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Warsztat Willema van den Blocke w świetle akt gdańskiego cechu murarzy, kamieniarzy i rzeźbiarzy

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Skibiński F.

Biuletyn Historii Sztuki

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2010

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vol. 72

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issue 1-2

85-92

EN

The activity of Willem van den Blocke’s sculpture workshop in Danzing and its cooperation with the guilds of masons, stonemasons, and sculptors is discussed. Archival records preserved at the State Archive in Gdansk are scrutinized.

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Architekci, budowniczowie, kamieniarze i rzeźbiarze obcego pochodzenia w Gdańsku 1550-1630. Szkic z dziejów migracji artystycznej.

100%

Skibiński F.

Biuletyn Historii Sztuki

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2015

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vol. 77

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issue 1

5-35

EN

The article focuses on the immigration of architects, master builders, stonemasons, and sculptors to modern Gdansk, one of the major centres of north-eastern Europe in view of artistic migration. Thanks to the newcomers from afar the city that was thriving and enjoyed a growing political reputation in the latter half of the 16th century became one of the leading artistic centres of the region. The paper focuses on the issues related to the chronology and major migration routes, factors enabling the integration of the immigrants, and their contribution to the transformation taking place in the art and architecture of the city as well as of the region. Sixteenth-century Gdansk offered all the conditions essential to attract architects, artists, and craftsmen related to the building crafts, even if they came from remote places, the immigration including skilled labour and necessary materials. The city authorities provided the newcomers with good working conditions, while members of the city elites constituted excellent customers. The immigrants settling in Gdansk included both newcomers from the German territories and from the Netherlands. Among the first, Hans Kramer from Dresden (in Gdansk from 1565) as well Hans Schneider von Lindau from around Lake Constance (from 1580) were outstanding figures; they were accompanied by journeymen and assistants who came from the same regions as they did. The Netherlanders began to arrive in Gdansk in the mid-century, by the end of it becoming the leading group. Among the most outstanding individuals, mention could be made of Master Ragnier from Amsterdam, Frederik Vroom from Haarlem, Paul van Doren from Antwerp (Mechelen), Willem van der Meer from Ghent, Burchardt Janssen from Zwolle, Anthonis van Obbergen from Mechelen, and the sculptor Willem van den Blocke, also from Mechelen. Next to illustrious masters, the present study also draws attention to the journeymen, previously neglected though employed in the studios of renown masters and without whom the actual extent and quality of the output in the building and sculpture ateliers would have been impossible. Many of the architects, artists, and craftsmen settled in Gdansk were related by various professional and private links, stemming sometimes from their places of descent or the centres they had been active in prior to their arrival in Gdansk. The availability of journeymen facilitated their career, since they had easier access to skilled assistants and materials necessary for executing their respective orders, as well as enabled the flow of information related to, e.g., construction projects implemented in the region. Another factor contributing to the artisans’ integration was membership in respective guilds: of bricklayers, stonemasons, and sculptors. Such membership did not only allow the artists coming from afar to legally perform their profession, but also assigned them a position in the city’s community. The artistic exchange was prompted by, among others, the movement of journeymen among various workshops. The integration of architects and engineers arriving in Gdansk was additionally facilitated by the city authorities. Highly skilled specialists present in the city boosted its prestige, enabled implementations of various construction plans, yet it first and foremost consolidated the city’s security, thus its political and economic standing. Large construction projects as well as other jobs commissioned by the authorities stimulated cooperation and exchange among the masters and their workshops. The presence of artists and architects from around Europe played a major role in shaping the art and architecture of modern Gdansk. A synthesis of various artistic traditions found its most exquisite expression in the art of Abraham van den Blocke who headed the leading sculpture and stonemason workshop active in Gdansk in the first quarter of the 17th century. The presence of skilled and experienced architects and artists of foreign descent in Gdansk additionally allowed for the external expansion of the centre. Building specialists, linked with the city, enjoyed good reputation and were often employed in other, even distant centres, which can be seen on the examples of Frederik Vroom, Hans Schneider von Lindau, Anthonis van Obbergen, or Willem van der Meer. As regards sculpture, the key role in the expansion of Gdansk was played by the studio run by Willem van den Blocke and subsequently by his son Abraham.

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Warsztat Abrahama van den Blocke i publiczne przedsięwzięcia budowlane w Gdańsku w pierwszej ćwierci XVII wieku

100%

Skibiński F.

Biuletyn Historii Sztuki

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2015

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vol. 77

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issue 2

241-265

EN

The article focuses on Abraham van den Blocke’s works carried out on Gdansk’s major public buildings in the early 17th century, the profile of his workshop, and the position he held among the Gdansk artistic and architectural circles in the early 17th century. It also provides new information on the history of the raising of Gdansk’s major edifices of the time: the Grand Armoury, Długa Street Gate, and the Artus Manor. Abraham van den Blocke was responsible, first of all, for all the architectural decoration of the buildings, and in the case of the latter two, probably also for designing their architectural look. The first facility Van den Blocke was employed for was the Grand Armoury. According to the town bills, work on it was carried out in 1605-8. Over the first period, in 1605-6, he executed the stone decoration of the gables crowned with the figures of soldiers and sphinxes. In the following years, he worked on the unpreserved interior decoration; moreover, Van den Blocke executed an architectural casing of the well in front of the building’s eastern façade. Subsequently, he was employed to raise the Długa Street Gate. As of spring 1613 until the spring of the following year, he received regular weekly payments for stonemasonry jobs. Immediately upon the completion of the Długa Street Gate, the alteration of the Artus Manor began. The preserved sources testify to the simultaneous employment of two workshops for the purpose: a building and stonemason ones, respectively headed by Hans Strakowski and Abraham van den Blocke. At the same time, some unqualified workers, supervised by Philip Schumacher, performing certain auxiliary jobs and transporting building and stonemasonry materials, were present on-site. The works on the stately southern façade of the Artus Manor lasted until the end of 1616. In the meantime, Abraham van den Blocke was busy executing the architectural and sculptural ornaments of the elevation, including figural and decorative ones. Following this, he continued the finishing works in the interiors, just like he had previously done having completed the elevation of the Grand Armoury. Van den Blocke supervised some dozen individuals, mainly stonemason journeymen as well as sculptors. The conclusions drawn from the scrutiny of town bills are later compared with the information on Abraham van den Blocke’s workshop obtained from the records of the Gdansk Guild of Masons, Stonemasons, and Sculptors. As for the number of workers, his workshop clearly exceeded other Gdansk workshops, equalling some building ones. Although in the case of the majority of journeymen there is no information available as for their professional specializations, they were predominantly stonemasons. There were relatively few journeymen and apprentices defined as sculptors, though their number exceeded equivalent figures for most other Gdansk workshops. Abraham’s workshop is also compared to the studio of his father, Willem van den Blocke, the leading sculptor of the late 16th century, whose continuator it actually was in a way. Abraham was committed to working with monumental architecture to a much greater extent than his father, therefore his workshop was clearly larger than that of his father, the latter being typically sculptural. In Willem van den Blocke’s workshop, the journeymen defined as sculptors constituted almost half of the workforce, whereas relatively few of such journeymen worked for Abraham. What is more, the son had a stronger bond with Gdansk and with the local guild. As much as Willem worked first of all for customers from outside the city, Abraham was for many years employed by members of the town elites to execute both public and private commissions. To conclude, the role of Abraham van den Blocke as an architect is tackled. Since the process of designing architecture in the then Gdansk is hard to trace, we can only suppose what was happening in this respect. Architecture designing was at the time a complex, interdisciplinary process participated by representatives of different professions. In compliance with the routine of the time, Abraham van den Blocke may have played a major role in it as a sculptor. Moreover, he may have conceived the concept of the D³uga Street Gate and the Artus Manor, two innovatory projects of the then Gdansk.

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3 Biuletyn Historii Sztuki

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Warsztat Willema van den Blocke w świetle akt gdańskiego cechu murarzy, kamieniarzy i rzeźbiarzy

Architekci, budowniczowie, kamieniarze i rzeźbiarze obcego pochodzenia w Gdańsku 1550-1630. Szkic z dziejów migracji artystycznej.

Warsztat Abrahama van den Blocke i publiczne przedsięwzięcia budowlane w Gdańsku w pierwszej ćwierci XVII wieku