Martin Knoller (18 November 1725 – 24 July 1804) was an Austrian-Italian painter active in Italy who is remembered for his fresco work.

Biography

Born in

Steinach am Brenner Steinach am Brenner is a market town in the district of Innsbruck-Land in the Austrian state of Tyrol (state), Tyrol located south of Innsbruck in the Wipptal at the Sill River. Geography Steinach am Brenner is located in Wipptal, along the Sill R ...

near the Austrian city of

Innsbruck Innsbruck (; ) is the capital of Tyrol (federal state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the Wipptal, Wipp Valley, which provides access to the ...

, Knoller studied under Paul Troger and Michelangelo Unterberger in Salzburg and Vienna. Specializing in frescoes and altarpiece paintings, his first fresco, the Glory of St Stephen, was completed in 1754 at the parish church of Anras in East Tyrol. In 1755, he arrived in Rome where he was influenced by

Neoclassicism Neoclassicism, also spelled Neo-classicism, emerged as a Western cultural movement in the decorative arts, decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiq ...

, after studying under

Anton Raphael Mengs Anton Raphael Mengs (12 March 1728 – 29 June 1779) was a German Neoclassicism, Neoclassical painter. Early life Mengs was born on 12 March 1728, at Ústí nad Labem in the Kingdom of Bohemia, the son of Ismael Mengs, a Danish-born painter wh ...

and

Johann Joachim Winckelmann Johann Joachim Winckelmann ( ; ; 9 December 17178 June 1768) was a German art historian and archaeologist. He was a pioneering Hellenism (neoclassicism), Hellenist who first articulated the differences between Ancient Greek art, Greek, Helleni ...

. Knoller was influenced by the work of Anton von Maron. His works cover both

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

and

Rococo Rococo, less commonly Roccoco ( , ; or ), also known as Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and dramatic style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpte ...

, the latter prevailing in his paintings rather than in his frescoes. His greatest patron was Karl Joseph von Firmian, the Imperial Governor of

Lombardy The Lombardy Region (; ) is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in northern Italy and has a population of about 10 million people, constituting more than one-sixth of Italy's population. Lombardy is ...

under

Maria Theresa Maria Theresa (Maria Theresia Walburga Amalia Christina; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was the ruler of the Habsburg monarchy from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position suo jure, in her own right. She was the ...

who commissioned him to paint the Palazzo Firmian-Vigoni. From 1793, he taught at the

Brera Academy The Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera (), also known as the or Brera Academy, is a state-run tertiary public academy of fine arts in Milan, Italy. It shares its history, and its main building, with the Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan's main public mu ...

of Fine Arts in

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

where he died on 24 July 1804, aged 78, in

."Knoller, Martin"
''Web Gallery of Art''. Retrieved 12 September 2012. Among his pupils was Giuseppe Mazzola.

Works

Frescoes: *Anras Church, East Tyrol (1754) *Karlskirche, Volders near Innsbruck (1765) * Ettal Abbey near

Oberammergau Oberammergau is a municipality in the district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, in Bavaria, Germany. The small town on the Ammer River is known for its woodcarvers and woodcarvings, for its NATO School, and around the world for its 380-year tradition of ...

(1769) * Neresheim Abbey (1770–1775) *Gries bei Bozen Abbey (1772–1775) *

Palazzo Belgioioso The Palazzo Belgioioso (also spelled ''Belgiojoso'') is a palatial residence in the northern Italian city of Milan, completed in 1781 in a Neoclassical architecture, Neoclassical style by Giuseppe Piermarini. Considered to be one of Milan's archi ...

, Milan (1781) *Taxis Palais, Innsbruck (1785–1786) Altarpieces: *Karlkirche, Volders *Servitenkirche, Innsbruck *Parish church of Steinach am Brenner *''St George and the Dragon'', Deutschhauskirche,

Bolzano Bolzano ( ; ; or ) is the capital city of South Tyrol (officially the province of Bolzano), Northern Italy. With a population of 108,245, Bolzano is also by far the largest city in South Tyrol and the third largest in historical Tyrol. The ...

References

Bibliography

*Karl Weiß, ''Knoller, Martin''. In:

Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB; ) is one of the most important and comprehensive biographical reference works in the German language. It was published by the Historical Commission of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences between 1875 and 1912 in 56 volumes, printed in Lei ...

(ADB). Vol 16, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1882, p. 321–323. *Hanns-Paul Ties, ''Paul Troger, seine Schüler, seine Zeit. Neufunde und Neuzuschreibungen zur Tiroler Barockmalerei'', in: Der Schlern, Zeitschrift für Südtiroler Landeskunde, 86, No. 7/8 2012, p. 143 et seq.

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Knoller, Martin 18th-century Italian painters Italian male painters 19th-century Italian painters 18th-century Austrian painters 18th-century Austrian male artists Austrian male painters 19th-century Austrian painters 19th-century Austrian male artists Academic staff of Brera Academy 1725 births 1804 deaths Catholic painters 19th-century Italian male artists 18th-century Italian male artists