Nazarene movement
Encyclopedia
German Romanticism
For the general context, see Romanticism.In the philosophy, art, and culture of German-speaking countries, German Romanticism was the dominant movement of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. German Romanticism developed relatively late compared to its English counterpart, coinciding in its...
painters who aimed to revive honesty and spirituality in Christian art. The name Nazarene came from a term of derision used against them for their affectation of a biblical manner of clothing and hair style.
History
In 1809, six students at the Vienna Academy formed an artistic cooperative in ViennaVienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
called the Brotherhood of St. Luke or Lukasbund, following a common name for medieval guilds of painters
Guild of Saint Luke
The Guild of Saint Luke was the most common name for a city guild for painters and other artists in early modern Europe, especially in the Low Countries. They were named in honor of the Evangelist Luke, the patron saint of artists, who was identified by John of Damascus as having painted the...
. In 1810 four of them, Johann Friedrich Overbeck
Johann Friedrich Overbeck
Johann Friedrich Overbeck , was a German painter and member of the Nazarene movement. He also made four etchings.-Biography:...
, Franz Pforr
Franz Pforr
Franz Pforr was a painter of the German Nazarene movement.He was born in Frankfurt am Main.He received his earliest training from his father, the painter Johann Georg Pforr , and his uncle, the art professor and first inspector of the painting gallery in Kassel, Johann Heinrich Tischbein the...
, Ludwig Vogel
Ludwig Vogel
Ludwig Vogel was a Swiss painter.-References:*This article was initially translated from the German Wikipedia....
and Johann Konrad Hottinger moved to Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, where they occupied the abandoned monastery of San Isidoro
Sant’Isidoro a Capo le Case
Sant’Isidoro a Capo le Case is a Franciscan monastic complex and college in the Ludovisi district on the Pincian Hill in Rome. Its church building is the Irish national church in Rome...
. They were joined by Philipp Veit
Philipp Veit
Philipp Veit was a German Romantic painter. To Veit is due the credit of having been the first to revive the almost forgotten technique of fresco painting.- Biography :Veit was born in Berlin, Prussia...
, Peter von Cornelius
Peter von Cornelius
Peter von Cornelius was a German painter.Cornelius was born in Düsseldorf.His father, who was inspector of the Düsseldorf gallery, died in 1799, and the young Cornelius was stimulated to extraordinary exertions...
, Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld
Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld
Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld was a German painter.-Biography:Schnorr was born at Leipzig, where he received his earliest instruction from his father Johann Veit Schnorr , a draughtsman, engraver and painter...
, Friedrich Wilhelm Schadow
Friedrich Wilhelm Schadow
Friedrich Wilhelm Schadow was a German Romantic painter.-Biography:He was born in Berlin and was the second son of the sculptor Johann Gottfried Schadow....
and a loose grouping of other German artists. They met up with Austrian romantic landscape artist Joseph Anton Koch
Joseph Anton Koch
Joseph Anton Koch was an Austrian painter of the German Romantic movement.-Biography:The Tyrolese painter was born in Elbigenalp. He started life tending cattle. Through the recommendation of Bishop Umgelder , he received academic training in the Karlsschule Stuttgart, a strict military academy...
(1768–1839) who became an unofficial tutor to the group. In 1827 they were joined by Joseph von Führich
Joseph von Führich
Joseph von Führich , Austrian painter, was born at Kratzau in Bohemia. Also known as Josef Ritter von Führich....
(1800–1876) (illustration above right).
The principal motivation of the Nazarenes was a reaction against Neoclassicism
Neoclassicism
Neoclassicism is the name given to Western movements in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that draw inspiration from the "classical" art and culture of Ancient Greece or Ancient Rome...
and the routine art education of the academy system. They hoped to return to art which embodied spiritual values, and sought inspiration in artists of the late Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
and early Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
, rejecting what they saw as the superficial virtuosity of later art.
In Rome the group lived a semi-monastic existence, as a way of re-creating the nature of the medieval artist's workshop. Religious subjects dominated their output, and two major commissions allowed them to attempt a revival of the medieval art of fresco
Fresco
Fresco is any of several related mural painting types, executed on plaster on walls or ceilings. The word fresco comes from the Greek word affresca which derives from the Latin word for "fresh". Frescoes first developed in the ancient world and continued to be popular through the Renaissance...
painting. Two fresco series were completed in Rome for the Casa Bartholdy (1816–17) (moved to the Alte Nationalgalerie in Berlin) and the Casino Massimo (1817–29), and gained international attention for the work of the 'Nazarener'. However, by 1830 all except Overbeck had returned to Germany and the group had disbanded. Many Nazareners became influential teachers in German art academies.
Legacy
The artistic achievement of the Nazarenes is difficult to evaluate; their finished paintings appear less impressive with the perspective of history than they did to their contemporaries. Awkward composition, weak colouring and derivative themes detract from the challenge of their work in its time. However, the programme of the Nazarenes—the adoption of honest expression in art and the inspiration of artists before Raphael—was to exert considerable influence in Germany, and in England upon the Pre-Raphaelite movement. In their abandonment of the academy and their rejection of much official and salon art, the Nazarenes can be seen as partaking in the same anti-scholastic impulse that would lead to the avant-gardeAvant-garde
Avant-garde means "advance guard" or "vanguard". The adjective form is used in English to refer to people or works that are experimental or innovative, particularly with respect to art, culture, and politics....
in the later nineteenth century.
Notable members
- Peter von CorneliusPeter von CorneliusPeter von Cornelius was a German painter.Cornelius was born in Düsseldorf.His father, who was inspector of the Düsseldorf gallery, died in 1799, and the young Cornelius was stimulated to extraordinary exertions...
- Josef FührichJoseph von FührichJoseph von Führich , Austrian painter, was born at Kratzau in Bohemia. Also known as Josef Ritter von Führich....
- Johann Konrad Hottinger
- Johann Friedrich OverbeckJohann Friedrich OverbeckJohann Friedrich Overbeck , was a German painter and member of the Nazarene movement. He also made four etchings.-Biography:...
- Franz PforrFranz PforrFranz Pforr was a painter of the German Nazarene movement.He was born in Frankfurt am Main.He received his earliest training from his father, the painter Johann Georg Pforr , and his uncle, the art professor and first inspector of the painting gallery in Kassel, Johann Heinrich Tischbein the...
- Friedrich Wilhelm SchadowFriedrich Wilhelm SchadowFriedrich Wilhelm Schadow was a German Romantic painter.-Biography:He was born in Berlin and was the second son of the sculptor Johann Gottfried Schadow....
- Julius Schnorr von Karolsfeld
- Eduard Jakob von Steinle
- Philipp VeitPhilipp VeitPhilipp Veit was a German Romantic painter. To Veit is due the credit of having been the first to revive the almost forgotten technique of fresco painting.- Biography :Veit was born in Berlin, Prussia...
- Johannes VeitJohannes VeitJonas Veit was a German history painter. His parents were Jewish but he took little interest in Judaism and converted to Catholicism on 26 July 1810 - he is thus better known by his baptismal name of Johannes Veit...
- Ludwig VogelLudwig VogelLudwig Vogel was a Swiss painter.-References:*This article was initially translated from the German Wikipedia....
- Eugene Von GuerardEugene von GuerardJohann Joseph Eugene von GuérardHis first name is variously spelled "Eugen", "Eugene", "Eugène", one source mentions "Jean" ; his surname is spelled "Guerard" or "Guérard". The most frequent combination is that used by the National Gallery of Australia: "Eugene von Guérard"...
Painters
- Carl Joseph Begas
- Peter von CorneliusPeter von CorneliusPeter von Cornelius was a German painter.Cornelius was born in Düsseldorf.His father, who was inspector of the Düsseldorf gallery, died in 1799, and the young Cornelius was stimulated to extraordinary exertions...
- Ernst DegerErnst DegerErnst Deger was a 19th century German religious artist.*...
- Konrad EberhardKonrad EberhardKonrad Eberhard, a German historical painter, better known as a sculptor, was one of the foremost artists of the so-called Nazarene School, which at one time gathered round Friedrich Overbeck in Rome. He was born on November 25, 1768 at Hindelang in Algau, where his father nand ul grandfather were...
- Carl EggersCarl EggersCarl Johann Adolf Eggers , a German historical painter, born at Neu Strelitz, was instructed by Matthäi at Dresden. He discovered the old mode of fresco-painting, and was employed in the Vatican at Rome, where he painted in the Braccio Nuovo. Subsequently he painted under the direction of Cornelius...
- Marie EllenriederMarie EllenriederAnna Marie Ellenrieder was a German painter.She was born in Konstanz, Germany, the daughter of Konrad and Anna Maria Herrmann, and the granddaughter of Franz Ludwig Herrmann....
- Gebhard Flatz
- Joseph von FührichJoseph von FührichJoseph von Führich , Austrian painter, was born at Kratzau in Bohemia. Also known as Josef Ritter von Führich....
- Josef von Hempel
- Franz IttenbachFranz IttenbachFranz Ittenbach was a German religious painter from Königswinter, North Rhine-Westphalia, at the foot of the Drachenfels....
- Gustav Jäger
- Johannes Kaspar
- Leopold Kupelwieser
- Friedrich LangeFriedrich LangeFriedrich Lange was a German history painter and member of the Nazarene movement....
- Ferdinand Olivier
- Friedrich Olivier
- Johann Friedrich Overbeck
- Johann David PassavantJohann David PassavantJohann David Passavant was a German painter, curator and artist.Passavant was born in 1787 in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. His interest in the arts was evidence by an early correspondence with the artist Franz Pforr . He moved to Paris in 1809 to further his business interests...
- Carl Gottlieb Peschel
- Franz PforrFranz PforrFranz Pforr was a painter of the German Nazarene movement.He was born in Frankfurt am Main.He received his earliest training from his father, the painter Johann Georg Pforr , and his uncle, the art professor and first inspector of the painting gallery in Kassel, Johann Heinrich Tischbein the...
- Johann Anton Ramboux
- Theodor Rehbenitz
- Wilhelm von Schadow
- Johann Scheffer von Leonhartshof
- Julius Schnorr von CarolsfeldJulius Schnorr von CarolsfeldJulius Schnorr von Carolsfeld was a German painter.-Biography:Schnorr was born at Leipzig, where he received his earliest instruction from his father Johann Veit Schnorr , a draughtsman, engraver and painter...
- Ludwig Schnorr von Carolsfeld
- Johann von Schraudolph
- Claudius Schraudolph der Ältere
- Joseph Anton Nikolaus Settegast
- Eduard von Steinle
- Philipp VeitPhilipp VeitPhilipp Veit was a German Romantic painter. To Veit is due the credit of having been the first to revive the almost forgotten technique of fresco painting.- Biography :Veit was born in Berlin, Prussia...
- Johannes VeitJohannes VeitJonas Veit was a German history painter. His parents were Jewish but he took little interest in Judaism and converted to Catholicism on 26 July 1810 - he is thus better known by his baptismal name of Johannes Veit...
- Josef Wintergerst
- Johann Michael Wittmer
See also
- Middle Ages in history
- German RomanticismGerman RomanticismFor the general context, see Romanticism.In the philosophy, art, and culture of German-speaking countries, German Romanticism was the dominant movement of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. German Romanticism developed relatively late compared to its English counterpart, coinciding in its...
- Nazarenes in the "History of Art"
Further reading
- Mitchell Benjamin Frank. Romantic Painting Redefined: Nazarene Tradition and the Narratives of Romanticism. Ashgate Publishing, 2001; ISBN 0-7546-0477-2
- Lionel GossmanLionel GossmanLionel Gossman is a Scottish-American scholar of French literature. He taught Romance Languages at Johns Hopkins University and Princeton University, and has written extensively on the history, theory and practice of historiography, and more recently, on aspects of German cultural...
. “Making of a Romantic Icon: The Religious Context of Friedrich Overbeck’s ‘Italia und Germania.’” American Philosophical Society, 2007. ISBN 0871699753. http://dianepub.wordpress.com/2010/06/30/lionel-gossman-making-of-a-romantic-icon-the-religious-context-of-friedrich-overbeck%E2%80%99s-italia-und-germaniaamerican-philosophical-society-transaction-97-5-isbn-0871699753/ - Lionel GossmanLionel GossmanLionel Gossman is a Scottish-American scholar of French literature. He taught Romance Languages at Johns Hopkins University and Princeton University, and has written extensively on the history, theory and practice of historiography, and more recently, on aspects of German cultural...
. "Unwilling Moderns: The Nazarene Painters of the Nineteenth Century" in Nineenth-Century Art Worldwide - Volume 2, Issue 3, Autumn 2003 http://www.19thc-artworldwide.org/autumn_03/articles/goss.html