 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|
|
|
|||||
|
 |
 |
Biography of Balthasar NeumannName: Balthasar NeumannBirth Date: January, 1687 Death Date: July 18, 1753 Place of Birth: Eger, Germany Nationality: German Gender: Male Occupations: architect Balthasar Neumann The German architect Balthasar Neumann (1687-1753) created some of the finest baroque buildings of the 18th century for the Schönborn family in central Germany, notably the Residenz in Würzburg and the church of Vierzehnheiligen.In the great flowering of the arts which took place in central Europe during the early decades of the 18th century, it was largely in the field of architecture that the most famous achievements were made. The greatest architect of the time, it is acknowledged, was Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach of Vienna. His spiritual heir was Balthasar Neumann, who, working for the powerful Schönborn family, key figures at the imperial court and rulers of several important principalities within the Holy Roman Empire and passionate builders all, was provided with almost limitless possibilities to display his talents.Neumann was born in January 1687 at Eger (Erlau) in Bohemia, the son of a …showed first 150 words…
…showed last 150 words…built a glass factory and a mirror factory (1733), and taught military and civil engineering at the University of Würzburg.Neumann was fairly prosperous, the owner of vineyards and a fine country house. Although under the less splendid successors of the Schönborn bishops he was not always able to build as he would have wished, he continued to concern himself until his death with plans for great palaces, complete with vast and complex stairways, such as his designs for the Hofburg in Vienna (1747) and the palaces at Stuttgart (1747, 1749, 1750) and Karlsruhe (1749), none of which were executed. He died, a colonel, in Würzburg on July 18, 1753. Further Reading The only literature on Neumann in English is contained in Nicolas Powell, From Baroque to Rococo (1959); John Bourke, Baroque Churches of Central Europe (1962); Eberhard Hempel, Baroque Art and Architecture in Central Europe (1965); and Henry-Russell Hitchcock, Rococo Architecture in Southern Germany (1968). |