Page 14 - Gallery 19C Nazarenes Catalogues
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Lukasbrüder and Nazarenes                              embarked on a quest for origins. In art, he found those in the Italian
                                                                   trecento, in a Pinturicchio, Perugino and Raphael; in faith, however, in
            Among the original cohort, Johann Friedrich Overbeck and    the Roman Catholic Church. In 1813, he left his native Protestantism
            Franz Pforr were the unchallenged leaders. “You are our priest,”    behind and converted. This was a bold, indeed a scandalous step
            a mesmerized Joseph Sutter exclaimed to Overbeck, “and Pforr is   in an age that considered leaving one Christian denomination for
            our master. Religion and wisdom guide us through you, dearest ones,   another close to treason. And Overbeck would not be the only one.
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            accompanied with the blessing of heaven.”   Unfortunately, neither   Even before joining the Lukasbund, Veit, the grandson of arguably
            he nor the other three recruits were particularly capable, and the   the most important Jewish philosopher of the Enlightenment, Moses
            fraternity’s future would have looked rather dim if it had not been for   Mendelssohn (1729–1786), had undertaken the same step in 1810, and
            an unexpected influx of great talent. Once in Rome, the Lukasbund   when Schadow went to Assisi in 1814 to come to terms with his faith, he,
            quickly grew. In 1812, Peter Cornelius (1783–1867) took the oath,   too, returned as a Catholic convert. At the years went on, the theme of
            followed by Philipp Veit (1793–1877) in 1816 and, a year later and from   conversion lost nothing of its urgency, least for the artists themselves.
            afar, by Ferdinand Olivier (1785–1841), his younger brother, Friedrich   In the meantime, the nickname stuck. When the Lukasbund’s
            (1791–1859), and the exceptional Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld   artistic practices gained momentum beyond the confines of their
            (1794–1872). And here, we also meet Wilhelm Schadow again, who   brotherhood, a movement was born; its members: The Nazarenes.
            had travelled to Rome in 1811 with his brother, Rudolf (1786–1822).
            Given his artistic outlook and religious sensibility he seems almost   Thus, only the members of the brotherhood first founded in Vienna in
            predestined to become a Lukasbruder, and in 1813, the Berlin painter   1809 were Lukasbrüder (German singular, Lukasbruder); yet together,
            indeed joined the group. By then, Cornelius had taken the place of   they were also the originary Nazareni. Subsequently, however, that
            the prematurely deceased Pforr as the fraternity’s new master.  12  term “Nazarene” emancipated itself from its specific origins in early
                                                                   19 -century Rome. It swiftly became the general designation for a
                                                                     th
            With the final cast assembled it is time to say a word about the   certain style of modern revivalism. Several of its potent variations
            ensuing transition from close, sworn-in fraternity to an international   are traced in these pages, which, however, cannot give an exhaustive
            movement, and from the specific designation Lukasbund to the   account of the movement. Nazarene art would go on to thrive far into
            general term Nazarenes. This is where the Romans come in.   the 20  century, while their model of an artists collective, fashioned
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                                                                   after a medieval guild or even a monastic order, would inspire others,
            Heading South, the fraternity had simply followed in the footsteps
            of endless generations of Northern artists before them. Yet their   from the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood in England to the Beuron
            path differed notably from that of their immediate Neoclassicist   Art School, which, as part of the Benedictine order, would not only
            predecessors. Their pilgrimage did not lead to the treasure trove of   create murals across the globe, from Italy to the Czech Republic,
            antiquity but to Christianity’s holy sites, their destiny was not Caesar’s   from Brazil to the United States, but also influence Gustav Klimt and
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            empire, but the Pope’s dominion. Once arrived in the Eternal City,   the Vienna Secession.   The art of the Lukasbund hit the mark, and
            the expatriates quickly became a target of mockery. Under the heat   by 1830, the Nazarenes had eclipsed their German rivals, and this
            of the Southern sun, they appeared strangely gloomy, from their pale   includes the now-famous Caspar David Friedrich (1774–1840). This
            complexion to the German cloaks they wore with patriotic pride and   was particularly true in terms of an international recognition. When
            anti-Napoleonic fervor. The Italians were particularly bewildered by   the French, for example, finally discovered the école allemande, they
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            the Lukasbrüder’s unfashionable coiffure that, with the hair worn long   associated it almost exclusively with the Nazarene movement.
            and parted in the middle, imitated Christ’s appearance. Amused, the
            Romans gave the new arrivals the nickname I Nazareni. This nickname
            seemed the more appropriate as the Germans’ pilgrimage South was
            as much driven by artistic as spiritual needs, and with far-reaching
            consequences. Pursuing Truth in art and faith alike, Overbeck had




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