...
-Altäre aus St. Stephan in Wien und aus der Teinkirche zu Prag; oder: wie ist es mit dem Neubaue von Altären zu halten?, In: Organ für christliche Kunst, 7 (1857), Nr. 21, 241–243 u. Nr. 22, 255–258; - Das heilige Köln. Beschreibung der mittelalterlichen Kunstschätze in seinen Kirchen und Sakristeien aus dem Bereich der Goldschmiedekunst und der Paramentik, Leipzig 1858;
- Das carolingische Münster zu Aachen und die St. Godehards Kirche zu Hildesheim in ihrer beabsichtigten inneren Wiederherstellung. Praktische Beiträge zur Lösung der Frage: Welche Grundsätze sind bei der inneren Ausstattung und Einrichtung älterer romanischer Kirchen massgebend, Bonn 1859;
- Die Musterzeichner des Mittelalters. Anleitende Studienblätter für Gewerbe- und Webeschulen, für Ornamentzeichner, Paramenten-, Teppich- und Tapetenfabrikanten nach alten Originalstoffen eigener Sammlung, 8 Versions, Leipzig 1859–61;
- Der Reliquienschatz des Liebfrauen-Münsters zu Aachen in seinen kunstreichen Behältern: zum Andenken an die Heiligthumsfahrt von 1860, Descr. and explained with many woodcuts. Bock of Fr., published by the author, Aachen 1860th XXXIV, 88 p.
- Geschichte der liturgischen Gewänder der Mittelalters, oder Entstehung und Entwicklung der kirchlichen Ornate und Paramente mit Rücksicht auf Stoff, Gewebe, Farbe, Zeichnung, Schnitt und rituelle Bedeutung, 120 illustrations in color printing, explained Dr. Franz von Bock, 3 vols, Bonn, 1859, 1867, 1871;
- Die deutschen Reichskleinodien mit Hinzufügung der Krönungs-Insignien Böhmens, Ungarns und der Lombardei in geschichtlicher, liturgischer und archäologischer Beziehung, 1. Theil (Einfache Ausgabe), Wien 1860;
- Die Schriften A. ReichenspergersAugust ReichenspergerAugust Reichensperger was a German politician from the city of Koblenz.Reichensperger studied law and entered government service, becoming counsellor to the court of appeal at Cologne in 1849...
und ihre Bedeutung für die christliche Kunst, Wien 1860; - Der Schatz von Sanct Marcus in Venedig, Wien 1861, Reprinted from the August issue of the VI. Year of the communications of the k.k. Central-Commission for the study and conservation of monuments; ListenRead phonetically
- Katalog der Ausstellung von neueren Meisterwerken mittelalterlicher Kunst zu Aachen, eröffnet bei Gelegenheit der XIV. General-Versammlung katholischer Vereine, nebst einer kunstgeschichtlichen Einleitung, Aachen 1862;
- Der St. Karls-Teppich in Ausführung genommen von den Frauen und Jungfrauen Aachens, Aachen 1863;
- Über die christlichen Messkännchen, Prandel u. Ewald, Wien 1864.
- Karls des Grossen Pfalzkapelle und ihre Kunstschätze, Kunstgeschichtliche Beschreibung des karolingischen Octogons zu Aachen, etc., Cöln & Neuß 1866;
- Das Heiligthum zu Aachen. Kurzgefaßte Angabe und Abbildung sämtlicher "großen und kleinen Reliquien" des ehemaligen Krönungs-Münsters, sowie der vorzüglichsten Kunstschätze daselbst, Köln & Neuß 1867;
- Das monumentale Rheinland. Autographische Darstellung der hervorragendsten Baudenkmale des Mittelalters am Rhein und seinen Nebenflüssen in kurzgefasster Beschreibung, hrsg. u. S. Königlichen Hoheit dem Kronprinzen Friedrich Wilhelm von Preußen gewidmet, Cöln und Neuss 1867;
- Rheinlands Baudenkmale des Mittelalters, Zweite Serie. Die ehemalige Benedictiner-Abteikirche zu Brauweiler, Köln, [1867–72]
- Album mittelalterlicher Ornament-Stickerei zur Zierde für Kirche und Haus in Autographien nach älteren und neueren Mustervorlagen, Heft 1-2, Aachen 1866, Heft 3, Aachen 1869;
- Der Kunst- und Reliquienschatz des Kölner Doms, hrsg. von dem Vorstande des christlichen Kunst-Vereins zu Köln, Köln 1870;
- Der altromanische goldene Altaraufsatz im Münster zu Aachen und seine Wiederherstellung durch die Munifizienz Seiner Majestät des Kaisers, Aachen 1871, Separatdruck aus: Echo der Gegenwart, Nr. 243, Zweites Blatt, 3. September 1871;
- Die mittelalterlichen Kunst- und Reliquienschätze zu Maestricht, aufbewahrt in den ehemaligen Stiftskirchen des hl. Servatius und Unserer Lieben Frau daselbst, archäologisch und historisch beschrieben und durch 66 Holzschnitte erläutert v. Mgr. Dr. Franz Bock u. Vicar M. Willemsen, Thesaurar, Köln und Neuss 1872;
- Der St. Lambertus-Teppich, ein Geschenk der Fürstlich Hohenzoller’schen Familie an die gleichnamige Pfarrkirche in Düsseldorf, Köln/Neuss 1872; Digitalisierte Ausgabe der Universitäts- und Landesbibliothek Düsseldorf
- Karl's des Grossen Heiligthümer zu Aachen : kurze Beschreibung derselben nebst Betrachtungen u. Gebeten bei d. öffentl. Zeigung ; zur Erinnerung an die Aachener Heiligthumsfahrt im Jahre 1874 mit 30 erklärenden Holzschnitten. - Köln : Schwann, 1874. Digitalisierte Ausgabe der Universitäts- und Landesbibliothek Düsseldorf
- Die St. Helena-Teppiche, angefertigt von den Frauen und Jungfrauen Triers, Trier 1893;
- Die textilen ByssusByssusByssus means both a silky filament by which certain molluscs attach themselves to hard surfaces, and a rare fabric, also called sea silk and its fibre source.-Word:...
-Reliquien des christlichen Abendlandes aufbewahrt in den Kirchen zu Köln, Aachen, Cornelimünster, Mainz und Prag, Aachen 1895; - Die byzantinischen Zellenschmelze der Sammlung Dr. Alex. von Swenigorodskoi und das darüber veröffentlichte Prachtwerk, archaeological and art historical study, self-publishing, Alex. of Swenigorodskoi, Aachen 1896
- Aachener Goldschmiedekunst ehemals und heute. Unter besonderer Berücksichtigung des neuen Altars der h. h. Eucharistie für die Domgruft in Hildesheim, Aachen 1897;
- Verzeichnis von Schriften über mittelalterliche Kunst und Alterthumswissenschaft, published in the years 1852-98, Aachen, 1898.
Sources
Conant, Blandina. This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: The American Cyclopaedia, Volume 2, Appleton, 1873External links
- Franz Bock’s silk collection at the Victoria & Albert Museum.
- Works by or about Franz Bock at Internet ArchiveInternet ArchiveThe Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...
(scanned books original editions color illustrated) - Works by Franz Bock at The Online Books Page
- Works by Franz Bock at the German National LibraryGerman National LibraryThe German National Library is the central archival library and national bibliographic centre for the Federal Republic of Germany...