Joseph Matthias Hubertus Goebbels (19 March 1836 – 6 September 1911) was a German

Catholic Priest The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the Holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in layman's terms ''priest'' refers only ...

and artist. Goebbels served as a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

priest at the Church of Sankt Maria im Kapitol in

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...

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 ...

and became a noted painter of church interiors. He was born in Baesweiler and his father was from

Aldenhoven Aldenhoven () is a municipality in the district of Düren in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located approximately 5 km south-west of Jülich, 5 km north of Eschweiler and 20 km north-east of Aachen Aache ...

Works

Goebbels painted in the

historicist Historicism is an approach to explaining the existence of phenomena, especially social and cultural practices (including ideas and beliefs), by studying their history, that is, by studying the process by which they came about. The term is widely u ...

style of the

Nazarene movement The epithet Nazarene was adopted by a group of early 19th-century German Romantic painters who aimed to revive spirituality in art. The name Nazarene came from a term of derision used against them for their affectation of a biblical manner of c ...

and decorated the walls of more than 20 churches in the

Rhineland The Rhineland (german: Rheinland; french: Rhénanie; nl, Rijnland; ksh, Rhingland; Latinised name: ''Rhenania'') is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly its middle section. Term Historically, the Rhinelands ...

region. The interiors of Rolduc Abbey near

Kerkrade Kerkrade ( Ripuarian: ; li, Kirkraoj; german: Kerkrade or ''Kirchrath'') is a town and a municipality in the southeast of Limburg; the southernmost province of the Netherlands. It forms part of the Parkstad Limburg agglomeration. Kerkrade is the ...

, Netherlands are considered his masterpiece. Many of his paintings are no longer extant today, however well-preserved examples can be found near Rolduc, in particular at St. Briktius in Oekoven-Rommerskirchen ''(pictured)'' and at the former Marienborn Monastery (german: Kloster Marienborn) in the village of Hoven near Zülpich,

. He was also commissioned to paint the wings on the late Gothic altarpiece at Antwerp Cathedral with pictures from the life of Jesus.

Legacy

In appreciation of his services, in 1892 he was appointed Canon (priest), Canon at Aachen Cathedral, Aachen Minster. Although a tomb in Aachen was built for him, his wishes were to be buried in his birthplace, so he is instead buried in Baesweiler cemetery. In the spring of 2007, a town square in front of the cemetery was named after him.Klaus Hardering: "Kirchenmann und Kirchenmaler: Der Aachener Domkanoniker Matthias Goebbels." In: Schriftenreihe Baesweiler Geschichtsverein 1/2010, pp. 2-82

References

Literature

* Klaus Hardering: ''Die Abteikirche von Klosterrath: Baugeschichte und Bedeutung = De Abdijkerk te Rolduc.'' Utrecht: Clavis, 1998. (Clavis kunsthistorische monografieen; 18) * Anke Twachtmann-Schlichter: ''Matthias Goebbels: Dekorationsmalerei und Kirchenrestaurierung im 19. Jahrhundert in Köln.'' Hildesheim; Zürich; New York: Olms 1994 (Studien zur Kunstgeschichte ; Bd. 89) Zugl.: Münster (Westfalen), Univ., Diss., 1992

External links

* 1836 births 1911 deaths People from Aachen (district) 19th-century German Roman Catholic priests Nazarene painters {{DEFAULTSORT:Goebbels, Matthias