Michael Willmann
Encyclopedia
Michael Leopold Lukas Willmann (27 September 1630 – 26 August 1706) was a German
painter
. The Baroque
artist became known as the "Silesia
n Raphael
".
Willmann was born in Königsberg
, Duchy of Prussia. He was educated by his father, the painter, Christian Peter Willmann. Michael went to the Dutch Republic
in 1650 to learn from the masters, and he was inspired by the works of Rembrandt, Peter Paul Rubens, and Anthony van Dyck
. For financial reasons he was unable to afford studying at the studio of a well-known painter.
After two years in the Netherlands, mostly spent in Amsterdam
, Willmann returned to Königsberg, passed his master's examination, and began to travel. After visiting Danzig (Gdańsk)
, Willmann went to Prague
, where he stayed from 1653–55. He then spent about a year in Breslau (Wrocław). Willmann's first known paintings, commissioned by Abbot Arnold Freiberger of the Abbatia Lubensis abbey
in Leubus
, Lower Silesia
, date from 1656. Leubus became the setting of much of Willmann's creativity.
From 1657–58 Willmann was in Berlin
as the court painter of Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg
. He painted mythological scenes for the elector, presumably for his residence at Königsberg Castle
. In 1660 Willmann returned to Leubus, which allowed him a large workshop.
Willmann's workship, modeled after those of the Dutch painters, quickly spread his fame. The extensive studio included his son Michael Leopold Willmann the Younger, his daughter Anna Elisabeth, and Anna Elisabeth's husband Christian Neuenhertz and son Georg Wilhelm Neunhertz. Willmann's studio also counted Johann Kretschmer from Glogau (Głogów), Johann Jacob Eybelwieser from Breslau, the Cistercian Jacob Arlet from Grüssau
, and Willmann's stepson Johann Christoph Lischka.
Willmann became the leading painter of Silesia through his expressiveness, technical dexterity, and speed. Willmann worked on orders from the patriciate of Breslau, as well as churches and monasteries throughout Silesia, Bohemia
, and Moravia
. He received contracts for the Cistercian monasteries in Grüssau, Heinrichau, Kamenz, Rauden, and Himmelwitz. With the assistance of his students and assistants, Willmann produced 500 paintings and frescos during his life. Numerous drawings of Willmann's were later used by engravers.
On 26 November 1662 Willmann married Helena Regina Lischka from Prague. In May 1663 he converted from Calvinism
to Roman Catholicism and took the baptismal names Leopold (after the emperor
) and Lukas (after the patron saint
of painters). Willmann's prosperity allowed him to acquire a manor near Leubus and sponsor the educations of his son and stepson in Italy
. Willmann was detailed in Academia, the 1683 Latin edition of Joachim von Sandrart
's “Teutsche Academie der edlen Bau-, Bild und Malereikünste”. Painters influenced by Willmann include Wenzel Lorenz Reiner, Peter Brandl, Johann Michael Rottmayr
, and Franz Anton Maulbertsch
.
Willmann died in Leubus, where he was buried in the abbey's crypt alongside the abbots. Because his son died a year later, the studio passed to Willmann's stepson, Johann Christoph Lischka, until 1712, and to Willmann's grandson, Georg Wilhelm Neunhertz, until 1724, after which it closed. Willmann's house was destroyed in a fire in 1849.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
. The Baroque
Baroque art
Baroque painting is the painting associated with the Baroque cultural movement. The movement is often identified with Absolutism, the Counter Reformation and Catholic Revival, but the existence of important Baroque art and architecture in non-absolutist and Protestant states throughout Western...
artist became known as the "Silesia
Silesia
Silesia is a historical region of Central Europe located mostly in Poland, with smaller parts also in the Czech Republic, and Germany.Silesia is rich in mineral and natural resources, and includes several important industrial areas. Silesia's largest city and historical capital is Wrocław...
n Raphael
Raphael
Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino , better known simply as Raphael, was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. His work is admired for its clarity of form and ease of composition and for its visual achievement of the Neoplatonic ideal of human grandeur...
".
Life
Königsberg
Königsberg was the capital of East Prussia from the Late Middle Ages until 1945 as well as the northernmost and easternmost German city with 286,666 inhabitants . Due to the multicultural society in and around the city, there are several local names for it...
, Duchy of Prussia. He was educated by his father, the painter, Christian Peter Willmann. Michael went to the Dutch Republic
Dutch Republic
The Dutch Republic — officially known as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands , the Republic of the United Netherlands, or the Republic of the Seven United Provinces — was a republic in Europe existing from 1581 to 1795, preceding the Batavian Republic and ultimately...
in 1650 to learn from the masters, and he was inspired by the works of Rembrandt, Peter Paul Rubens, and Anthony van Dyck
Anthony van Dyck
Sir Anthony van Dyck was a Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England. He is most famous for his portraits of Charles I of England and his family and court, painted with a relaxed elegance that was to be the dominant influence on English portrait-painting for the next...
. For financial reasons he was unable to afford studying at the studio of a well-known painter.
After two years in the Netherlands, mostly spent in Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
, Willmann returned to Königsberg, passed his master's examination, and began to travel. After visiting Danzig (Gdańsk)
Gdansk
Gdańsk is a Polish city on the Baltic coast, at the centre of the country's fourth-largest metropolitan area.The city lies on the southern edge of Gdańsk Bay , in a conurbation with the city of Gdynia, spa town of Sopot, and suburban communities, which together form a metropolitan area called the...
, Willmann went to Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
, where he stayed from 1653–55. He then spent about a year in Breslau (Wrocław). Willmann's first known paintings, commissioned by Abbot Arnold Freiberger of the Abbatia Lubensis abbey
Abbatia Lubensis abbey
Lubiąż Abbey , also commonly known in English as Leubus Abbey, is a former Cistercian monastery in Lubiąż,, in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship of southwestern Poland, located about northwest of Wrocław...
in Leubus
Lubiaz
Lubiąż is a village on the east bank of the Odra River, in the administrative district of Gmina Wołów, within Wołów County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. It lies approximately south-west of Wołów, and west of the regional capital Wrocław. The village has a population of...
, Lower Silesia
Lower Silesia
Lower Silesia ; is the northwestern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia; Upper Silesia is to the southeast.Throughout its history Lower Silesia has been under the control of the medieval Kingdom of Poland, the Kingdom of Bohemia and the Austrian Habsburg Monarchy from 1526...
, date from 1656. Leubus became the setting of much of Willmann's creativity.
From 1657–58 Willmann was in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
as the court painter of Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg
Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg
|align=right|Frederick William was Elector of Brandenburg and Duke of Prussia – and thus ruler of Brandenburg-Prussia – from 1640 until his death. A member of the House of Hohenzollern, he is popularly known as the "Great Elector" because of his military and political prowess...
. He painted mythological scenes for the elector, presumably for his residence at Königsberg Castle
Königsberg Castle
The Königsberg Castle was a castle in Königsberg, Germany , and was one of the landmarks of the East Prussian capital Königsberg.- History :...
. In 1660 Willmann returned to Leubus, which allowed him a large workshop.
Willmann's workship, modeled after those of the Dutch painters, quickly spread his fame. The extensive studio included his son Michael Leopold Willmann the Younger, his daughter Anna Elisabeth, and Anna Elisabeth's husband Christian Neuenhertz and son Georg Wilhelm Neunhertz. Willmann's studio also counted Johann Kretschmer from Glogau (Głogów), Johann Jacob Eybelwieser from Breslau, the Cistercian Jacob Arlet from Grüssau
Grüssau Abbey
Grüssau Abbey also known as Krzeszów Abbey refers to a historical Cistercian monastery in Krzeszów in Lower Silesia, and to a house of the Benedictine Order in the town of Bad Wimpfen in Baden-Württemberg, where the German Grüssau community moved in 1947, after their former abbey had become...
, and Willmann's stepson Johann Christoph Lischka.
Willmann became the leading painter of Silesia through his expressiveness, technical dexterity, and speed. Willmann worked on orders from the patriciate of Breslau, as well as churches and monasteries throughout Silesia, Bohemia
Bohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...
, and Moravia
Moravia
Moravia is a historical region in Central Europe in the east of the Czech Republic, and one of the former Czech lands, together with Bohemia and Silesia. It takes its name from the Morava River which rises in the northwest of the region...
. He received contracts for the Cistercian monasteries in Grüssau, Heinrichau, Kamenz, Rauden, and Himmelwitz. With the assistance of his students and assistants, Willmann produced 500 paintings and frescos during his life. Numerous drawings of Willmann's were later used by engravers.
On 26 November 1662 Willmann married Helena Regina Lischka from Prague. In May 1663 he converted from Calvinism
Calvinism
Calvinism is a Protestant theological system and an approach to the Christian life...
to Roman Catholicism and took the baptismal names Leopold (after the emperor
Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor
| style="float:right;" | Leopold I was a Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary and King of Bohemia. A member of the Habsburg family, he was the second son of Emperor Ferdinand III and his first wife, Maria Anna of Spain. His maternal grandparents were Philip III of Spain and Margaret of Austria...
) and Lukas (after the patron saint
Luke the Evangelist
Luke the Evangelist was an Early Christian writer whom Church Fathers such as Jerome and Eusebius said was the author of the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles...
of painters). Willmann's prosperity allowed him to acquire a manor near Leubus and sponsor the educations of his son and stepson in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. Willmann was detailed in Academia, the 1683 Latin edition of Joachim von Sandrart
Joachim von Sandrart
Joachim von Sandrart was a German Baroque art-historian and painter, active in Amsterdam during the Dutch Golden Age.-Biography:Sandrart was born in Frankfurt, but the family originated from Mons...
's “Teutsche Academie der edlen Bau-, Bild und Malereikünste”. Painters influenced by Willmann include Wenzel Lorenz Reiner, Peter Brandl, Johann Michael Rottmayr
Johann Michael Rottmayr
Johann Michael Rottmayr , was an Austrian painter. He was the first notable baroque painter north of Italy....
, and Franz Anton Maulbertsch
Franz Anton Maulbertsch
Franz Anton Maulbertsch was an Austrian painter and engraver, one of the most renowned exponents of roccoco painting in the German region....
.
Willmann died in Leubus, where he was buried in the abbey's crypt alongside the abbots. Because his son died a year later, the studio passed to Willmann's stepson, Johann Christoph Lischka, until 1712, and to Willmann's grandson, Georg Wilhelm Neunhertz, until 1724, after which it closed. Willmann's house was destroyed in a fire in 1849.
External links
- Biography at the Neue StaatsgalerieNeue StaatsgalerieThe Neue Staatsgalerie in Stuttgart, Germany was designed by the British firm James Stirling, Michael Wilford and Associates, although largely accredited solely to partner James Stirling. It was constructed in the 1970s and opened to the public in 1984....
- Andrzej Koziel, Rembrandt van Rijn and Michael Willmann, or a story of dispelling a certain myth, in: Rocznik Historii Sztuki, no 33 (2008), p. 153-176 http://archiv.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/artdok/volltexte/2010/1444/