Hans Georg Asam - Die Vierzehn Nothelfer
auction 385, Lot 134
FINE ART AND ANTIQUES
on 25 September 2019
Hans Georg Asam
Die Vierzehn Nothelfer
Differenzbesteuerung
Asam, Hans Georg
The Fourteen Holy Helpers
Signed lower centre and dated 1706. Oil on canvas. 177 x 93 cm. Relined. Restored. Minor damage to frame.
Formerly an altarpiece in the second right side chapel in the pilgrimage church Maria Hilf on the Mariahilfberg in Amberg.
During the plague in 1634, the citizens of Amberg vowed to build a votive chapel, which was presented with a painting of the Blessed Virgin Mary (after Lucas Cranachs famous painting, which is now in the cathedral in Innsbruck). After the original chapel fell victim to a fire, the construction of the current chapel Maria Hilf began in 1697, according to plans drawn by Wolfgang Dientzenhofer.
Hans Georg Asam, father of Cosmas Damian and Egid Quirin Asam, who together shaped Bavarian Art in the 18th Century, was a student of Nikolaus Prugger in Munich. From 1681 he is known to have been working in Benediktbeuern, this period was followed by a longer stay in Italy. From 1688 to 1694 he can be traced working in Tegernsee, then Munich again and finally from 1700 in the Upper Palatinate. During the course of his career Hans Georg Asam became one of the first painters of large-scale ceiling frescos in Germany. The present altarpiece is an example of Asams mature work, having honed his skills. His son Cosmas Damian went on to paint the ceiling frescos of the pilgrimage church Maria Hilf from 1716 onwards.
The pictorial theme of the "Fourteen Holy Helpers" has its origins in southern Germany. The cult surrounding the fourteen specially venerated saints first came to great prominence with the completion of the pilgrimage church of the "Vierzehnheiligen" at Bad Staffelstein. A chapel on this spot was consecrated dating as far back as 1448. The worship and observance of the Fourteen Holy Helpers extended north as far as Upper Palatinate.
Provenance: - Weinmüller, Munich, Auction 133, 10-12 March 1971, lot 1218 - South German private collection.
