Please push F11 and make sure you are in "full screen" mode. Above shows two sides of the large (100 yards on each side) square courtyard.
Pilgrims' eyes would naturally be led to this paintings when they entered the Basilica at Ettal. It's Jakob Zeiller's depiction of Louis IV -- Duke of Bavaria and Holy Roman Emperor -- receiving the statue of the Ettal Madonna and Child from an angel in Benedictine clothing. This icon would draw pilgrims in the 18th century. It helped that Ettal sat on the only decent passageway beween parts of Germany and Italy. When he established this monastery, Louis's reputation needed burnishing. At the time, he was engaged in a huge rivalry with the Avignon Pope John XXII who excommunicated Louis for setting up an anti-pope in Italy. (Catholics had tougher litmus tests for their politicians in those days.) John's excommunication was never rescinded.
Sorry for the blurriness of this picture but we were kept far away from this statue at the center of the main altar and I had to ramp up the telephoto beyond reason. We have here, of course, the miraculous Ettal Madonna given by the Emperor, Louis IV who brought it from Italy after his return from establishing Nicholas V as the Antipope. Supposedly this site was selected because the King's horse knelt on the spot and would not go further. Religious fervor or equine fatigue? Only his groom knew for sure. Made in a workshop in Pisa around 1300, this statue was originally painted but acquired vestments (as seen here) during the baroque period. Quite small, it is nearly invisible from most of the congregation's area. It was probably a gift from the city of Pisa to the Emperor, as much of Tuscany sided with Louis IV in his battles with Pope John XXII. In fact, the Antipope Nicholas V sought refuge in Pisa afterward.
Founded in 1328, this was a relative latecomer for what was to become such an important Benedictine monastery -- and it is still a major presence today with over 50 monks, a school, and a brewery. Benedictines must be self supporting. In the early 1800s, the monastery lost the farm land it needed to support itself. So today, its economic life is based upon education and beer. (Sounds like college, but not necessarily in that order.)
Let's take a look at the exterior. Although this was a monastery from the1300s, it assumed its present form pretty much during the South German baroque period when most buildings had to be rebuilt after a 1744 fire. Some buildings were later tore down but rebuilt in the early 1900s when this land was restored as a Benedictine monastery.
The exterior is a magnificent and almost symmetrical undulation of the concave and convex. Note that the towers don't match and behind the building, we see a third tower at middle right whose pup-tent roof and somber brick clash with this baroque facade. That medieval tower was supposed to have been razed when the 17th century alternations completed. From here it appears that we have three entrance doors. Stay tuned.
The large (about 100 yard by 100 yard) square is enclosed by buildings which appeared roughly like this around 1644. (The monastery was secularized, sold off in pieces in the early 1800s; some of what we see here was rebuilt in the 1900s when the Benedictines re-established their abbey here.) The present school has about 400 students who (this may sound like déjà vu to some of you) study Latin and Greek.
Here's a doorway into the cloister showing, along with the windows, the 17th century exterior.
This place has had a tough history and been invaded several times including by the Swedes in 1632 during the Thirty Years War when the Holy Roman Empire lost 20% of its population. This stubby column commemorates the Swede "visit." But the French caused more problems. Germany had been so fragmented that by 1797 it consisted of over 300 independent states -- many led by bishops and abbots. In that year, the troublemaker named Napoleon appropriated all of the Holy Roman Empire west of the Rhine. The emperor then had to compensate the nobles who lost their land -- which he did in a process called "secularization." What was owned by a bishop (or in Ettal's case by an abbot) was now given to a noble who put it to uses that would generate revenue for him. Deprived of the farmland that made them self-sufficient, the Benedictines left Ettal for a century.
Despite Luis IV's fresh new statue from Pisa, the monastery was not all that important as a pilgrimage destination during the later middle ages. But after the baroque remodeling in the 1700s, it became quite popular. Originally this was a double monastery: separate wings held monks and nuns. For a while, Knights and their wives also lived here in a third community, but that did not work out long term.
Look carefully and you will see some of the 12 buttresses that support the walls of the upper dome. These were much larger in Gothic days but got shaved down when the place went baroque. In 1709, Placidus Seiz II became abbot and served in that role for 27 years -- leading a resurgence in both intellectual activity and physical construction. What we see today is his vision implement by and Italian-trained Swiss master architect named Enrico Zuccalli.
What was a Gothic church got plastic surgery and ended up with a splendid baroque marble facade. Note that this south tower has a somewhat Bavarian onion dome top which does not match ...
...its companion tower on the north. The Swiss Henrico Zucalli was the court architect in Munich and is best known for bringing the Italian baroque into Bavaria. We saw more of his work at the end of our trip at the Nymphenburg Palace in Munich.
Most of the church was complete by 1790 although the facade was not quite done (and still isn't) . In addition, the towers would not be erected until 1853 (North tower seen here) and 1907 (south tower.) Here's a view of the sculpture facade along with a lot of blind arches. The open arch at the center of this picture appears to be a door ...
...but that's for visual impact only. The Gothic walls behind this baroque facade would be too weakened by real doors.
Here's a view of the south side of the facade with its statues and another "blind" doorway at about the middle of this picture. As we shall see, the Benedictines left around 1800 but returned a century later. By then, some of the buildings had been torn down and had to be rebuilt to recreate the mid-17th century grandeur of this large courtyard. They probably decided then to complete the south tower -- even though they didn't match its cap.
Let's take a quick look at Zuccallis's facade, visually held together by long Corinthian columns that span both stories. The main church is the twelve-sided Gothic structure offset on either side by these convex wings that join the two towers. Pilasters also span both stories and separate the niches and blind arches. Most of these statues ...
...appear to need a bit of restoration -- or at least cleaning.
Here's a last look at the Corinthian capital before we go inside.
Despite a few symmetry glitches, the exterior is quite pleasant even if Enrico Zuccalli's plan was imperfectly executed. Inside, this once-Gothic space explodes into the baroque. It's the product of Ettal's golden age under Abbot Placidus II Seiz. Luckily the place was gutted by a fire in 1744 -- providing the opportunity for some of Bavaria's best artists to deploy their craft. Besides the master architect Zuccalli, the up-and-coming sculptor Johann Baptist Straub integrated the pulpit and 6 spectacular side altars into this magnificent rotunda.
Our passage to the baroque splendor lies through the Gothic vestibule with its circa 1350 tympanum of the crucifixion, one of the few ornaments from the original church.
The kneeling woman and man at the edges are the founders of the abbey -- Holy Roman Emperor Louis IV and his second wife, Margaret of Holland.
Entering that Gothic portal, we are overwhelmed by the baroque splendor within this twelve-sided (dodecagon) main room used by the congregation. The monks have their own worship space which we see at center of the top picture. The miraculous statue that draws pilgrims (perhaps its greatest miracle) is where the tabernacle would be on the far altar. It shows here as a tiny gold sliver below the massive oil painting at center. These panoramas merge on the picture of the virgin being decapitated at lower right (or upper left). The front is dominated by the six side altars and their paintings shown at top. The back features the historic organ and two faux balconies -- all overhanging four baroque wood-and-gilt confessionals. (You may have to click on "hide captions" to see them.)
The larger circle (really a dodecagon) was the shape of the 14th century Gothic church -- quite remarkable in itself given that most were rectangular or cross-shaped. Zuccalli's master plan kept the overall shape and added the 6 side altars clinging to the left half, somewhat balanced by the four confessionals (the small protrusions from the right edges.) The organ balcony (dashed rectangle at right) faces the entrance to the monks' choir space -- the smaller oval at left which itself replaced a much smaller space in 1724 -- 20 years before the fire that gutted this space and much of the monastery. Thanks to wiki and Effi Schweizer for this plan.)
Spectacularly rising to the skies is the 80-foot-diameter dome showing the followers of St. Benedict in this southern German baroque masterpiece by the Austrian, Johann Jakob Zeiller. While twelve-sided, pilasters cover the corners, giving the appearance of a circle. Large windows flood the area with light, enhancing the feeling that we are looking up to heaven.
Note at the bottom of the Zeiller's fresco, the stucco's architectural decoration flows seamlessly into the painting. Elaborate stucco work was characteristic of the German Baroque, often learned (as is the case here) at the Benedictine abbey in Wessobrunn. Zeiller and perhaps 5 or 6 helpers completed the fresco with 431 figures in four summers. (In these days before central heating, stucco -- essentially cement -- could not cure during the winter.)
What else did we expect to find at the top of a Christian dome than the Holy Spirit, here holding the cord of the chandelier in his teeth. Zeiller probably made his living on his back as he has dozens of ceiling frescoes to his credit. His models appear well fed. The Trompe-l'œil ring around this innermost fresco is particularly effective given the distance from the viewers on the floor below.
Swirling rococo stucco garlands accent the panels that form the rotunda around this chandelier.
One of the Bavarian Rococo's most significant sculptors, Johan Baptist Straub, created 6 side altars between 1756 and 1762. These are well integrated into the stucco and other decorative features of the panel, giving the rotunda a highly consistent feel.
Master architect Zuccalli died 20 years before the fire, about the time the monks' choir finished -- but his plans lived on. Over 30 years after Zuccalli's death, Straub began his work on the altars and pulpit. But it was left to master builder and stuccoist Joseph Schmuzer to enforce Zucalli's plans. A master of the Wessobrun school (and architect of the abbey there), Schmuzer typically added swirling garlands and putti. In almost any other setting, the pulpit at center would be spectacular but it seems overwhelmed by the altars around it here.
Each side has three Straub altars with the largest at center. These "triptychs" face each other across the rotunda. Besides Schmuzer, another important artist from the Wessobrunn School contributed to the decor: Johann Georg Ueblherr. While these two stuccoed a lot of Bavarian churches, much of their baroque finishes would be destroyed when the abbeys became secularized in the early 1800s and their buildings sold for other purposes. Fortunately this space was spared that fate when it became a parish church. The center altars on each side have gilt drapery over them to heighten the swirled rococo effect. The 1794 Nativity at left is by M. Knoller whose work we'll see in a bit more detail shortly.
Johan Baptist Straub was among the first to merge sculpture seamlessly into architectural design -- one of the reasons he has been called "the father of the Bavarian Rococo sculpture." The swirling garlands of his picture frames integrate well with the shell shapes stuccoed in the walls. Note that the feminine saints depicted in oil are accompanied by female statues and vice versa. Three of the six altar paintings are by Martin Knoller; the rest were done by Munich court painters.
The oil retables on each of Straub's altars are protect by his marble sentries. Straub favored marble over gilt and so his statues typically show more ashen white accented -- but rarely overwhelmed -- by gold.
Check out the folds and the brocade.
Note that the crucifix on this altar...
...appears to be a reliquary.
Besides masterpieces in stucco and marble, the rotunda has woodcarving -- as you might expect given its German Alpine location. Let's look now at the confessionals which project from the rear panels of the rotunda.
The four confessionals are from a local woodcarving workshop of the Zwinks in Oberammergau. Ettal is almost walking distance from Oberammergau -- a long-time center for woodcarving but known outside of Germany for its passion play. Speaking of passion, the paintings on each side of the priest's box ...
...contain small oil paintings, here of the Flagellation of Christ. The Roman soldiers here apparently are having a casual Friday. These paintings might put the penitents in the appropriate mood to go and sin no more.
And beside wood, we have the requisite gilt and marble of the rococo, some of which appear to be religious and ...
... some of which do not. Note the folds in the cloth.
Let's now take a look at the organ and the two fake balconies meant to enhance its visual impact.
Johann Baptist Zimmermann's organ balcony occupies the rear 3 of the 12 panels and rests atop 4 pillars. Zimmermann was born and raised at Wessobrunn where his father and brother were also plasterers. What we think of as art, they probably viewed as a trade. Johann Georg Hoerthrich from Swabia built the organ in 1753.
The fake balconies rise over the outer two confessionals with their projecting angels. These Wessobrunn artisans were good! Stucco was putti in their hands.
Besides altars and confessionals, a few other items decorate the rotunda -- but some are a bit incongruous such as this bust of the Jesuit Rupert Mayer. This bronzed and modern Rupert faces Straub's marble rococo statue of the medieval St. Rupert's statue sitting on the base of the pulpit. (We'll see that in a few slides.) This Rupert is on track to be a saint (John Paul II beatified him in 1987). He was a leader of the Catholic Resistance to the Nazis. (The Abbey at Ettal was one of the centers of such resistance and the Nazis eventually put him under house arrest here.) An amputee from WWI and a concentration camp survivor, Mayer was felled by a stroke while saying mass on the first All Saints Day after WWII ended. The local Ratzinger boy who was drafted at age 16 into the German army and now serves as pope may move Father Rupert's cause forward. Benedict XVI's parents venerated Mayer -- and Benedict thinks Europe needs a modern saint who knew what a truly good German was.
Less incongruent but somewhat of an afterthought is this baptismal font. (A church built for monks and nuns shouldn't have much demand for a baptismal font, one would think.)
Atop John the Baptist and Jesus -- they sport gilt touches but a not the corpulent flesh of the cherubs and putti in the Wessobrunn frescoes high above them.
Let's take another look at Straub's pulpit which would be the highlight of almost any church wall were it not upstaged by his side altars here. Atop we see Archangel Michael. The canopy contains the requisite Spirited dove who will, of course, inspire the sermons. Holding up the cover from their shadows are two gilt telemans. A marble statue of St. Rupert (also by Straub) holds a statue of virgin and child that suggests the Ettal Madonna that is this church's raison d'être.
At center is a gold Nativity scene, Straub's adoration of the shepherd from around 1760. Catholics (at least baroque Catholics) have a lot gilt. Did you catch the ox at bottom, the symbol of the evangelist Luke but also suggestive of the animals in that stable depicted in the relief just above.
Archangel Michael rises atop the pulpit, stomping the hoofed devil and hurling some gilded protoplasm, perhaps a lightning bolt. We saw Luke's ox at the bottom of the pulpit. Here the edges are marked by the symbols of the evangelists whose gospels are literally amplified by this canopy which serves as a rococo megaphone. At left we have John's eagle and Matthew's angel.
We weren't allowed into the Monk's choir area but our telephoto did its somewhat shaky best.
This painting (seen in detail early in this slide show) hangs over the archway that leads into the Monks' choir. It shows an angel disguised as a Benedictine giving the Ettal Madonna to the Emperor. (In fact, it was probably a gift from the city of Pisa who had a remarkable carving school as you might remember from the Pisano's great pulpits in Pisa and Sienna. For 400 years, this statue would be the most significant sculpture in this church -- then came Straub. Below in its ornate rococo frame is a much smaller painting where the Emperor's horse picks the spot for this basilica by kneeling in front of the statue of the Ettal Madonna and refusing to go further. No shortage of stucco garlands and putti here as this is somewhat the focal point of the rotunda. The statue of the Ettal Madonna is quite small and set back on the east wall of the monks' choir -- and so is difficult for the congregation to see.
Just below the two paintings we just saw is this archway with a few trompe-l'œil effects. It leads into the Monks' choir whose domed fresco by Martin Knoller is visible at bottom.
Trained primarily in Italy, Martin Knoller also did the painting of the Assumption (namesake for this church) over the main altar set at the rear of the Monks' choir. We'll soon look at some of the gold reliefs on the bases of the Corinthian pillars. Here's a couple of questions: 1) At center is the statue of the Ettal Madonna which drew pilgrims in the 18th century after the abbey was rebuilt. Isn't it tiny! 2), Are the statues at the top of the painting's arch real or trompe-l'œil?
Since 1968, to comply with Vatican II requirements (and that other Pope named John), this altar interrupts the space between the congregation area and the monks' choir.
Gold plated reliefs (Nativity at left, the flight to Egypt at right) adorn the base of the pillars, perhaps on all four sides.
Two more, perhaps the visitation of Mary to Elizabeth at left where she sees the infant John the Baptist. At right, Gabriel and Mary at the Annunciation. This is a Mary chapel in the Basilica of the Assumption, after all.
About a half-century after the magnificent baroque restoration completed, the abbey was dissolved. All this rococo splendor was now part of a "humble" parish church. Another century went by before the Benedictines returned in the early 1900s.
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