PROJECT “SCHWARZE MANDER”/”BLACK MEN”

A paper by Marianne Mödlinger and Bastian Asmus

ManMax is proud to announce that it has teamed up with a new partner: the newly funded FWF Project (P34960) The “Schwarze Mander” of the Court Church in Innsbruck, Austria: Manufacture and Production of Monumental Brass Statues in the Renaissance, which will start on July 1, 2025.

Its two project managers, Marianne Mödlinger and Bastian Asmus, have kindly written a paper to present their project on the ManMax Blog.

The 28 “Schwarze Mander” (“Black Men”) are undoubtedly amongst the most magnificent monumental brass statues of the Renaissance. Commissioned by the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I for his funeral monument at the beginning of the 16th century, they were completed more than 30 years after the Emperor’s death and are now part of his cenotaph in the Hofkirche in Innsbruck. Revising the original manuscripts and letters exchanged between Maximilian I and the various artists sheds light on the manufacturing process and the challenges the artists encountered whilst producing the statues. Moreover, the alloys used in the manufacture of the statues, now all blackened due to patination processes, were identified through non-invasive chemical analysis of all the statues.

Selected statues from the most important workshops (from left to right): G. Sesselschreiber and P. Laiminger, Ferdinand I Portugal; P. Vischer, King Arthur; S. Godl, Albert IV; and G. Löffler, Clovis, Innsbruck, Tiroler Landesmuseen, Hofkirche. © M. Mödlinger.

Currently, no technological analyses have been carried out on these Renaissance statues. A thorough study of both the tangible and intangible aspects of craft processes is necessary to fully appreciate these works of art. Consequently, it is indispensable to analyse both the outer and inner surfaces of the statues and experimentally test the hypotheses based on these investigations. This involves researching the utilised moulding clay, joining technology, and the issue of melting and handling large quantities of liquid metal.

S. Godl, Joanna of Castile, Innsbruck, Tiroler Landesmuseen, Hofkirche. © M. Mödlinger.

It would also be interesting to investigate the relationship between the Tauferer copper mines and the copper used to make the statues. However, this would have to take into account possible cross-contamination from the Saigerhütten process, in which copper was desilvered by alloying it with lead. This process was known by 1430 and was well established by the time of Maximilian I. Another very interesting aspect would be to study the patination of the statues, the colour (all black) of which is eponymous for these Renaissance statues. We still do not know when the statues were given this name, nor whether the black colour of the statues is the result of a natural patination process or of artificial patination or the application of specific coatings.

Here is a link to a paper describing the project.

Header Credit Image: S. Godl, Philip the Good. © M. Mödlinger.