Zanth, Karl Ludwig von, Ansicht der Wilhelma von 1855

Karl Ludwig Wilhelm Zanth, from 1844 von Zanth, also ''Zandt'' (6 August 1796 – 7 October 1857) was a German architect,

architecture critic Architecture criticism is the critique of architecture. Everyday criticism relates to published or broadcast critiques of buildings, whether completed or not, both in terms of news and other criteria. In many cases, criticism amounts to an assessmen ...

and watercolor painter.

Life and career

Born in Breslau, Zanth was the son of the Jewish doctor Abraham Zadig, who was in the service of the Prince of Hohenlohe-Ingelfingen. The father converted to Christianity in 1820 and the family took the name "Zanth". Ludwig Zanth attended the art and building school in Breslau. In 1808, the family moved to

Kassel Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel and the district of the same name and had 201,048 inhabitants in December 2020 ...

. Thanks to a

scholarship A scholarship is a form of financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, diversity and inclusion, athletic skill, and financial need. Scholarsh ...

from the

Kingdom of Westphalia The Kingdom of Westphalia was a kingdom in Germany, with a population of 2.6 million, that existed from 1807 to 1813. It included territory in Hesse and other parts of present-day Germany. While formally independent, it was a vassal state of the ...

, Zanth was able to attend the École polymatique and the Lycée Bonaparte in Paris in the summer and autumn of 1813. At the end of 1813, his father sent his son to Stuttgart, where he completed his school education, especially in the classical languages Latin and Greek, at the Gymnasium. Subsequently, Zanth completed an apprenticeship in the architectural office of the court

master builder A master builder or master mason is a central figure leading construction projects in pre-modern times (a precursor to the modern architect and engineer). Historically, the term has generally referred to "the head of a construction project in the ...

Ferdinand von Fischer. After stays in

Schwäbisch Hall Schwäbisch Hall (; "Swabian Hall"; from 1802 until 1934 and colloquially: ''Hall'' ) is a city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg located in the valley of the Kocher river, the longest tributary (together with its headwater Lein) of the ...

Ellwangen Ellwangen an der Jagst, officially Ellwangen (Jagst), in common use simply Ellwangen () is a town in the district of Ostalbkreis in the east of Baden-Württemberg in Germany. It is situated about north of Aalen. Ellwangen has 25,000 inhabitants. ...

and Paris, where he contributed to two theatre buildings and converted from the Protestant faith to Catholicism, he settled as an architect in Stuttgart in 1831. There he was responsible for the interior design of the Wilhelm Palais, which was built from 1834 to 1840. King

Wilhelm I William I or Wilhelm I (german: Wilhelm Friedrich Ludwig; 22 March 1797 – 9 March 1888) was King of Prussia from 2 January 1861 and German Emperor from 18 January 1871 until his death in 1888. A member of the House of Hohenzollern, he was the f ...

had this magnificent building, constructed in the

classical style Classical architecture usually denotes architecture which is more or less consciously derived from the principles of Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, or sometimes even more specifically, from the works of the Roman architect V ...

, built for his daughters Marie and Sophie. In 1835, Zanth entered the competition for the construction of a new Royal Court Theatre in Stuttgart. However, the project was not realised. In 1835/36 he planned a house for in

Heilbronn Heilbronn () is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in northern Baden-Württemberg, Germany, surrounded by Heilbronn (district), Heilbronn District. With over 126,000 residents, it is the sixth-largest city in the state. From the late Mid ...

, in 1836/37 the for and in 1838 a country house for . In the same year, he drew up the plans for the Wilhelma Theatre in

Bad Cannstatt Bad Cannstatt, also called Cannstatt (until July 23, 1933) or Kannstadt (until 1900), is one of the outer stadtbezirke, or city boroughs, of Stuttgart in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Bad Cannstatt is the oldest and most populous of Stuttgart's b ...

, a building in the style of the French Renaissance with painting in the "Pompeian" style, which was completed in 1840. Subsequently, King Wilhelm I of Württemberg entrusted him with the planning and execution of a

public bath Public baths originated when most people in population centers did not have access to private bathing facilities. Though termed "public", they have often been restricted according to gender, religious affiliation, personal membership, and other cr ...

in the midst of exotic greenhouses and parks in the immediate vicinity of the ''Wilhelma Theatre''. From 1843 onwards, Zanth planned the

Moorish style Moorish Revival or Neo-Moorish is one of the exotic revival architectural styles that were adopted by architects of Europe and the Americas in the wake of Romanticist Orientalism. It reached the height of its popularity after the mid-19th centu ...

complex, which was named ''Wilhelma'' on the king's instructions, today the name of the zoological-botanical garden located there. It was inaugurated as the in 1846."Alles, alles, dem König und uns"
Monumente - Magazin für Denkmalkultur in Deutschland, October 2011, retrieved 6 June 2021. The magnificent building was such a success that the architect produced a large-format portfolio of coloured drawings about it. King Wilhelm I of Württemberg appointed him ''Court Architect'' and awarded him the Knight's Cross of the Order of the Crown in 1844. This was connected with his elevation to the personal nobility. The architect was also a talented draughtsman. A still preserved watercolour in the bears witness to his talent. Zanth died in

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...

at the age of 59 and found his final resting place in the . However, the inscription on his gravestone has weathered beyond recognition.

Publications

* with Jacques Ignace Hittorff: ''Architecture antique de la Sicile ou recueil des plus intéressans monumens d'architecture des villes et des lieux les plus remarquables de la Sicile ancienne, mesurés et dessinés par J. Hittorff et L. Zanth.'' Paris

827 __FORCETOC__ Year 827 ( DCCCXXVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * June 14 – Euphemius, exiled Byzantine admiral, asks for t ...

br>Numerized
. * with Jacques Ignace Hittorff: ''Architecture moderne de la Sicile ou Recueil des plus beaux monumens religieux et des édifices publics et particuliers les plus remarquables de la Sicile, mesurés et dessinés par J. J. Hittorf et L. Zanth Architectes.'' Paris 1835. * with Jacques Ignace Hittorff: ''Architecture antique de la Sicile. Recueil des monumens de Ségeste et de Sélinonte, mesurés et dessinés par J.-I. Hittorff & L. Zanth, Texte avec un atlas de 89 planches.'' Paris 1870
Numerized
* ''Die Wilhelma. Maurische Villa Seiner Majestät des Königes Wilhelm von Württemberg. Entworfen und ausgeführt von Ludwig von Zanth.'' Autenrieth’sche Kunsthandlung, Stuttgart 1855–1856
Numerized
.

References

External links

*
Exhibition in Stuttgart

Karl Ludwig Wilhelm von Zanth und die Wilhelma – zum 200. Geburtstag des Architekten
(PDF; 112 kB) {{DEFAULTSORT:Zanth, Ludwig von 19th-century German architects 19th-century German painters 19th-century German male artists Architectural theoreticians Architects from Stuttgart 1796 births 1857 deaths People from Wrocław

Life and career

Publications

References

Further reading

External links