Johann Joseph Würth, also known as Jan Josef Würth (2 April 1706, in
Vienna – 30 September 1767, in Vienna) was an Austrian
silversmith of the late baroque period. He is best known for the silver tomb with statues on the grave of
John of Nepomuk in
Prague.
Life
Coming from a famous family of silversmiths, he was able to enter the Viennese guild of goldsmiths, silversmiths and jewellers as a master in 1726, without practice. He worked above all on ecclesiastic silver, such as
monstrance
A monstrance, also known as an ostensorium (or an ostensory), is a vessel used in Roman Catholic, Old Catholic, High Church Lutheran and Anglican churches for the display on an altar of some object of piety, such as the consecrated Eucharistic Sa ...
s,
chalices or mass trays, often decorated with precious stones.
His master work was the silver tomb with statues on the grave of Saint
John of Nepomuk in
St. Vitus Cathedral in
Prague Castle.
He hammered out the silver using wooden models by Italian sculptor
Antonio Corradini. It took him two years (1735 - 1736), his helpers were
Georg Rafael Donner
Georg Rafael Donner (24 May 1693 – 15 February 1741) was one of the most prolific Austrian sculptors of the 18th century. His style was baroque with some pseudo-ancient additions. He educated many German sculptors of his era, including hi ...
and . The three all worked together in Prague on the tomb, because moving such a large work in wood would be too expensive. The resulting piece on St John's grave is the largest ecclesiastic silverwork in Central Europe that surviving the
Napoleonic wars.
Later he worked for the
pilgrimage church of the
Virgin Mary in
Mariazell,
Styria
Styria (german: Steiermark ; Serbo-Croatian and sl, ; hu, Stájerország) is a state (''Bundesland'') in the southeast of Austria. With an area of , Styria is the second largest state of Austria, after Lower Austria. Styria is bordered to ...
, and erected there a silver altar, and bulkhead with grille. Between 1751 - 1754 he was elected the first chairman of the Viennese guild and later senior guild master.
Work
* Silver tomb with statues upon the grave of
John of Nepomuk in
Prague, (1735-1736)
* Sun
monstrance
A monstrance, also known as an ostensorium (or an ostensory), is a vessel used in Roman Catholic, Old Catholic, High Church Lutheran and Anglican churches for the display on an altar of some object of piety, such as the consecrated Eucharistic Sa ...
for the
St. Stephan cathedral in Vienna (1751), now in the Cathedral and Diocesan Museum in Vienna,
* Silver altar in the church of
Mariazell in Austria.
Literature
* Waltraud NEUWIRTH: ''Wiener Silber Punzierung 1524 - 1780''. Vienna 2004, pp. 300–301.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wurth, Johann Joseph
1706 births
Goldsmiths
1767 deaths
Silversmiths