Roman Anton Boos (28 February 1733 (?) in Bischofswang, near Roßhaupten - 19 December 1810,

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

) was a German sculptor.

Biography

He was born into a family of farmers. Despite being unlettered, his father recognized his son's talent and obtained an apprenticeship for him with the sculptor Anton Sturm. It is unclear if he remained there until Sturm's death in 1757, but the year 1760 found him in the workshop of

Johann Baptist Straub Johann Baptist Straub (1 June 1704 (baptism) – 15 July 1784) was a German Rococo sculptor. Biography Straub was born in Wiesensteig, into a family of sculptors. His father Johann George Straub and his brothers Philipp Jakob, Joseph, and ...

in Munich, where he stayed intermittently until 1769. He also attended classes at the

Academy of Fine Arts Vienna The Academy of Fine Arts Vienna (german: link=no, Akademie der bildenden Künste Wien) is a public art school in Vienna, Austria. History The Academy of Fine Arts Vienna was founded in 1692 as a private academy modelled on the Accademia di Sa ...

, and completed his studies at the Municipal Academy in

Augsburg Augsburg (; bar , Augschburg , links=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swabian_German , label=Swabian German, , ) is a city in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, around west of Bavarian capital Munich. It is a university town and regional seat of the ...

In 1769, he returned to Munich and completed his first known commission; figures of Ludwig der Strenge and Ludwig der Bayer for Fürstenfeld Abbey. The following year saw the establishment of a private drawing school under the aegis of Elector Maximilian III. Together with the school's other founders, Franz Ignaz Oefele and

Franz Xaver Feuchtmayer Franz Xaver Feuchtmayer (the Elder) (1698–1763) was a German Baroque stucco plasterer of the Wessobrunner School. Feuchtmayer was born in Wessobrunn, Bavaria. A member of the famous Feuchtmayer family, he was the son of Michael Feuchtmay ...

, he hoped to free Bavaria from its dependence on foreign schools and art teachers. He would later become a Professor at the Munich Art Academy. For the next fifteen years, he was primarily employed by the Electoral Court, securing a position as the official Court Sculptor in 1774, at a salary of 300 Florins. His first assignment was a figure of

Amphitrite In ancient Greek mythology, Amphitrite (; grc-gre, Ἀμφιτρίτη, Amphitrítē) was the goddess of the sea, the queen of the sea, and the wife of Poseidon. She was a daughter of Nereus and Doris (or Oceanus and Tethys).Roman, L., & Ro ...

, one of several to be placed in the Nymphenburg Palace Gardens but, due to conflicting commitments (and a death) involving the other sculptors, he actually provided nine statues; a project which occupied him until 1785. During this time (in 1777) he married the daughter of his former teacher, Straub, and moved in with the family. From 1788 to 1798, he created a dozen vases with mythological scenes to set up between the statues and executed several commissions for sacred works at a number of churches.

Career in decline

However, his church sculptures didn't bring him the anticipated public commissions and he began to suffer financially, turning to smaller works (grave memorials and the like) to make ends meet. Several proposals to restore and improve statuary belonging to the government were rejected. Eventually (in 1802), a fund was established whereby Johann Christian von Mannlich, Director of the

Alte Pinakothek The Alte Pinakothek (, ''Old Pinakothek'') is an art museum located in the Kunstareal area in Munich, Germany. It is one of the oldest galleries in the world and houses a significant collection of Old Master paintings. The name Alte (Old) Pi ...

, could employ Boos to do work at selected public parks or government buildings, but the sum allotted was too low and he ended by cleaning and repairing statues that he had created at the Nymphenburg Palace twenty years before. In 1805, he failed to be chosen for a project involving large figures for two fountains at the former Capuchin burial grounds, effectively ending his career. More disgrace was to follow. In 1806, he was replaced as head of the sculpture class at the Academy. When the new Royal Academy of Fine Arts was established in 1808, his participation was not even sought. It is probably not a coincidence that his troubles began shortly after the death of Elector Karl Theodor, who was notorious for being more interested in art and philosophy than politics, but there seems to be no reason why his successor, Maximilian Joseph would have had any grievances against Boos. He died in 1810 and is interred in a tomb with his wife Theresa Amalia (who died in 1816) at the Alter Südfriedhof

Selected major works

* 1767–1768: Four statues of saints for the façade of the

Theatine Church, Munich , image = MünchenTheatinerkirche a.jpg , pushpin map = Bavaria#Germany , pushpin label position = top , coordinates = , location = Salvatorplatz 2aMunich, Bavaria , country ...

. * 1770: Figure of

John of Nepomuk John of Nepomuk (or John Nepomucene) ( cs, Jan Nepomucký; german: Johannes Nepomuk; la, Ioannes Nepomucenus) ( 1345 – 20 March 1393) was the saint of Bohemia (Czech Republic) who was drowned in the Vltava river at the behest of Wenceslaus ...

, for the fountain in front of the Jesuit College. In 1804, the fountain was demolished and the statue moved to the Mariahilfplatz. It was destroyed in 1944. * 1775-1785: Statues in the Nymphenburg Palace Gardens: Amphitrite (1775), after a design by Charles de Grof (1712-1774).

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Roman god of war. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin at ...

and

Pallas Athene Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarded as the patron and protectress of v ...

(1777), after plaster models by

Ignaz Günther Ignaz Günther (22 November 1725 – 27 June 1775) was a German sculptor and woodcarver working in the Bavarian Rococo tradition. He was born in Altmannstein, where he received his earliest training from his father, then studied in Munich und ...

. Mercury and

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never f ...

(1780).

Bacchus In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, myth, Dionysus (; grc, wikt:Διόνυσος, Διόνυσος ) is the god of the grape-harvest, winemaking, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstas ...

and

Ceres Ceres most commonly refers to: * Ceres (dwarf planet), the largest asteroid * Ceres (mythology), the Roman goddess of agriculture Ceres may also refer to: Places Brazil * Ceres, Goiás, Brazil * Ceres Microregion, in north-central Goiás ...

(1782).

Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label= Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label ...

and Diana (1785). * 1779–1781: Eight figure groups representing the Labors of Hercules in the northern niche of the Hofgarten Arcade; after paintings by

Peter Candid Peter de Witte, known in Italy as Pietro Candido and in Bavaria as Peter Candid (c. 1548 – 1628) was a Flemish-born Mannerist painter, tapestry designer and draughtsman active in Italy and Bavaria. * 1786–1798: Twelve decorative marble vases on mythological themes for the Nymphenburg Palace Gardens. * 1790: Larger than life

Crucifix A crucifix (from Latin ''cruci fixus'' meaning "(one) fixed to a cross") is a cross with an image of Jesus on it, as distinct from a bare cross. The representation of Jesus himself on the cross is referred to in English as the ''corpus'' (Lati ...

for the

pilgrimage church A pilgrimage church (german: Wallfahrtskirche) is a church to which pilgrimages are regularly made, or a church along a pilgrimage route, like the Way of St. James, that is visited by pilgrims. Pilgrimage churches are often located by the grave ...

Wemding Wemding () is a town in the Donau-Ries district of Bavaria, Germany. Wemding is situated on the edge of the Ries meteorite crater in the Geopark Ries. Wemding is the location of the ''Zeitpyramide'' ( Time pyramid), a public art work begun in 1 ...

. * 1791: Crucifix and pulpit for the parish church in Hörgertshausen. * 1796: Figures of the Four Evangelists for the parish church of St. Phillip and Jakob in

Altötting Altötting (, Bavarian: ; ''Oidäding'') is a town in Bavaria, capital of the district Altötting of Germany. For 500 years it has been the scene of religious pilgrimages by Catholics in honor of Mary, including a visit by Pope John Paul II i ...

Statues from the Nymphenburg Palace Gardens

File:Nymphenburg-Statue-12a.jpg, ''Apollo'' File:Nymphenburg-Statue-6.jpg, ''Ceres'' File:Nymphenburg-Statue-8a.jpg, ''Diana'' File:Nymphenburg-Statue-7.jpg, ''Venus'' File:Nymphenburg-Statue-9.jpg, ''Mercury''

References

External links