Johann Heinrich Schönfeld (1609–1684) was a German painter in the
Baroque
The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...
style.
Biography
He was the son of Johann Baptist Schönfeld (?-1635); a
goldsmith
A goldsmith is a Metalworking, metalworker who specializes in working with gold and other precious metals. Modern goldsmiths mainly specialize in jewelry-making but historically, they have also made cutlery, silverware, platter (dishware), plat ...
. From birth, he was blind in his left eye and could only use his right hand for simple tasks, so he was not trained as a goldsmith, as would have otherwise been the case. Instead, he received lessons in painting from in
Memmingen
Memmingen (; Swabian German, Swabian: ''Memmenge'') is a town in Swabia (Bavaria), Swabia, Bavaria, Germany. It is the economic, educational and administrative centre of the Danube-Iller region. To the west the town is flanked by the Iller, the ...
. Later, he took study trips to
Stuttgart
Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...
and
Basel
Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...
.
In 1633, at the height of the
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...
, he fled to Italy. Originally, he lived in Rome, then moved to Naples around 1649. After a brief stay in
Dresden
Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...
he returned home in 1651. The following year, in Pfuhl (near
Ulm
Ulm () is the sixth-largest city of the southwestern German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with around 129,000 inhabitants, it is Germany's 60th-largest city.
Ulm is located on the eastern edges of the Swabian Jura mountain range, on the up ...
) he married Anna Elisabetha Strauß. They had eight children together. Shortly after their marriage, they moved to
Augsburg
Augsburg ( , ; ; ) is a city in the Bavaria, Bavarian part of Swabia, Germany, around west of the Bavarian capital Munich. It is a College town, university town and the regional seat of the Swabia (administrative region), Swabia with a well ...
, where he became a citizen and a member of the Master's Guild.
In the following years, he created many church paintings; notably at
Würzburg Cathedral
Würzburg Cathedral () is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Würzburg in Bavaria, Germany, dedicated to Saint Kilian. It is the seat of the Bishop of Würzburg and has served as the burial place for the Prince-Bishops of Würzburg for hundreds of ye ...
, where he painted Christ carrying the Cross and a likeness of Saint
Leonard of Noblac
Leonard of Noblac (also Leonard of Limoges or Leonard of Noblet; also known as Lienard, Linhart, Lenart, Leonhard, Léonard, Leonardo, Annard; died 559) is a Franks, Frankish saint closely associated with the town and abbey of Saint-Léonard-de- ...
. Both paintings burned during the
bombing of Würzburg in World War II.
[Stefan Kummer: "Architektur und bildende Kunst von den Anfängen der Renaissance bis zum Ausgang des Barock." In: Ulrich Wagner (Ed.): ''Geschichte der Stadt Würzburg.'' Vol.2, ''Vom Bauernkrieg 1525 bis zum Übergang an das Königreich Bayern 1814.'' Theiss, Stuttgart 2004, ] In addition to religious works, he painted mythological and
genre
Genre () is any style or form of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other fo ...
scenes.
One of his best-known students was
Johann Schmidtner.
References
Further reading
* Herbert Pée: ''Johann Heinrich Schönfeld. Bilder, Zeichnungen, Graphik''. Museum Ulm, Ulm 1967 (Exhibition catalog, Ulm, Museum Ulm, 2. July – 17. September 1967).
* Ursula Zeller (Ed.): ''Johann Heinrich Schönfeld – Welt der Götter, Heiligen und Heldenmythen''. DuMont, Köln 2009, (Exhibition catalog, Friedrichshafen, Zeppelin Museum, 16. October 2009 – 7. February 2010).
* Christof Trepesch (Ed.): ''Maler von Welt. Johann Heinrich Schönfeld im Bestand der Kunstsammlungen und Museen Augsburg''.
Deutscher Kunstverlag
The Deutscher Kunstverlag (DKV) is an educational publishing house with offices in Berlin and Munich. The publisher specializes in books about art, cultural history, architecture
Architecture is the art and technique of designing and bu ...
, Berlin 2010, (Exhibition catalog, Augsburg, Schaezlerpalais, 10. July – 17. October 2010).
External links
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Biography@ the Augsburger-Gedenktage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schonfeld, Johann Heinrich
1609 births
1684 deaths
People from Biberach an der Riss
17th-century German painters
German male painters
Baroque painters