Joseph Furttenbach the Elder (30 December 1591 – 17 January 1667) was a German

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, structure, space, models, and change. History On ...

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the limit ...

and

diarist A diary is a written or audiovisual record with discrete entries arranged by date reporting on what has happened over the course of a day or other period. Diaries have traditionally been handwritten but are now also often digital. A personal d ...

Biography

Joseph Furttenbach was born in Leutkirch,

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. From 1607/08 to 1620 he stayed in Italy (especially in Milan, Genoa and Florence). There he did an apprenticeship as a merchant under the supervision of his uncles. Moreover, he studied engineering, military architecture and grew an interest in

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

and stage design while abroad. Through his travels he made detailed accounts of buildings that interested him as well as festivals, processions and dramatic performances. In three of his books he wrote expositions on

scenery Theatrical scenery is that which is used as a setting for a theatrical production. Scenery may be just about anything, from a single chair to an elaborately re-created street, no matter how large or how small, whether the item was custom-made or ...

and

lighting Lighting or illumination is the deliberate use of light to achieve practical or aesthetic effects. Lighting includes the use of both artificial light sources like lamps and light fixtures, as well as natural illumination by capturing daylig ...

for the theatre. He is only second to Nicola Sabbatini as one of the most extensive accounts of backstage practices during the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...

. After his stay in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, he moved back to Germany and settled in

Ulm Ulm () is a city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Danube on the border with Bavaria. The city, which has an estimated population of more than 126,000 (2018), forms an urban district of its own (german: link=no, ...

. There, he had a successful career as an

and universal

. He designs included a hospital, a waterworks system, a schoolhouse, a theatre, and homes. He was eventually named city architect of Ulm, wrote many books, and served on the city council. His cabinet of curiosities was one of the most famous in Germany. A pious Lutheran, Furttenbach was at the same time an important cultural broker between Baroque Italy and Southern Germany. Image:Furttenbach Architectura Navalis frontispiece 1629.jpg, tFrontispiece of Furttenbach's 1629 ''Architectura Navalis'' Image:Furttenbach Feuerwerk.jpg, Part of a painting by J. Furttenbach: ''Feuerwerkh, welches Herr Johann Kouhn, den 26. Augusti Anno 1644 in seinem garten uff dem word, hat abgehen lassen'' (1645)

Sources

* Nicoll, Allardyce, John H. McDowell, and George R. Kernodle, trans. ''The Renaissance Stage; Documents of Serlio, Sabbattini and Furttenbach''. Ed. Barnard Hewitt. Coral Gables, Florida: University of Miami, 1958. Print. * Joseph Furttenbach, ''Lebenslauff 1652-1664'', critical edition of his diary, ed. by Kaspar von Greyerz, Kim Siebenhüner and Roberto Zaugg, Böhlau, Cologne, 2013.

External links

Index of published and unpublished writings of Joseph Furttenbach
{{DEFAULTSORT:Furttenbach, Joseph 1591 births 1667 deaths German diarists 17th-century German architects 17th-century German mathematicians German male non-fiction writers