Der Fels der Kirche (Hinterglasbild)

Stadtmuseum Kaufbeuren

Description

The stained-glass picture "The Rock of the Church" is modelled after an engraving from Protestant popular graphic prints of the early eighteenth century. In this case, the print had been made by the draughtsman Gottfried Rogg (1669-1742) and by an engraver with the initials E.B.a.H. The depiction is dominated by a rock crowned by a church. In front of the rock hangs a crucifix at the foot of which is shown an open book with a portrait of Martin Luther (1483-1546) on one of its pages. Left and right of the rock, stand the Swedish King Gustav Adolf (1594-1632, r. 1611-1632) and another ruler who according to the text in a cartouche was going to be successor of Gustav Adolf. On the lower rim of the image, the rulers depicted are called in a caption Gustav Adolf and Karl XII (1682-1718). Karl XII, from 1697 King of Sweden, was a staunch Protestant and guaranteed the Lutherans in Silesia once again free exercise of their religion. On this stained-glass picture, the Lutheran church is therefore logically presented under the protection of these two rulers. The stained glass picture explicitly reveals itself as a Protestant confessional image which served at the same time the aim of religious edification and as demarcation from Catholicism. The Protestant stained glass pictures were created during the eighteenth century within the context of the numerous inter-confessional conflicts taking place within the bi-confessional imperial city of Kaufbeuren.

Author

Susanne Sagner / Petra Weber

Rights Statement Description

RR-F