Conrad von Soest
Encyclopedia
Conrad von Soest, also Konrad in modern texts, or in Middle High German
Conrad van Sost or "von Soyst", (born around 1370 in Dortmund
; died soon after 1422. He was the most significant Westphalia
n artist and painted in the so-called soft style of International Gothic
. He played a leading role in the introduction of this International Courtly Style to Northern Germany
around 1390 and influenced German and Northern European painting into the late 15th century. He was the master of a thriving workshop and was accepted into the social circle of the cosmopolitan patrician
elite of Dortmund. Dortmund was then a leading and very prosperous member of the influential Hanseatic League
.
His main surviving works are influenced by French
illuminated manuscript
s and certain early Parisian examples of Early Netherlandish painting
; his detailed knowledge of Parisian patterns and techniques points towards a sojourn in Paris as a journeyman in the 1380s:
of Mary of 1396, Conrad von Soest lived in the Ostenhellweg
, Dortmund's principal thoroughfare. The list also refers to two other painters resident in the Ostenhellweg, Lambert and Hermann. It is unclear whether they were his journeymen, living in his house, or masters presiding over their own workshops in the same street.
Since 1954, the Landschaftsverband Westfalen-Lippe (Landscape Society Westphalia-Lippe) has awarded the Konrad-von-Soest Price for Visual Arts
, endowed with 12,800 euro
s.
Middle High German
Middle High German , abbreviated MHG , is the term used for the period in the history of the German language between 1050 and 1350. It is preceded by Old High German and followed by Early New High German...
Conrad van Sost or "von Soyst", (born around 1370 in Dortmund
Dortmund
Dortmund is a city in Germany. It is located in the Bundesland of North Rhine-Westphalia, in the Ruhr area. Its population of 585,045 makes it the 7th largest city in Germany and the 34th largest in the European Union....
; died soon after 1422. He was the most significant Westphalia
Westphalia
Westphalia is a region in Germany, centred on the cities of Arnsberg, Bielefeld, Dortmund, Minden and Münster.Westphalia is roughly the region between the rivers Rhine and Weser, located north and south of the Ruhr River. No exact definition of borders can be given, because the name "Westphalia"...
n artist and painted in the so-called soft style of International Gothic
International Gothic
International Gothic is a phase of Gothic art which developed in Burgundy, Bohemia, France and northern Italy in the late 14th century and early 15th century...
. He played a leading role in the introduction of this International Courtly Style to Northern Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
around 1390 and influenced German and Northern European painting into the late 15th century. He was the master of a thriving workshop and was accepted into the social circle of the cosmopolitan patrician
Patricianship
Patricianship, the quality of belonging to a patriciate, began in the ancient world, where cities such as Ancient Rome had a class of patrician families whose members were the only people allowed to exercise many political functions...
elite of Dortmund. Dortmund was then a leading and very prosperous member of the influential Hanseatic League
Hanseatic League
The Hanseatic League was an economic alliance of trading cities and their merchant guilds that dominated trade along the coast of Northern Europe...
.
Works
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
illuminated manuscript
Illuminated manuscript
An illuminated manuscript is a manuscript in which the text is supplemented by the addition of decoration, such as decorated initials, borders and miniature illustrations...
s and certain early Parisian examples of Early Netherlandish painting
Early Netherlandish painting
Early Netherlandish painting refers to the work of artists active in the Low Countries during the 15th- and early 16th-century Northern renaissance, especially in the flourishing Burgundian cities of Bruges and Ghent...
; his detailed knowledge of Parisian patterns and techniques points towards a sojourn in Paris as a journeyman in the 1380s:
- Niederwildungen Altarpiece, a CrucifixionCrucifixionCrucifixion is an ancient method of painful execution in which the condemned person is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross and left to hang until dead...
AltarpieceAltarpieceAn altarpiece is a picture or relief representing a religious subject and suspended in a frame behind the altar of a church. The altarpiece is often made up of two or more separate panels created using a technique known as panel painting. It is then called a diptych, triptych or polyptych for two,...
in the protestantProtestantismProtestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
Stadtkirche of Bad WildungenBad WildungenBad Wildungen is a state-run spa and a small town in Waldeck-Frankenberg district in Hesse, Germany. It is located on the German Framework Road.-Geography:-Location:...
: large winged altarpiece, originally dated 1403. It shows scenes from the Life of the Virgin and the Passion of Christ (and seems to contain the oldest depiction of glasses north of the AlpsAlpsThe Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....
. A contemporary local chronicle (rubbed condition) is written on the reverse side of the central panel. The predella is missing. - Panel from a small portable altarpiece for the Dortmund family of Berswordt with a depiction of "St. Paul" and with "Reinoldus" as a knight on the reverse side, dateable to 1404, Alte PinakothekAlte PinakothekThe Alte Pinakothek is an art museum situated in the Kunstareal in Munich, Germany. It is one of the oldest galleries in the world and houses one of the most famous collections of Old Master paintings...
MunichMunichMunich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat... - Two small panels, showing "St. Odilia" and "St. Dorothea", painted around 1410, Westf. Landesmusem Münster.
- Marienaltar, a large tryptych with scenes from the Life of the Virgin, in the Marienkirche at Dortmund, dateable to around 1420. The three panels have been cut in 1720 to fit into a huge baroque framework but are now reassembled in a modern framework. The lunette and predella of the altarpiece are lost.
- attributed: Nikolaustafel, a panel showing St. Nikolas, Nikolai Chapel at Soest.;
Life
Sources
The surviving documents relevant to Conrad von Soest are:- A, now rubbed, inscription of his name (and the date 1403) on the wooden frame of the Niederwilungen Altarpiece;
- A hidden signature was discovered in the Dortmund altarpiece by Rolf Fritz in the 1850s
- References to the family name in the Dortmund's Register of New Citizens: "Wernerus pictor" who became a citizen in 1331, "Wernerus pictor de Sosato" , naturalised in 1348; furthermore, a "hinricus de Sosato", profession decaurator (gilderGilderGilder may refer to :* A craftsman who performs gilding* A character in the video game Skies of Arcadia; see Skies of Arcadia characters.* A program by MDY designed to assist players in World of Warcraft in collecting in game valuables.-People:...
), naturalised in 1306; - a marriage contract with Gertrude van Munster, dated 11.2.1394 (see below);
- his name appears in membership lists of Marienbruderschaften (Confraternities of St. Mary) in Dortmund: of St. Marien in 1396 as "Conrad meler et uxor" ("Conrad painter and wife"), resident in the main street, the Osterhellweg, as well as of St. Nikolai in 1396 as "Mester Conrad, meler"(master Conrad, painter). The last listing of his name in these membership lists appears in 1422.
- a painter 'Gerhard von Soyst' (Soest), a very prosperous member of the Cologne painters' guild, is recorded in 1417 as liable to additional wealth tax. As the name is not common and the profession ran in families, it seems reasonable to surmise that Gerhard was Conrad's son. It is interesting in this respect to note that the so-called Master of St. Veronica (Meister der hl. Veronika) was familiar with Conrad's workshop practices and patterns.
Citizen of Dortmund
As the name 'Conrad von Soest' does not appear in the list of new citizens and as his marriage contract was written in the form reserved for Dortmund citizens, he was clearly born to a Dortmund family.Marriage contract
The marriage contract ("Morgensprache"), made before witnesses, between "Conrad von Soest" and "Gertrude, daughter of Lambertes van Munster", is dated February 11, 1349. The couple was able to dispose of a considerably sum each in this contract. Another unusual aspect of the contract is the number and quality of the witnesses: 6 members of the cosmopolitan, prosperous and well-educated patriciate of Dortmund, among them the second mayor of the current council, Herrmann Klepping, the tertiary council member, Detmar Klepping, and both mayors already elected for the following council year, Arnd Sudermann and Lambert Berswordt. The wealth of the groom and the eminent witnesses may well indicate that this was a second marriage. (A master had to marry before he could open his own workshop and it would then have taken a while to earn such wealth).Painter of Dortmund
According to the membership list of the ConfraternityConfraternity
A confraternity is normally a Roman Catholic or Orthodox organization of lay people created for the purpose of promoting special works of Christian charity or piety, and approved by the Church hierarchy...
of Mary of 1396, Conrad von Soest lived in the Ostenhellweg
Hellweg
In the Middle Ages the Hellweg was an ancient east-west route through Germany, the main corridor from the Rhine east to the mountains of the Teutoburger Wald, reaching from Duisburg, at the confluence of the Rhine and Ruhr rivers, to Paderborn, with the slopes of the Sauerland to its south.In the...
, Dortmund's principal thoroughfare. The list also refers to two other painters resident in the Ostenhellweg, Lambert and Hermann. It is unclear whether they were his journeymen, living in his house, or masters presiding over their own workshops in the same street.
Since 1954, the Landschaftsverband Westfalen-Lippe (Landscape Society Westphalia-Lippe) has awarded the Konrad-von-Soest Price for Visual Arts
Visual arts
The visual arts are art forms that create works which are primarily visual in nature, such as ceramics, drawing, painting, sculpture, printmaking, design, crafts, and often modern visual arts and architecture...
, endowed with 12,800 euro
Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
s.
External links
Literature
- Horst Appuhn: "St. Marien in Dortmund", in: Konrad Lorenz, Die Ev. St. Marienkirche zu Dortmund, published by the Mariengemeinde, Dortmund 1981, pp. 18–47 (German)
- Brigitte Buberl (ed.): Conrad von Soest : neue Forschungen über den Maler und die Kulturgeschichte der Zeit um 1400 (Essay collection on the occasion of the symposium of the same title in 2001); Gütersloh : Verl. für Regionalgeschichte, 2004, ISBN 3-89534-521-0 (German)
- Brigitte Corley: Conrad von Soest, Maler unter Fuerstlichen Kaufherren, Berlin (Gebr. Mann), 2000, ISBN 3786122938 (German)
- Brigitte Corley: Conrad von Soest: Painter Among Merchant Princes (Harvey Miller Publishers), London 1996, ISBN 1872501583
- Brigitte Corley: "Painting and Patronage in Cologne, 1300-1500", (Harvey Miller Publishers), Turnhout 2000, ISBN 1872501516
- Arthur Engelbert: Conrad von Soest. Ein Maler um 1400, ISBN 3883752223 (German) for a postmodern interpretation and excellent photographs
- Rolf Friz: "Conrad von Soest als Zeichner", Westfalen 31, 1953, pp.. 10-18 (German); and a number of other excellent publications by this author
- Thomas Schilp and Barbara Welzel (ed.), Dortmund und Conrad von Soest im spätmittelalterlichen Europa, Bielefeld (Verlag für Regionalgeschichte) 2004, ISSN 1612-8648, ISBN 3-89534-533-4 (German)
- Alfred Stange: Conrad von Soest, Königstein i. Ts: Langewiesche, (1966)
- Luise von Winterfeld, "Meister Konrad von Soest, ein geborener Dortmunder Bürger und andere Dortmunder Maler", in: Beiträge zur Geschichte Dortmunds und der Grafschaft Mark 32, 1925, pp. 141–145 (German)
- Luise von Winterfeld, "Kleine Beiträge zu Konrad von Soest", in: Beiträge zur Geschichte Dortmunds und der Grafschaft Mark 47, 1948, pp. 5–23 (German)