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Hagenauer Family

Nicholas (Nikolaus, Niclas) Hagenauer (von Hagnow; Hagnower), born in Hagenau between 1445 and1486, was one of the most important Late Gothic sculptors of the upper Rhine. It is thought he worked with his brothers, contractors Veit and Paul Hagenauer, and ran an important and influential workshop, producing work that became the style for Strasbourg c. 1500. He is also presumed to be the father and teacher of Friedrich Hagenaur, one of the greatest portrait medallists of the 1520's. Nicholas was registered a citizen of Strasbourg in 1493 with evidence placing him there until 1526. His wood and stone sculptures bave been characterized as vital, raw and assertive, with particularized features also favored by Nicolas Gerhaert of Leyden, whose pupil he may have been. The faces of Nicholas's figures show penetrating powers of observation and ability to express intellectual and psychological content. Nicholas also sculpted massive drapery, which added to a sense of majestic grandeur.

One of the only works that securely bore his name, (others attributed based on style), the Corpus Christi retable (dismantled 1682) for the high altar of the Strasbourg Cathedral, is now lost. Some parts survive, including the predella figure, Lamentation over Christ, and possibly busts of two prophets. Nicholas was commissioned to carve this piece c. 1500 and his brothers, the contractors, were paid 400 Florins for the work in 1501. Fragments of wooden alterpieces for the abbey of Severn, commissioned by Bishop Albrecht of Strasbourg from Nicholas and his two brothers, also survive. But perhaps more important is the tomb for Bishop Albrecht from 1493-5, now lost, which included an accurately sculpted skeleton, known through a woodcut, foreshadowing the mix of art and science of the Renaissance.

Nicholas's most important commission and legacy, however, are the great wood carvings for the altar in the Anthonite church at Isenheim, Alsace, known as the Isenheim altarpiece. Created between 1500 and 1510, the predella shows half-length figures of Christ and the Twelve Apostles, with St Anthony enthroned, flanked by St. Jerome and St. Augustine. The figure of Jean d'Orliac, the donor, is at St. Augustines's feet. There were originally figures of a country squire and a peasant bearing a cock and piglet as offerings at St. Anthony's side, details of common life grounding the saints back to earth. The figures are carved in limewood with much of the original polychromy preserved. Detailed vegetal carvings fill the space above the canopies. The alter is perhaps best known for the paintings which were done on it's wings ten years later by Matthias Grünewald.

Debatably attributed to Nicholas are the male half-length figure (possibly a self portrait) above the entrance to St. Andrew's Chapel in the south transept of Strasbourg Cathedral, the tabernacle of Chur Cathedral and the Altar of St. Mary's Church. Major contemporary sculptors include Veit Wagner and Veit Stoss. Prominent successors include Hans Wydyz the elder. Nicholas died between 1526- 1538.

Friedrich Hagenaeur was born in Strasbourg between 1490-1500 and was active throughout all of south Germany and the lower Rhine. He trained as a sculptor in Strasbourg, presumably with Nicholas Hagenauer, thought to be his father. A renown wood-carver and among the finest medallists of the 1520s and 1530s, Friedrich was extremely prolific, producing upwards of 250 medals and their wooden models, including around 100 that bear his name, the greatest concentration between 1526 and 1532.

Friedrich left Strasbourg after 1520, working in a number of cities, including Speyer, Mainz, Frankfurt am Main, Heidelberg, Nuremburg, Salzburg and Passau, but no works from this period survive. While living in Munich and Landshut between 1525 and 1527, Friedrich executed 20 or so medals, mostly portraying members of the Munich court and bourgeoisie. His first extant medal, dating from 1525, depicts Matthäus Zaisinger, goldsmith and coin die cutter for the Bavarian court of Wilhelm IV, who may have encouraged him in medal portraiture work. Another important work from this period is the unusually large (12.4 cm) wooden medallion models of the burgermeister Sebastian Liegsalz and his wife Ursula. The two pieces, probably meant to be showpieces, and not cast , were conceived as a pair, with Liegsalz gazing at his wife. Also notable is the Portrait of Philipp, Bishop of Freising and Count Palatine. Friedrich's wood models show great accuracy and precision down to the smallest detail, achieving great admiration as works of art from his patrons and explaining why so many of them survive.

Friedrich then moved to Augsburg, creating 85 medals there, many for important patron Raymund Fugger. One exemplary work from 1527, a spare uncluttered portrait, focuses on Fugger's curly hair and full beard, with the reverse displaying an allegory of charity with a bearded man, perhaps Fugger, offering a jug and dish of fruit to five flying birds. In 1529, Friedrich created perhaps the most beautiful medal portrait of a woman from this period, Portrait of Margrete von Frundsburg (Firmian, Freudenburg), with both model and medal surviving. A full length sculpture, The Virgin and Child, from c. 1530 is attributed to Friedrich based on stylistic details from his models, and a dispute with the local Painters and Sculptor's Guild as evidence. The guild asserted he abused his situation as a medallist (a craft exempt from guild control) to take work away from sculptors: he replied that in other cities he was recognized as a free artist not subject to guild restrictions.

Leaving Augsburg in 1532, Friedrich created 15 medals of citizens of Alsace as well as his native Strasbourg, working also in Baden and Swabia. Between 1536 and 1544 he worked in Bonn and then Cologne, finding many commissions as the first important medallist to work there. Notable medals from this period include, the painter Barthels Bruyn, and Philipp Melanchthon, Martin Bucer, Kaspar Hedio and Johannes Sturm, important figures in Reformation events.

After 1536 very few works are signed and the quality appears not to match his earlier work. Other important medal portraitists of the period include Hans Schwarz and Christoph Weiditz. During the course of his career, Friedrich reduced the diameter of his models from c. 70 mm to c. 45 mm, mainly concentrating on the profile with a few half-turned faces and frontal views. He may have worked in the Netherlands after 1544, where he is thought to have died, after 1546.

Biography

Nicholas Hagenauer

Born in Hagenau between 1445 and 1486. Worked in the Alsace region, mostly in Strasbourg, often with his brothers, contractors Veit and Paul. Perhaps was a pupil of Nicholas Gerhaert of Leyden whose style he is said to continue. Ran an influential important studio and thought to be the father and teacher of renowned medallist and sculptor Friedrich Hagenauer. Known for a body of work characterized as raw, vital, and assertive. Major works include the high altar of the Strasbourg Cathedral c. 1501 and the altarpiece at Isenheim known as the Isenheim altar (1500-1510), later painted by Matthias Grünewald. Also created skeleton for the tomb of Bishop Albrecht of Strasbourg in the abbey of Saverne (Zabern), Alsace. Contemporary sculptors include Veit Wagner and Veit Stoss. Prominent successors include Hans Wydyz the elder. Died c. 1526-1538.

Friedrich Hagenaeur

Born in Strasbourg between 1490 and 1500. Thought to be the son of sculptor Nicholas Hagenauer with whom he is thought to have received his training. Renowned wood-carver and medallist, particularly known for his fine portraiture. Worked throughout south Germany and the lower Rhine, notably in Munich between 1525 and 1527 and Augsburg between 1527-1531 where he created much of his exemplary wooden models and medals. Left Augsburg in 1532 after guild dispute, creating works in Strasbourg, Alsace and Bonn and then Cologne, where he made important late career works. Contemporary medal portraitists include Hans Schwarz and Christoph Weiditz. May have worked in the Netherlands after 1544 where he died after 1546.

Selected Works

Nicholas Hagenauer

c. 1484 Tabernacle of Chur Cathedral (under debate)

c. 1486 Altar of St. Mary's Church (under debate)

c. 1493-95 Choir and tomb for Bishop Albrecht (of Strasbourg) including skeleton, Church of Notre-Dame, Saverne (Zabern), Alsace (lost)

1493-94 fragments of wooden altarpieces for the abbey of Notre-Dame, Saverne (Zabern), Alsace

1495 Half figure above portal bust, St. Andrews Chapel (possible self-portrait), Strasbourg Cathedral

c. 1501 Corpus Christi Altar for the Strasbourg Cathedral ( lost)

c. 1501 Lamentation over Christ, from the predella of the Corpus Christi Altar of Strasbourg Cathedral, (Collège Saint-Étienne, Strasbourg)

c. 1501 Two busts of Prophets, also thought to be from the predella of the Corpus Christi Altar of Strasbourg Cathedral, (Musée de l'Oeuvre Notre-Dame, Paris)

c. 1500-1510 St. Anthony, St. Augutine, and St. Jerome, central part of the Isenheim Altar (Musée d'Unterlinden, Colmar)

c. 1500-1510 Two peasants bearing offerings, part of the Isenheim Altar (private collection, Munich)

Friedrich Hagenaeur

1525 Portrait of Matthäus Zaisinger, medal (signed)

c. 1526 Portrait of Phillip, Bishop of Freising and Count Palatine, medal, and relief (SMBPK, Skulpturengalerie, Berlin)

1527 Portrait of Raymund Fugger, stone model (Maximilianmuseum, Augsburg) and medal (Staatliche Münzsammlung, Munich) (signed) Another small version of this medal is signed and dated 1527

c. 1527 Portrait of Anna Rechlinger von Horgau, boxwood model (Benediktinerabtei, Engelberg [Switzerland])

1527 Portrait of Sebastian and Ursula Liegsalz, pearwood model (Bayerisches Nationalmuseum, Munich) and medal (signed)

1529 Portrait of Margrete von Frundsburg (von Freudenburg, von Firmian), wooden model (Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nuremberg,) and medal (signed)

c. 1530 The Virgin and Child, limestone sculpture, (perhaps the reason for guild dispute in Augsburg) (Victoria and Albert Museum, London)

c. 1534 Portrait of Christoph von Nellenberg, wooden model (Staatliche Münzsammlung, Munich)

1539 Portrait of Barthel Bryn, medal

1543 Portrait(s) of Philipp Melanchthon, Martin Bucer, Kaspar Hedio, medal(s) (signed) (Bodemuseum, Berlin)

1543 Portrait of Johannes Sturm,, medal (Bayerisches Nationalmuseum, Munich)