Cosmas Damian Asam (29 September 1686 – 10 May 1739) was a German painter and architect during the late Baroque period.[1] Born in Benediktbeuern, he lived in Rome from 1711 to 1713 to study at the Accademia di San Luca with Carlo Maratta.[1] In 1713, Asam won the Academy's first prize for his drawing of Miracle of Saint Pio.[1] In Germany, he worked with his brother Egid Quirin, a sculptor and stucco worker, on building and decorating entirely new churches (such as the Asam Church in Munich) or redesigning churches in the Baroque style (RegensburgBenedictine Monastery Church of St. Emmeram).[1] Their joint projects are often attributed to the "Asam Brothers". Cosmas Damian died in Munich.

Cosmas Damian Asam
Cosmas Damian Asam in front of ceiling fresco inside Weltenburg Abbey
Born(1686-09-29)September 29, 1686
DiedMay 10, 1739(1739-05-10) (aged 52)
NationalityGerman
StyleBaroque
Interior of the Asam Church in Munich

Major works edit

 
Window over the high altar in the Asamkirche
 
Triumph of Apollo on ceiling of the Schloss (castle) in Alteglofsheim near Regensburg (1730)
 
Ceiling painting showing the Triumph of Benedict of Nursia in Weingarten Abbey

The Asam Brothers, singularly and together, were very prolific artists. They typically worked for Benedictine monasteries, though they occasionally took secular commissions.[1] Cosmas Damian's altar depicting The Vision of St. Benedict in WeltenburgMonastery Church of St. George and St. Martin is thought to be the first realistic depiction of a solar eclipse in Western art history.[2] Some of the major works of Cosmas Damian are the following.

Bavaria edit

Baden-Württemberg edit

Austria edit

  • Innsbruck—Dom zu St. Jakob (Innsbruck Cathedral) (ceiling frescoes on the life of St. James) (1722–1723)
  • Innsbruck—Landtagssaal (State Parliament Hall) in the Alte Landhaus (ceiling and wall frescoes) (1725–1728)

Poland edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e "Asam, Cosmas Damian". Allgemeines Künstlerlexikon. K. G. Saur. 2016. Retrieved 2016-09-06.
  2. ^ Olson, R. J. M. & Pasachoff, J. M. (2011). "Blinded by the Light: Solar Eclipses in Art-Science, Symbolism, and Spectacle". The Inspiration of Astronomical Phenomena Vi. 441: 205. Bibcode:2011ASPC..441..205O. Retrieved 2016-09-06.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)