German Baroque Artists
17th Century Painters, Sculptors, Architects, Printmakers, in Germany.
Encyclopedia of Irish and World Art - HOMEPAGE

Detail from the Equestrian statue of
Frederick the Great (1703). By one of
the great German Baroque sculptors
Andreas Schluter (1664-1714).

German Baroque Artists (c.1600-1700)

The Baroque Movement

The dramatic style of Baroque art - affecting architecture, sculpture, painting, and the decorative arts - was centred on Rome, therefore countries like England, Germany and France were to some extent on the periphery of Baroque art theory and practice.

Indeed, the Baroque style of art had relatively little impact on the fine art of Northern Europe, except for Spanish-ruled Flanders. Even the vibrant genre-painting of neighbouring Holland was little influenced by the Baroque School.

See: List of German Baroque Artists.

THE BAROQUE ERA
For a list of the major painters
and sculptors from this period/
movement, see these resources:
French Baroque Artists
Italian Baroque Artists
Dutch Realist Artists
Spanish Baroque Artists

PAINTING COLOURS
For details of colour painting
pigments and hues used by
French Baroque painters,
see: Renaissance Colour Palette,
and 18th Century Colour Palette.

GREAT EUROPEAN PAINTERS
For biographies and paintings
of the greatest artists in Europe
from the Renaissance to 1800,
see: Old Masters: Top 100.

ARTISTS SINCE 1800
For details of the best modern
painters, since 1800, see:
Famous Painters.

EVOLUTION OF VISUAL ART
For details of art movements
and styles, see: History of Art.
For the chronology and dates
of key events in the evolution
of visual arts around the world
see: History of Art Timeline.

WORLD'S GREATEST ARTWORKS
For a list of the Top 10 painters/
sculptors: Best Artists of All Time.

Painters and Sculptors

In Germany, Baroque art did not arrive until after the debilitating Thirty Years War (1618-48), which was fought largely in German towns and principalities, causing immense suffering and commercial dislocation. Except for Frederick the Great, Protestant northern Germany had few patrons of the arts. Even in southern Germany, the main application of the Baroque arts was in architecture. As a result, most 17th century German painting and sculpture was derivative of developments elsewhere. Indeed, compiling a list of the best German Baroque artists is not easy, even though there were some exceptional individuals working during the period. These included the early 17th century German Mannerist/Baroque painters Hans (Johann) Rottenhammer (1564-1625), Adam Elsheimer (1578-1610), Johann Liss (1597-1631), Joachim von Sandrart (1606-88), and the later sculptor Andreas Schluter (1664-1714).

Architects

German Baroque architects were more active, especially in central and Southern Germany. In fact the last flowering of Baroque architecture was in Catholic southern Germany and Austria, whose architects seized the opportunity to move away from Italian models during the 1720s. Notable examples include ornate churches, abbeys and palaces designed by J.L. von Hildebrandt, the Asam brothers, J.B Fischer von Erlach, Balthasar Neumann and others. Notable examples of German Baroque architecture include the Bavarian Baroque church in the Benedictine Ottobeuren, St. John Nepomuk Church, called Asam Church in Munich, the Weltenburg monastery, and Ettal Abbey. Baroque religious architecture is also exemplified by the Frauenkirche in Dresden, designed by George Bahr, and the Basilica of the Vierzehnheiligen in Upper Franconia.

PAINTING
For more about the history
of oils, acrylics, watercolour
and other types of painting,
as well as famous painters,
see: Fine Art Painting.
For the history of oils,
see: Oil Painting.

17TH CENTURY PAINTING
See: Baroque Portraits.

SCULPTURE
For information about the
"plastic arts" and 3-D works
in bronze, stone and clay,
along with biographies of
famous sculptors, see:
Sculpture Art.

BEST WORKS OF SCULPTURE
For a list of the world's top 100
3-D artworks, by the best sculptors
in the history of art, see:
Greatest Sculptures Ever.

BEST SCULPTORS
For a list of the world's most
talented 3-D artists, see:
Greatest Sculptors.

EVOLUTION OF SCULPTURE
For details of the origins and
development of the plastic arts
see: History of Sculpture.

MEANING OF ART
For a discussion of the types,
values, and significance of the
visual arts, see: Definition of Art.

Major Baroque-style palaces include the Zwinger Palace in Dresden, designed by Matthaus Daniel Poppelmann (1709-1728), the Palace of Trier, and the Ludwigsburg Palace, Stuttgart - the largest Baroque Palace in Germany.

In line with the German concept of Gesamtkunstwerk ("the total work of art"), the architecture of the German government and royal houses was based on the model of the French Baroque, notably the themed royal Palace of Versailles. The finest example of Gesamtkunstwerk in action (featuring cordinated architecture, painting and sculpture) is probably the Prince-Bishop's Palace, Wurzburg. The building, designed by Johann Balthasar Neumann, the top European architect of the day, was frescoed - at the invitation of Prince Bishop Karl Philipp von Greiffenklau - by the great Giambattista Tiepolo (1696-1770). See: Baroque Architecture.

The Baroque era in Germany also witnessed the opening of the Akademie der Kunste (Prussian Academy of the Arts) in Berlin. This prestigious arts institution was founded in 1696 by Frederick the Great of Brandenburg and served (inter alia) as the arts council to the government. Its educational function eventually became the Universitat der Kunste Berlin (Berlin University of the Arts).

List of German Baroque Artists

Among the Baroque masters of painting, sculpture and other decorative and applied arts of 17th century Germany, are the following:

Christian Berentz (1658-1722) painter (Rome)
Heinrich Bollandt (1577-c. 1651) painter (Bayreuth)
Hans Conraedt Breghtel (c. 1608-1675) goldsmith (The Hague)
Johann Dientzenhofer (1663-1726) architect
Adam Elsheimer (1578-1610) painter
Johann Berhard Fischer von Erlach (1656-1723) architect
Georg Flegel (1566-1638) painter (Frankfurt)
Joachim Friess (c 1579-1620) goldsmith (Augsburg)
Matthias Greuter (1564-1638) graphic artist (Rome)
Anthonie Grill (1609-1675) goldsmith
Georg Hainz (1630-1688) painter
Johann Heiss (1640-1704) painter
Leonhard Kern (1588-1662) sculptor
Johann Konig (1586-1642) painter (Augsburg)
Hans Krumper (1570-1634) sculptor
Gottfried Libalt (c. 1610-1666) painter
Johann Liss (1597-1631) painter (Italy)
Johann Karl Loth (1632-1698) painter (Italy)
Johann Ulrich Mayr (1630-1704) painter (Augsburg)
Abraham Mignon (1640-1679) painter (Frankfurt)
Johann Balthasar Neumann (1687-1753) architect (Wurzburg/Bamberg)
Jurgen Ovens (1623-1678) painter
Christoph Paudiss (c.1625-1666) painter
Balthasar Permoser (1651-1732) Dresden sculptor
Jorg Petel (1601-1634) sculptor
Gabriel Rollenhagen (1583-1619) graphic artist (Magdeburg)
Peter Rollos the Elder (active 1619-1639) graphic artist
Philipp Peter Roos (Rosa da Tivoli) (1657-1706) painter (Rome)
Hans (Johann) Rottenhammer (1564-1625) painter
Carl Borromaus Andreas Ruthart, (1630-1703) painter
Joachim von Sandrart (1609-1688) painter
Andreas Schluter (c. 1660-1714) sculptor
Johann Heinrich Schonfeld (1609-1683) painter
Franz Werner von Tamm (1658-1724) painter
Michael Zurn (1626-1691) sculptor

• For a list of the top painters/sculptors, see: Visual Artists: Greatest.
• For biographies of established painters and sculptors in Ireland, see: Famous Irish Artists.
• For the evolution of painting and sculpture in Ireland, see: History of Irish Art.
• For information about visual arts in the 32 counties, see: Irish Art Encyclopedia.