Johann Peter Alexander Wagner
Johann Peter Alexander Wagner ( born February 26, 1730 in Obertheres; † January 7, 1809 in Würzburg ) was a German sculptor of the Rococo and early classicism. He is regarded as one of the main representatives of the Rococo sculpture in Franconia and created in the 1760s and - appointed court sculptor - in the 1770s, an extensive work of religious and secular authority.
Life
Wagner was the fourth child of the sculptor Johann Thomas Wagner (1691-1769) and the first male offspring among his five siblings. He first attended school in Obertheres, one located on the Main riverbank community about 40 kilometers west of Bamberg, and learned from his father, the sculptor crafts.
At the age of 17, he left in 1747 after a family dispute the parents' house and started the usual wandering years. He first moved to Vienna, where his uncle Johann Wagner was a resident. There he worked in the workshops of various masters, including well with his uncle as well as Balthasar Ferdinand Moll. From there his studies in 1753 led him ( according to the state of previous research well with intermediate stops in Salzburg, Munich, Switzerland and the Netherlands ) to Mannheim, where he for a time in the workshop of Paul Egell or Augustin Egell was obviously working.
After his mother (1753 ) 's death he returned to Franconia and settled no later than 1756 in Würzburg, where the Adam Friedrich had been appointed by being home to the Prince-Bishop in the previous year art-loving (two years later to the Prince-Bishop of Bamberg). Initially, Wagner worked as a journeyman by the royal sculptor Johann Wolfgang van der Auwera, who still died the same year. 1759 Wagner took over the artistic direction of the workshop ( until his death in 1766, along with Lukas van der Auwera, one of the brothers of Wolfgang van der Auwera ) and married that same year Wolfgang von Auweras widow, Maria Cordula Curé (then 35 years old, so six years older than Wagner, she was the daughter of the late 1745, coming from Paris Würzburg court sculptor Claude Curé ). After the death of his first wife he married in 1767 in Würzburg Margaretha Roessinger, witnesses were the Saline Commissioner Johann Adam Schirmer and the court architect Johann Philipp Geigel. His son Martin, (1777-1858) learned to his urging the sculpture, but later worked only as a painter. He was the art agent of King Ludwig I in Rome, was knighted by this and left his art collections of the University of Würzburg ( Martin-von -Wagner- Museum )
Although by his work for years widely renowned, appointed Prince-Bishop Adam Friedrich von Seinsheim Johann Peter Wagner until December 22, 1771 officially became court sculptor of the Prince-Bishopric of Würzburg, a position he held for 28 years. His annual salary now consisted of 40 guilders and some Maltern grain. Previously, he had been paid for the making of a statue made of sandstone in life size 16-18 dollars. Despite these relatively modest remuneration Wagner acquired by the large number of its orders in its time a quite considerable fortune. By appointment as court sculptor Wagner won the territory of the Prince-Bishopric of a de facto monopoly in particular in equipping churches. He produced not only characters, but also built complete pulpits and altar structures ( a total of around 100).
While the secularization due to the Reichsdeputationshauptschluss circuit from 1803, still during the lifetime of Wagner, numerous works from the churches and monasteries have been removed. They were scattered throughout Lower Franconia and often not reached until many years later, again at least in church premises back, but often at the original location. Many of his works can be found today in museums, notably the Mainfränkisches Museum in Würzburg (next write-ups can be found there also a signed figure group " Lamentation of Christ " from around 1780, which was rediscovered in the upper cell monastery). The Martin -von- Wagner Museum in Würzburg also keeps drawings by Johann Peter Wagner. The basis of this museum, the extensive art collection of his son, arose again from an already created by Johann Peter Wagner collection of sculptures from earlier centuries.
The elementary school of Wagner's birthplace Theres been named after him.
Style and way of working
Typical of works from Wagner's hand gesture are rich and border Figures and the bulked heavily undercut, rich folds of drapery. Often press the figures with open mouth inner motion from. His style changed from living in the rococo early work after his appointment as court sculptor - according to the will of his employer's art - especially in his secular works for quieter early classicism in order to tend towards the end of his work again more towards Rococo. Wagner worked mainly with sandstone and marble, besides also in wood and metal. The size ranges from miniatures to life-size figure groups. Before the final design of his works, he made a rule to detailed design drawings and preliminary designs (models made of clay ) to which then a grid was recorded, which was then transferred to scale on the stone block to be processed. The grid can still be seen on some models.