![Brixner Dom Hochaltarbild 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/95/Brixner_Dom_Hochaltarbild_2.JPG)
Michelangelo Unterberger, also Michael Angelo Unterberger and Michelangelo Unterperger (11 August 1695,
Cavalese
Cavalese (''Cavalés'' in local dialect) is a ''comune'' of 4,004 inhabitants in Trentino, northern Italy, a ski resort and the main center in the Fiemme Valley. It is part of the Magnifica Comunità di Fiemme (Magnificent Community of Fiemme) a ...
- 27 June 1758,
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
) was a
South Tyrolean
it, Provincia Autonoma di Bolzano – Alto Adige lld, Provinzia Autonoma de Balsan/Bulsan – Südtirol
, settlement_type = Autonomous area, Autonomous Provinces of Italy, province
, image_skyline = ...
painter in the
Baroque
The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
style.
Life
He was the son of a forest warden. His first studies were with
Giuseppe Alberti
Giuseppe Alberti (3 October 1664 – 3 February 1716) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period. He was born at Cavalese, in what was then Austrian Tyrol. After having studied medicine at Padua he decided to become a painter and architect. ...
in Cavalese. He completed his training with a study trip to Venice, where he worked with
Nicola Grassi.
After that, he moved to
Bolzano
Bolzano ( or ; german: Bozen, (formerly ); bar, Bozn; lld, Balsan or ) is the capital city of the province of South Tyrol in northern Italy. With a population of 108,245, Bolzano is also by far the largest city in South Tyrol and the third la ...
, where he painted a version of "The
Judgment of Solomon
The Judgement of Solomon is a story from the Hebrew Bible in which Solomon ruled between two women both claiming to be the mother of a child. Solomon revealed their true feelings and relationship to the child by suggesting the baby be cut in tw ...
" in the town hall and became a citizen in 1726.
In the years around 1730, he worked at various monasteries and churches in
Passau
Passau (; bar, label=Central Bavarian, Båssa) is a city in Lower Bavaria, Germany, also known as the Dreiflüssestadt ("City of Three Rivers") as the river Danube is joined by the Inn from the south and the Ilz from the north.
Passau's popu ...
and the lower
Inn
Inns are generally establishments or buildings where travelers can seek lodging, and usually, food and drink. Inns are typically located in the country or along a highway; before the advent of motorized transportation they also provided accommo ...
valley as an altar painter.
His paintings include a "
Baptism of Christ
The baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist is a major event in the life of Jesus which is described in the three synoptic Gospels of the New Testament (Matthew, Mark and Luke). It is considered to have taken place at Al-Maghtas (also called Beth ...
" at
Vornbach Abbey and two versions of the "
Holy Family
The Holy Family consists of the Child Jesus, the Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph. The subject became popular in art from the 1490s on, but veneration of the Holy Family was formally begun in the 17th century by Saint François de Laval, the fir ...
" at the chapel in
Schärding
Schärding ( , Bavarian name: Scharing) is a town in northern Austrian state of Upper Austria, the capital of the district of the same name, and a major port on the Inn River. Historically, it was owned by the Wittelsbach family, which reflects ...
and the parish church in
St. Florian am Inn. Several works from this period have been lost.
In 1737, he settled permanently in Vienna, establishing himself as one of the city's leading altar painters, receiving a number of commissions from the Imperial Court. From 1751 to 1754 and again from 1757 to 1758, he was the Rector of the "Imperial and Royal Court Academy of painters, sculptors and architecture" (now the
Academy of Fine Arts Vienna
The Academy of Fine Arts Vienna (german: link=no, Akademie der bildenden Künste Wien) is a public art school in Vienna, Austria.
History
The Academy of Fine Arts Vienna was founded in 1692 as a private academy modelled on the Accademia di Sa ...
).
The title "Rector Magnificus" was originally bestowed upon him in 1751 by the Empress
Maria Theresa
Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina (german: Maria Theresia; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was ruler of the Habsburg dominions from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position ''suo jure'' (in her own right). ...
.
Some of his best-known works in Vienna are at
St. Michael's Church and the dome in
St. Stephen's Cathedral.
Web Gallery of Art: BBrief biography
/ref> Often cited as his finest work is his depiction of Saint Mary's death at Brixen Cathedral. Upon his death, his valuable collection of paintings and drawings was bequeathed to his younger brother Franz Franz may refer to:
People
* Franz (given name)
* Franz (surname)
Places
* Franz (crater), a lunar crater
* Franz, Ontario, a railway junction and unorganized town in Canada
* Franz Lake, in the state of Washington, United States – see ...
, who was also a well-known painter.
In 1899, a street in Vienna's Brigittenau
Brigittenau () is the 20th district of Vienna (german: 20. Bezirk, Brigittenau). It is located north of the central districts, north of Leopoldstadt on the same island area between the Danube and the Danube Canal. Brigittenau is a heavily popul ...
district was named after him.
References
Further reading
* Hanns-Paul Ties: "Michael Angelo Unterbergers Hochaltarbild im Bergkirchlein von Donnersbachwald (Steiermark). Eine Stiftung Maria Theresias", in: ''Österreichische Zeitschrift für Kunst und Denkmalpflege'', LXV, 2011, Vol. 4, pgs.404-412
External links
ArtNet: More works by Unterberger
Michelangelo Unterberger
@ Regiowiki Niederbayern und Altötting
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Unterberger, Michelangelo
1695 births
1758 deaths
People from Cavalese
18th-century Austrian painters
18th-century Austrian male artists
Austrian male painters