A Study of Bavarian Rocaille
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Dissolving Ornament: A Study of Bavarian Rocaille Olaf Recktenwald School of Architecture McGill University, Montreal March 2016 A thesis submitted to McGill University in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy © Olaf Recktenwald 2016 To my parents Table of Contents List of Illustrations vii Abstract viii Résumé ix Acknowledgments xi Introduction 1 1. Concerning Rocaille 1.1 Introduction 9 1.2 National Considerations 11 1.3 Augsburg and Johann Esaias Nilson 17 1.4 Rocaille Theory 24 1.5 Style, Form, and Space 31 1.6 Rocaille and Rococo 45 1.7 Bavaria’s Silence 50 1.8 Eighteenth-Century Critiques 54 1.9 Nineteenth- and Twentieth-Century Critiques 75 1.10 Conclusion 84 2. Ornament and Architecture 2.1 Introduction 87 2.2 Architectural Ornament and Ancient Rhetoric 89 2.2.1 Introduction 89 2.2.2 Aristotle 97 2.2.3 Rhetorica ad Herennium 100 2.2.4 Cicero 103 2.2.5 Vitruvius 116 2.2.6 Quintilian 123 2.2.7 Tacitus 131 2.2.8 Conclusion 133 2.3 Alberti’s Interpretation of Ornament 134 2.4 Alberti’s Perspectival Frame 144 2.5 Conclusion 156 3. Nature and Architecture 3.1 Introduction 161 3.2 Biblical Cities 162 3.3 Ruins 170 3.4 Grottoes 178 3.5 Symbols 191 3.6 Conclusion 197 4. Theatricality 4.1 Introduction 199 4.2 Departure from Andrea Pozzo 200 4.3 Relation to Ferdinando Galli-Bibiena 215 4.4 Conclusion 228 Conclusion 231 Illustrations 238 Bibliography 255 List of Illustrations 1. Juste-Aurèle Meissonnier, engraving from Livre d’Ornemens, 1734. 238 2. Rütger Kassmann, Plate 29 from Architectur nach antiquitetischer Lehr und 238 geometrischer Ausstheylung, 1630. 3. John Sadler (after Johann Esaias Nilson), wall tile, 1756-57. 239 4. Johann Esaias Nilson, engraving, n.d. 239 5. Jean Mondon le fils, Le Tems de la Soirée from Les Heures du Jour, ca. 1738. 240 6. Johann Esaias Nilson, Dekorationsvorschlag für ein Postament mit Vase, 240 daneben ein junger Mann der ein Blatt mit der Aufschrift “Muschel Werck” zerreißt, ca. 1770. 7. Johanna Dorothee Philipp, engraving from Friedrich August Krubsacius, 241 Gedanken von dem Ursprunge, Wachsthume und Verfalle der Verzierungen in den schö nen Kü nsten, 1759. 8. Jean-Antoine Watteau, Woman Seen from the Back Seated on the Ground, 241 Leaning Forward, ca. 1717–18. 9. Johann Esaias Nilson, Façon Moderne d’une Porte de Jardin, n.d. 242 10. Johann Esaias Nilson, Neues Caffeehaus, between 1757 and 1761. 242 11. Gottfried Bernhard Göz, engraving, n.d. 243 12. Johann Wolfgang Baumgartner, The Cellar, 1740s. Pen and ink with wash. 243 13. Johann Esaias Nilson, Das Kartenspielen, between 1757 and 1761. 244 14. Johann Esaias Nilson, Der Frühling, n.d. 244 15. Martin Engelbrecht, Nativity Scene, n.d. Hand-colored etchings. 245 16. Exterior of Magdalenenklause, Nymphenburg, Munich, 1725-28. 245 17. Grotto Chapel at Magdalenenklause, Nymphenburg, Munich, 1725-28. 246 18. Johann Esaias Nilson, Der Jäger, n.d. 246 19. Detail of window, Käppele, Würzburg, 1745-50. 247 20. Detail of Grotto Chapel at Magdalenenklause, Nymphenburg, Munich, 247 1725-28. 21. Johann Esaias Nilson, Project d’une Grotte, ca. 1755-60. 248 22. Johann Wolfgang Baumgartner, Die Luft, n.d. 248 23. Carl Pier, engraving, n.d. 249 24. François Chauveau, engraving of the prologue for Corneille’s Andromède, 249 1650. 25. Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach, Hellbrunn rock-theater, 1721. 250 26. Franz Xaver Habermann, Das Gehör, n.d. 250 27. Detail of choir, Wieskirche, 1745-54. 251 28. Franz Xaver Habermann, engraving, n.d. 251 29. Andrea Pozzo, engraving (91st figure), Perspectiva pictorum et 252 architectorum, 1693. 30. Jeremias Wachsmuth, Der Winter, n.d. 252 31. Ferdinando Galli-Bibiena, engraving, L’Architettura Civile, 1711. 253 32. Johann Esaias Nilson, Die Hirtenmusic, n.d. 253 33. Johann Esaias Nilson, Das Bretspiel, between 1757 and 1761. 254 vii Abstract This research centers on the architecture of eighteenth-century Augsburg rocaille ornamental engravings. The dissertation investigates the significance of rocaille and interprets the meaning of that ornament’s fusion with architecture, the reasoning behind the architecture’s blending with nature, and the importance of the engravings’ theatricality. The analysis focuses on the Bavarian artist Johann Esaias Nilson, whose depictions speak effectively to these concerns. Key overall questions govern the inquiry. If architecture merges with ornament in these artworks, to what extent can that ornament still speak eloquently? How is one to understand an architecture that attempts to take on nature’s attributes? What relation does one have with the theatrical spectacles represented? Rocaille engravings demonstrate the first substantial instance in the western tradition of the dissolution of ornament’s integral connection with architecture. The dependence upon rhetoric that ornament had treasured for centuries received its most comprehensive challenge in these works. Compounding this situation was the lack of any architectural treatise to assist in verbalizing rocaille’s intentions. As a result, the interpretation of this phenomenon was left to the ensuing Enlightenment which unhesitatingly and meticulously condemned the prior era. Despite the absence of words, however, rocaille was far from meaningless. It drew from long-standing traditions and paralleled theoretical discourses and writings of the time. Its natural components were awash with symbolic meanings, and its theatrical scenes engaged current theories of stage design. Its ornamental frames allowed for unprecedented interactions between the viewer and the picture. Through its repeated intermingling with elements of architecture, of nature, and of theater, rocaille evinced a continual desire to narrate its own story. viii Résumé Cette recherche considère les gravures ornementales de type rocaille dans l’architecture du dix-huitième siècle d’Augsbourg. Nous y examinons l’importance de la rocaille et interprétons les raisonnements qui sous-tendent le choix du mélange entre architecture, ornementation et nature, ainsi que l’importance de la théâtralisation de ces gravures. Les représentations de l’artiste bavarois Johann Esaias Nilson se prêtent particulièrement bien à une telle analyse. Des questions clés influencent cette enquête. Si dans ces œuvres d’art, architecture et ornement se mélangent, dans quelle mesure l’ornement peut-il continuer de communiquer avec éloquence? Comment peut-on comprendre une architecture qui tente de se rapprocher de la nature et ses attributs? Quelle relation le public peut-il avoir avec le spectacle théâtral représenté? Les gravures de type rocaille représentent les premiers exemples notables de la séparation entre l’ornementation et l’architecture dans la tradition occidentale. Ces gravures ont mis en doute la dépendance sur la rhétorique que les ornements ont manifestée pendant des siècles. De plus, il n’y avait pas de traité d’architecture pour aider à verbaliser les intentions de la rocaille. Ainsi, l’interprétation de ce phénomène fut confiée au siècle des Lumières, qui, sans hésitation, condamna scrupuleusement l’époque passée. Toutefois, malgré son absence de mots, la rocaille était loin d’être dénué de sens. En effet, elle s’inspirait de traditions de longue date et faisait écho aux discours théoriques de son époque. Ses composantes naturelles étaient remplies de symboles, et ses scènes théâtrales s’inspiraient de théories de mise en scène de l’époque. Ses cadres ornementaux ont permis de connecter le spectateur avec l’image de manière innovante. En entremêlant des éléments ix architecturaux, naturels et théâtraux, la rocaille a fait montre d’un désir profond de raconter sa propre histoire. x Acknowledgments This dissertation owes its creation to the impassioned, encouraging, and profound guidance from Dr. Alberto Pérez-Gómez, who provided me with a true home within the program that he has long dedicated himself to. Similarly, I am more than grateful to Dr. Karsten Harries, who has given continual, generous, and inspiring mentorship over the last fifteen years and to whose own work on the rococo this research is conceptually beholden. In addition, I remain very thankful for Dr. Tove Holmes’ kind and personal tutoring and rewarding conversations on topics in German aesthetics. I am furthermore appreciative of Dr. Robert Kaster for the generosity of his time in discussions on the ancient understanding of ornament. For the research itself my indebtedness extends to the following institutions in Germany for kindly allowing me to work from their collections in person: Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Bibliothek des Deutschen Museums, Grafische Sammlung – Kunstsammlungen und Museen Augsburg, Martin von Wagner Museum der Universität Würzburg, Staatliche Graphische Sammlung München, Staats- und Stadtbibliothek Augsburg, Universitätsbibliothek der LMU München, and the Zentralinstitut für Kunstgeschichte München. Likewise, in North America, I remain obliged to the ensuing organizations for granting me personal access to their libraries and archives: Columbia University Libraries, Centre Canadien d’Architecture, Getty Research Institute, McGill University Library, Princeton University Library, UCLA Library, and the University of Washington Libraries. To my fellow classmates I express appreciation for their companionship and assistance in our numerous forums, lectures, conferences, and courses. Finally I thank my parents for their endless encouragement and my family for their constant support and patience. xi Introduction This research investigates the architecture represented