Matthias Steinl

Matthias Steinl (or Steindel, Staindle, Steindl, or Stinle) (ca. 1644 - Vienna, 18 April 1727) was an Austrian painter, architect, designer and one of its best known Baroque sculpturs .

Pulpit of the Dominican Church in Vienna

He was probably original for the environments of Salzburg. He was probably trained as acraftsman and artist in Austria. But he may have learned the craft of sculptor in the Netherlands and Prague. The Victoria and Albert Museum in London has one of his earliest sculptures : an ivory statuette Triton (c.1670-1675).

He's next at work as a sculptor in the Cistercian abbey of Lubiąż (Leubus) in the Lower Silesian Voivodship, taking over the workshop of the deceased sculptor Matthias Knote and marrying his widow in 1677. Most of his works (the main altar, side altars, the pulpit and the choir stalls) were destroyed after World War II. Matthias Steinl headed this workshop till 1682.

He was later in 1682 in Breislau (now Wrocław), where the prince bischop recommended him to the court in Vienna. During his stay in Breslau he provided the sculptures on the high altar for Heinrichau Abbey (now Henryków). He also started as designer sketching cartouches, garlands and tendrils (some can be seen at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London).

In 1688 he became the ivory engraver for the emperor. From this period dates an Allegory of the elements water and air, made out of a walrus tusk (an of the most beautiful examples of ivory carving)(ca. 1688-1690) and the ivory equestrian statues of Leopold I (1690-1693), Joseph I (dated 1693)

in the 1690s he also headed an important sculpture workshop in Vienna, that produced many religious objects, among them :

• the interior decoration for the chapel of Hofburg (now destroyed)
• Dominican church in Vienna : the pulpit
• Peterskirche in Vienna : the pulpit, side altars, pews and confessionals (1726)
• Franziskanerkirche, Vienna : altar
• Pilgrimage church of Hietzing, Vienna : high altar and two side altars.
• the statue Immaculata (1688), now at the Liebighaus in Frankfurt am Main
• Stephansdom, Vienna : altars (1700 and 1708) with stone sculptures by his hand

Around 1688, Matthias Steinl became more attracted to architecture. The Swedish National Museum of Fine Arts in Stockholm has a design by Steinl of a belvedere for the Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna. He also worked on a design for the Starhemberg palace (1702), near Vienna. He was one of the first who introduced Late Baroque style, in the manner of Francesco Borromini, in Austria as architect of the church of Laxenburg, close to Vienna (his contribution has however been disputed by some). This church was the first building north of the Alps containing swung facade components (characteristics of the high baroque). It was built between 1693 and 1703 by Carlo Antonio Carlone and continued between 1703 and 1724 by Matthias Steinl. The rich Baroque façade of the Carmelite church in Sankt Pölten, Austria, was built by Jakob Prandtauer(c. 1708), but Matthias Steinl seemed to have paticipited in the design. His tower façade of the Dorotheakirche (1702-1704) in Vienna no longer exists.

His architectonic designs were mostly realised by Joseph Munggenast (1680-1741), who was the nephew of the famous Baroque architect Jakob Prandtauer.

Around this period he had withdrawn from his sculpture workshop. However he continued sculpting occasionally, as attest the statues for the crypt altar of the Kapuzinerkirche in Vienna (c. 1715). He also continued to work as imperial ivory engraver till at least 1712, resulting in two major works : the equestrian statuette of Charles VI (in the Schatzkammer, Vienna) and the portrait relief of the Bishop of Breslau Franz Ludwig von Pfalz-Neuburg (at the Bavarian National Museum in München).

After being appointed imperial Bau-und-Hof-Ingenieur (engineer for buildings and gardens) he applied himself on designing interior decorations for monasteries and churches.

• Vorau Abbey : the high altar (performed by the sculptors J. F. Caspar und G. Niedermayr) and the entire interior (1699-1704); pulpit (1706). This work is considered asthe first High Baroque decoration in Austria with a stylistic and iconographic unity.
• Klosterneuburg : the triumphal arches, decorations of the choir (together with Donato Felice d'Allio) and an altar (1714). He had designed for the same monastery a monstrance in 1710.
• Collegiate church of Herzogenburg : a monstrance (1722)
• Decorations of the monastery choir in Zwettl.

Among his later realisations as architect are the tower of the Augustine church at Dürnstein (1721-1725) and the tower of monastery church of Zwettl Abbey (1722 - 1728). They were carried out in somewhat altered form by Joseph Muggenast, after Matthias Steinl has died in 1727.

Tower at Dürnstein

He is the author of many altars, pulpits and portals in churches in Vienna and other places in Austria, such as Lambach.

• The Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna displays several of his sculptures in ivory : the equestrian statues of Leopold I (1690-1693), Joseph I (1693); an allegory of the elements water and air, made out of a walrus tusk (an of the most beautiful examples of ivory carving)(ca. 1688-1690).
• The Schatzkammer, Vienna : equestrian statue of Charles VI; the ivory engraving Calvary
• The altar of the church in Hietzinger, Vienna (1698)
• The pulpit of the Dominican church in Vienna (1700)
• Design of the collegiate church of Herzogenburg (c. 1700) (rebuilt 1743-48 under F. Munggenast)
• Vorau Abbey (in Styria : main altar (1701-1704)
• The design of the dome of the Peterskirche, Vienna,as well as the pulpit (1715-1716)
• Klosterneuburg : main altar, choir stalls, portal, conversion of the Augustinian hall into Baroque style (1725-1727)
• Gutenstein , Lower Austria : wooden statues

Matthias Steinl can be considered, together with Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach (1656-1723) and his rival Johann Lukas von Hildebrandt (1668-1765), as one of the influential architects who introduced High Baroque to Austria.

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