Gabriel Mälesskircher, or Mäleßkircher (; ) was a German painter; active in Southern

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

. He was a representative of the "Second Munich School of Painting".

Life and work

Part of his apprenticeship period may have been spent in the Netherlands. He is documented as having been in Munich after 1461. He served several terms as the head of the Guild of St. Luke (painter's guild) and became a member of the city council in 1469. He was elected the Zweiter Bürgermeister (assistant mayor) in 1485. That same year, he purchased the on the

Starnberger See Lake Starnberg, or ''Starnberger See'' ) — called Lake Würm or ''Würmsee'' until 1962 — is Germany's second-largest body of fresh water, having great depth, and fifth-largest Lake, lake by area. It and its surroundings lie in three differen ...

.Ernst Götz (Ed.):

Georg Dehio Georg Gottfried Julius Dehio (22 November 1850 – 21 March 1932), was a Baltic German art historian. In 1900, Dehio started the "''Handbuch der deutschen Kunstgeschichte''" (Handbook of German Art History), published by Ernst Wasmuth Verlag, ...

(creator): ''Handbuch der deutschen Kunstdenkmäler, Bayern IV: München und Oberbayern'', 2006,

Deutscher Kunstverlag The Deutscher Kunstverlag (DKV) is an educational publishing house with offices in Berlin and Munich. The publisher specializes in books about art, cultural history, architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and bu ...

Munich/Berlin, pg. 568, The Mäleßkircherstraße in the Daglfing district of Munich is named after him. Much of his work was done on behalf of

Tegernsee Abbey Tegernsee Abbey ( German ''Kloster Tegernsee'' or ''Abtei Tegernsee'') is a former Benedictine monastery in the town and district of Tegernsee in Bavaria. Both the abbey and the town that grew up around it are named after the Tegernsee, the lake ...

, because around 1450 he married Anna Ayrenschmalz, the sister of its Abbott, Konrad Ayrenschmalz (died 1492). Thirteen altarpieces created for the abbey (now in various museums) are considered to be his most important works. This includes scenes from the lives of the

Four Evangelists In Christian tradition, the Four Evangelists are Matthew the Apostle, Matthew, Mark the Evangelist, Mark, Luke the Evangelist, Luke, and John the Evangelist, John, the authors attributed with the creation of the four canonical Gospel accounts ...

, now at the

Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza The Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum (, ; named after its founder, Baron Heinrich Thyssen, Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza), or simply the Thyssen, is an art museum in Madrid, Spain, located near the Museo del Prado, Prado Museum on one of the city ...

in Madrid. He also worked for and

Rottenbuch Abbey Rottenbuch Abbey () in Rottenbuch was founded as an Augustinian monastery in 1073 on land granted by Duke Welf I of Bavaria and his wife Judith of Flanders (died 1095), Judith of Flanders. The Abbey church was constructed between 1085 and 1125 i ...

. His workshop was very productive and, at one time, included

Michael Wolgemut Michael Wolgemut (formerly spelt ''Wohlgemuth''; 143430 November 1519) was a German painter and printmaker, who ran a workshop in Nuremberg. He is best known as having taught the young Albrecht Dürer. The importance of Wolgemut as an artist rests ...

, of

Nuremberg Nuremberg (, ; ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the Franconia#Towns and cities, largest city in Franconia, the List of cities in Bavaria by population, second-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Bav ...

, who would become the teacher of

Albrecht Dürer Albrecht Dürer ( , ;; 21 May 1471 – 6 April 1528),Müller, Peter O. (1993) ''Substantiv-Derivation in Den Schriften Albrecht Dürers'', Walter de Gruyter. . sometimes spelled in English as Durer or Duerer, was a German painter, Old master prin ...

. In 1470, documents indicate that he received a major commission from

Sigismund, Duke of Bavaria Sigismund of Bavaria (26 July 1439 – 1 February 1501) was a member of the Wittelsbach dynasty. He ruled as Duke of Bavaria-Munich from 1460 to 1467, and then as Duke of Bavaria-Dachau until his death. Biography Sigismund was the third son of ...

, which is believed to have been for work at Fürstenfeld Abbey. Much of his major work from 1474 to 1479 may be seen in the Galerie Schloss Schleißheim, the Bayerische Nationalmuseum and the

Alte Pinakothek The Alte Pinakothek (, ''Old Pinakothek'') is an art museum located in the Kunstareal area in Munich, Germany. It is one of the oldest galleries in the world and houses a significant collection of Old Master paintings. The name Alte (Old) Pin ...

. He died in Munich during an outbreak of the plague. After his death, the workshop passed to his son, Caspar, who had been operating it since about 1485, when his father's health began to decline.

Scenes from the Lives of the Evangelists (1478)

File:Gabriel Malesskircher 1478.jpg, From left to right: St. Matthew, St. Matthew taming the dragons,

St. Mark Mark the Evangelist ( Koinē Greek: Μᾶρκος, romanized: ''Mârkos''), also known as John Mark ( Koinē Greek: Ἰωάννης Μᾶρκος, romanized: ''Iōánnēs Mârkos;'' Aramaic'': ܝܘܚܢܢ, romanized: Yōḥannān'') or Saint Mark ...

, Martyrdom of St. Mark, St. Luke, St. Luke painting the Virgin,
St. John, The miracle of the hosts at St.John's tomb

References

External links

*
Biography
@ the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza

{{DEFAULTSORT:Malesskircher, Gabriel 15th-century births 1490s deaths Year of birth uncertain Year of death uncertain Religious art 15th-century German painters Painters from Munich

Life and work

Scenes from the Lives of the Evangelists (1478)

References

Further reading

External links