Enthroned Madonna with the Child on a crescent
Ascribed to Niklaus Weckmann
(mentioned as a burgher 1481- 1526)
Ulm, c. 1510
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna
http://www.khm.at/homeE3.html

Kris, E.  (1921 - 1922).  Eine Modellplakette Wenzel Jamnitzer Zur Motivverwendung in der Werkstatt der Spätrenaissance.  Archiv für Medaillen-und Plaketten-Kunde, 3-4 (3), 136-143.

Kris discusses the formal and technical aspects of two motifs in a lead relief in the Bayerisches Nationalmuseum in the attempt to attribute the work to Wenzel Jamnitzer (1508-1585) from Nürnberg. Kris goes on to note that the organic quality of the motifs are found in the works of Johann Straub (notably Meister 1568) and Peter Flötner, also from Nürnberg. In his life of Wenzel Jamnitzer, Doppelmaier indicates that Jamnitzer was the first in Nürnberg to execute work in silver and gold using a special press developed by Hans Lobsinger in order to achieve an embossed quality. Nevertheless, Kris further points to Jamnitzer’s development as a sculptor to cement the iconographic and technical aspects of the discussed relief with that of his oeuvre.

Kris, E.  (1922).  Bericht über “Bevorstehende Versteigerung” der Nachlasses der Sammlung Rudolf Reichert.  Bericht über stattgefundene Auktion 2. Teil der Sammlung Palffy. Kunstchronik und Kunstmarkt, 193-194, 287.

In these two short entries, Kris summarizes the upcoming auctions of the estate of the Vienna silk manufacturer Rudolf Reichert; the estate consisted of approximately sixty paintings characteristic of 19th - century Vienna collectors.  Representative artists included:  Ferdinand Waldmüller, Brissot, Alexandre Calame, Grützner, Sir Hubert von Herkomer, Jaques, Jettel, H. Kauffmann, Kurzbauer, Madou, H. Schmidt, Thoren and others.  An illustrated catalog of the artists was provided at the auction, which netted 3.27 million Kronen.  A brief list of representative artists, titles of paintings, and prices is provided.

Kris, E.  (1922).   Die Putten-Gruppe des Wiener Kunsthistorischen Museums.  Ein Beitrag zur Daucher Forschung.  Zeitschrift für bildende Kunst,  49-51.

Julius von Schlosser’s publication on this putto group draws parallels with the art of Swabia (ca. 1520), more specifically to the circle of Konrad Meit.  Kris offers a closer examination of the stylistic origins of the putto group based on Halm’s 1920 study on Adolf Daucher.

Kris, E., & Dworschak, F.  (1923, November-December).  Der Münzfund von St. Pölten.   Mitteilungen der Numismatischen Gesellschaft in Wien, 15.

At the end of July 1923, several objects were discovered in St. Pölten in the vicinity of the City Hall in the Heßstrasse.  The items consisted of a goblet with coins, a gold chain, and a small container made out of bronze, clay, and glass.  Dworschak provides an extensive discussion of the coins outlining the location of the site, the manner in which the items were buried, and the discovery of the coins.  He also provides a formal analysis, the date of burial and related sites as well as the coins in an historical context.  Kris gives a brief formal analysis of the gold chain indicating the lack of similar pieces to draw formal or even iconographic comparisons.  Although Kris dates the chain to the 15th century, M. Rosenberg attributes it to the beginning of the 16th century.

Kris, E.  (1923).  Georg Pencz, als Deckenmahler.  Mitteilungen der Gesellschaft für vervielfältigende Kunst Beilage der Graphischen Künste, 4, 45-53.

Kris discusses the ceiling painting in the Garden room of the Hirsch aviary in Nürnberg. Depicted is Jupiter, who rides an eagle and hurls a thunderbolt at Phaeton causing his downfall. Surrounding the scene several other gods are represented with their attributes including  Poseidon, Mars, Hercules, Bacchus, and Apollo, who is enthroned on the right. Due to the poor preservation of the architectural vaults, which had been painted over, the artistic effect has been decidedly feigned.  Although art historical scholarship from the mid-19th century attributed the work to Peter Flötner, the monogram of Georg Pencz (1500-1550) located beneath the timber vaulting now correctly identifies the ceiling painting.  Kris further notes proof of Pencz’ activity as a decorative painter in Sandrart’s Teutsche Akademie (1675), in which he mentions that Pencz painted a ceiling for Herr Volkamer’s Lustgarten.  Both were painted in oil and were not frescoes however, the foreshortened figures and architecture in the Hirsch aviary ceiling are modeled after the frescoes of Giulio Romano (1499-1506) in the Palazzo del Te in Mantua, which Pencz most likely saw. Kris also points out that Pencz’ ceiling cannot be viewed from a single viewpoint, instead, one must walk through the room.  Due to this additive feature, Kris identifies Pencz as a Mannerist. 

Kris, E.  (1923).  Die Sündenfallreliefs des Bildschnitzers J.P. Belvedere, 4 (14),  47-53.

Kris provides an extensive formal examination of four wooden reliefs in Gotha, Frankfurt on Main, and Vienna. Although one of the reliefs, signed with the monogram J.P., is based on Albrecht Dürer’s engraving Adam and Eve (1504), Kris argues that the execution of the relief is in the tradition of the Donau school, which further links the landscape elements and facial details with the styles of Albrecht Altdorfer and Lucas Cranach.

Kris, E.  (1924).  Die Bronzen der Sammlung Castiglioni. Belvedere, 5, 50-52.

Kris cites three major publications on Renaissance bronzes dating from the 15th –17th centuries by Leo Planiscig, Wilhelm Bode, and Allessandro Barsanti; he notes that the major problem in the discussion of bronzes from this period is that no two molds are identical.  The author focuses on three bronzes from the Castiglioni Collection in Vienna, which are characterized as exceptional in quality.  Based on an examination of formal elements, the first two bronzes are attributed to specific sculptors, and all are dated.  They include:  (1) Negro Venus, end of the 16th century, Alessandro Vittorias; (2) Hercules, ca. 1520, Francesco da Sant’Agata; (3) a bearded Hero, mid-5th  century B.C.

Kris, E.  (1924).  Zwei Unbekannte Werke Giovanni Minelli Dei Bardi’s. Belvedere, 5, 75-78.

Based on a formal examination of two terracotta statues of John the Baptist and Hieronymus, Kris identifies the sculptor as Giovanni Minelli dei Bardi, born in Padua in 1460. Donatello’s stay in Padua and his altar in Santo characterized by realism, most likely influenced Minelli, not only to portray nature in a realistic manner, but also to depict the spiritual character of religious figures.  Although Minelli was active until 1527, a study of his stylistic development remains incomplete.  For this reason, Minelli’s oeuvre should not be examined in relation to the classicizing elements of his Paduan contemporary Andrea Riccio (1470?-1532).

Kris, E.  (1925).  Mittelalterliche Bildwerke.  Sammlungen des kunsthistorischen Museums in Wien, 2, 3-45.

The collection of medieval works of art in the Vienna Kunsthistorisches Museum is small, and mainly constitutes the private collections of the Hapsburg princes of the 16th and 17th centuries.  Although Kris defines medieval art “for the glory of God,” he also notes its variety based on extensive formal analysis as well as the difficulty to determine a “thread” in its stylistic development. Nonetheless, Kris discusses pieces beginning with the 5th century B.C. up to the 16th century in terms of the movement from asceticism, naturalism, and the ideal of the Italian Renaissance.

Kris, E.  (1926).  Melozzo da Forli; acht farbige Wiedergaben nach Hauptwerken des Künstlers. Leipzig:  Seemann’s Künstlermappen.

Reproduced are eight colored frescoes of Melozzo degli Ambrogi (1438-1494) of Forli.  Kris discusses formal problems in the context of 15th  - century Italian and Northern Renaissance painting. The works include:  Pope Sixtus IV and his librarian Platina  (Vatican Gallery, Rome), Duty of Science: Dialectics (Kaiser-Friedrich Museum, Berlin) as well as details from the Sacristy frescoes in St. Peter’s in Rome.  Black and white text reproductions include:  the Ascension of Christ (Palazzo del Quirinale, Rome) and the Ceiling painting in the Loreto Chapel of the Sacrament.

Kris, E.  (1926).  Der Stil rustique – Die Verwendung des Naturabgusses bei Wenzel Jamnitzer und Bernard Palissy. Jahrbuch der kunsthistorischen Sammlungen in Wien, 1, 137-208.

Under the direction of Julius von Schlosser, Kris’ dissertation focuses on the history of the technique of casting in the late Renaissance.  By using the oeuvres of Jamnitzer and Palissy as well as literary sources as reference points, Kris attempts to flesh out the historical development of the technique pertaining to the appearance of the 16th-century Mannerist style.

Kris, E.  (1926).  Two unknown crystal engravings. Burlington Magazine, 239-240.

Based on a stylistic and iconographic examination of 16th  - century medallions and plaquettes, Kris attributes two unknown crystal engravings in the Vienna Kunsthistorisches Museum to Giovanni Bernardi and Valerio Belli. It is considered significant to collect and classify crystal engravings in order to acquire insight into the character of a school of artists.

Kris, E.  (1926, July).  Die Venus auf dem Frosch.  Antikische und naturalistische Gesinnung in der Spätrenaissance. Cicerone, 14,  490-494.

Located in the Castello Sforzesco collection in Milan, the small silver statuette, Venus on a Frog, has received little attention in art historical literature.  The unlikely combination of motifs has its basis in antiquity as well as in the late Italian Renaissance.  Although Kris suggests it is an imitation and a transformation of the Italian Mannerist Giovannis da Bologna, Kris draws stylistic parallels with the Augsburg school, most notably in the work of Jan de Vos, Hubert Gerhardt, and Adriaen de Vries, and he dates the statuette to the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries.  The most notable aspect of the statuette is the technical execution of the frog from annealed clay characteristic of 15th  - century realism; the techniques are discussed in Cennino Cennini’s Treatise.  

Kris, E., & von Falke, O.  (1926).  Beiträge zu den Werken Christoph und Hans Jamnitzer. Jahrbuch der Preussischen Kunstsammlungen, 186-207.

Based on a brief discussion of the formal elements of several works by Christoph Jamnitzer, Kris connects the artist’s style with German Mannerist art, which developed in the artistic circles of Prague and Munich.  More specifically, parallels are made with the works of Alessandro Vittoria and his school, as well as Southern German artists, such as Krumper, Sustris, and Rottenhammer. Von Falke indicates however that Christoph Jamnitzer is part of the Gothic revival at the end of the 16th century.  The article concludes with an extensive discussion of the works of Christoph and Hans Jamnitzer by von Falke. 

Kris, E., & Eichler, F.  (1927).  Die Kameen im Kunsthistorischen Museum; beschreibender Katalog.  Wien:  Verlag von Anton Schroll & Co.

The authors cataloged the cameos and other related works from the Antique through the 19th - century in the Vienna Kunsthistorisches Museum and discuss the historical conditions that shaped the development of this particular collection.  Reference to famous Antique cameos and archeological literature is given, though no attempt is made to discuss the neo-antique from an art historical perspective.  Previous catalogs, a bibliography of frequently cited literature on the topic, a subject index of the cameos, and an artist’s index are also provided.

Kris, E.  (1928).  Notizen zum Werk des Leone Leoni.   Georg Habich zum 60. Geburtstag.  München:  Verlag Kress & Hornung vorm. Kuhn.

Kris observes that the extensive variety of Leoni’s oeuvre, which consisted of sculpture, medaillons, ivories, and gems had not been fully discussed in the context of the “rebirth of antiquity.” Decisive is Leo Planiscig’s study of  Leoni’s busts, miniature bronzes, and decorative household utensils.  In this article, Kris discusses two unknown miniature bronzes:  a statuette of a bearded warrior, which displays stylistic affinity with Michelangelo, and another statuette, Leoni’s copy of Francesco Susini’s imitation of the antique sculpture of the Dying Gaul (Capitoline Museum, Rome).  With respect to the latter statuette are literary sources, such as Vasari and Enea Vico’s book, Discorso sopra le medaglie, which focused on fakes and copies of antique works in the Renaissance and the Baroque.

Kris, E.  (1928).  Di alcune opere ignote di Giovanni dei Bernardi nel Tesoro di San Pietro. Dedalo, 9, 387-399.

In the context of gifts presented to the Treasury of St. Peter’s by Cardinal Alessandro Farnese in 1581 and Cardinal Francesco Barberini in 1670-72, Kris discusses the crucifix and candelabras by Antonio Gentile citing inscriptions and quotations from Vasari’s Lives. In Vettori’s History of Gems, the names of Cardinals Farnese and Barberini are mentioned with respect to the crystal engravings of Giovanni Bernardi in St. Peter’s hitherto ignored.  Several pages of illustrations are provided.

Kris, E.  (1928).  Di alcune opere inedite dell’Ambrosiana. Dedalo, 9, 387-399.

Kris discusses several artists and their unpublished works from the treasury in Ambrosiana, Milan, which date to the 16th century.  The discussion focuses on cut gems by Gian Giacomo Caraglio, cameos by Girolamo Miseroni, wax reliefs by Antonio Abondio,  bronzes by Christoforo Lencker, and the fountain of Tavola.  Their contemporaries include Leone Leioni, I Miseroni, Jacopo da Trezzo, il Tortorino, Antonio e Allessandro Masnago,  Giovanni Antonio de’ Rossi, and Annibale Fontana as well as the Sarracchi.

Kris, E.  (1928).  Die Madonna auf der Mondsichel im Kunsthistorischen Museum.  Ein Beitrag zur schwäbischen Skulptur um 1500. Jahrbuch der Kunsthistorischen Sammlungen in Wien, 2, 119-127.

Kris links the color scheme of the Vienna Madonna with illuminated manuscripts of the third quarter of the 15th century.  Formal characteristics of the Vienna Madonna are associated with the artistic production of Ulm, are closely related to the Talheim altarpiece dated ca. 1515, and attributed to Daniel Mauch. Although an analogy of motifs, such as the head of the Vienna Madonna and the Christ child’s legs, bear a striking similarity with Albrecht Dürer’s Maria mit der Meerkatze, it is not indicative of an exact “copy.”  Additional stylistic connections are made with the Attenhofer altar and the circle of the Blaubeurer Master, as well as the monumentality and plasticity found in the Madonna groups by Leonardo.  The late Gothic style manifested in Swabia around 1500 marks the beginnings of the “Italianizing” movement in art to reach fruition in the early Augsburg Renaissance. 

Kris, E.  (1928).  Notizen zu Adolf Daucher.  Augsburger Kunst der Spätgotik und Renaissance. Beiträge zur Geschichte der Deutschen Kunst, 2,  431-439.

Although Halm wrote studies on Daucher’s work in Augsburg, little is known about the development of Adolf Daucher’s oeuvre.  Kris uses biographical data to draw parallels with the characteristic formal aspects of newly discovered works by Daucher. The works discussed are: Christus am Ölberg; Johannes Ev.; Königsbüsten vom Annaberger Altar; and Die Beweinung Christi. The poles of Daucher’s style lie between the loose interpretation of Italian monumentality and ornament with the late Gothic art of Ulm.

Kris, E.  (1928).  Versteigerung einer Sammlung von Kleinplastiken aus Elfenbein und Buchs. In C.J. Wawoa u. Albert Werner, 298 Kunstauktion.

This auction catalog renders famous a collection of Baroque ivories hitherto closed to the public.  Extant Baroque ivories reveal the use of several artistic mediums: sculpture or statuettes, plaques, goblets, tins, vessels, cameos, and portrait medaillons as well as knife handles and accessories associated with hunting. It should be noted the majority of ivories were executed in Germany and Flanders, though many artisans traveled south to Italy to represent the Roman Baroque.  Several noteworthy artisans are mentioned, including  Johannes Otte, Gerhard van Opstal, Jean Cavalier, Ignaz Elhafen, and Simon Troger.   

Kris, E.  (1928).  Zwei Werke Mailändischer Glyptik. Berliner Museen:  Berichte aus den preussischen Kunstsammlungen, 49, 131-132.

Adolf Furtwängler’s catalog of cameos in the Berlin Antiquarium provides a cursory discussion of works from the Italian Cinquecento.  For this reason, Kris focuses on a large agate cameo, which depicts Aneas carrying his son Anchises fleeing the burning city of Troy.  The cameo is the work of Alessandro Masnago, who was active in Milan at the end of the 16th century. Masnago’s work is mentioned in Morigia’s book Nobilta di Milano (1595), which documents that Masnago served under Kaiser Rudolf II whose estate was later acquired by the Vienna Kunsthistorisches Museum.  Many of the works noted by Morigia are discussed by Kris and Eichler in Die Kameen im Kunsthistorischen Museum (1927). In his book Italienische Steinschneider der Renaissance (1929), Kris discusses Masnago’s style in the context of the Milan tradition to demonstrate formal similarity with the work of Niccollo da Rovezzano, Lorenzo dei Stoldo, and Annibale Fontana. Another agate cameo in the Berliner Antiquarium, which depicts Proserpina in the underworld, can also be related to the Milan tradition of cameos. 

Kris, E.  (1929).  Meister und Meisterwerke der Steinschneidekunst in der Italienischen Renaissance.  2 vols.  Wien:  Verlag von Anton Schroll & Co.

Kris’ task is to outline the applied arts of the Italian Renaissance and present a catalog of these works, which fills a gap in art historical scholarship.  Volume 1 consists of eleven chapters, which begins with introductory remarks and the history of technique in the applied arts.  The following chapters trace the applied arts in the Middle Ages through the Renaissance and discuss several of its artists.  It concludes with critical annotations of the illustrated works, a bibliography, an index of artists, and geographical locations of the works.  Volume 2 consists of the illustrations.

Kris, E.  (1929, September). Die Sammlung Emil Weinberger in Wien. Pantheon, 431-432.

In this brief article, Kris notes the Sunday morning meetings between Vienna art collectors and Dr. Albert Figdor to discuss the art markets. The most notable relationship with Figdor was the collector Emil Weinberger, whose relationship with him dated back to the end of the 19th century.  Weinberger’s collection consists of approximately 500 works from the Medieval and Renaissance periods.  Kris indicates that the significant aspect of the collection is in the applied arts demonstrated in the illustration of a tapestry from the first half of the 15th century.  Noteworthy works of the collection are given as well as several illustrations.

Kris, E.  (1929, February).  Zum Werk des Pierino da Vinci.  Pantheon, 94-98.

Kris discusses works that date from the 1640s by the Florentine sculptor, Pierino da Vinci. Although a wax relief and a drawing by Pierino were inspired by Dante’s Inferno, namely the scene representing the fate of Ugolino and his sons, and noted in Vasari, Kris describes the formal aspects of both artistic mediums as well as their stylistic antecedents. Stylistic parallels with Michelangelo, Raphael, and Pontormo are elucidated in the discussion of a bronze and two marble reliefs. 

 

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Annotations:  1930-1939 / 1940-1949 / 1950-1956