Little is known about the scholarschip of Friedrich Brentel (1580-1651), who was trained by his father Georg to become a miniature painter, Calligraph, Printmaker and designer as well. At the age of seven years old the Lauingen born Friedrich moved to Strassburg with his family. Friedrich married Anna Brackenhoffer in 1601 and the couple stayed in Strassburg where he received Royal commissions from Stuttgart and Nancy. Brentel cooperated with Matthäus Meriam (1593-1650) and Jakob van der Heyden. After 1620 he specialised in miniature painting, influenced by Hans Bol (1534-1593). Amongst Brentel's pupils were his own children Hans Friedrich and Anna Maria, as well as Sebastian Stosskopf and Johann Wilhelm Baur.
Friedrich intensively collaborated with the Strassburg workshops of both Bartholomäus Lingg and his son Lorenz. This underscored by the volumes with designs by the Lingg workshops in the collection Staatlichen Kunsthalle Karlsruhe. Brentel produced numerous frieze designs for the upper sections of stained glass windows as shown in the two volumes by Dr. Ariane Mensger (Vol. I, no. 42-75 and especially no. 65).[1]
Biographical data on Bartholomäus Lingg are even scarcer than Brentel's. Born in Zug, Bartholomäus also was a descendant of a family of artists and married in Strassburg. He was active in both Jos Murer's and Tobias Stimmer's workshops in Zürich. Bartholomäus married three times and became father of a son in each marriage (Lorenz (1582), Hans Conrad (1593) and Bartholomäus III (1597), all of whom became glass painters like their father and grand-father Bartholomäus I. Lorenz took apprenticeship to the famous Christoph Murer in Zürich. The later works by father Bartholomuaus and son Lorenz are hardly distinguishable. Contrary to Stimmer and Murer, Lingg was exclusively active as a glass painter. Lingg was heavily influenced by Tobias Stimmer, as well as by Daniel Lindtmayer and Josias and Christoph Murer.
Our drawing which shows abundant scroll work and contemporary "Landsknecht" fashion, follows the typically stained glass or so-called "scheibenrisse" scheme compositions and was drawn by two different hands. The frieze with marching soldiers strongly reminds of the group of drawings preserved at the Staatlichen Kunsthalle Karlsruhe attributed to Friedrich Brentel. Brentel frequently collaborated with the glass painter Bartholomeüs Lingg and provided only a small part of this "scheibenrisse" design, which in our drawing counts for the frieze with militia. The central and main theme of the standardbearer was then executed by Lingg.[1]
The majestically and proudly posing portrayed central figure in our drawing with his left arm akimbo, a so-called standard bearer or Ensign, was the main figure of a (civic) militia company during battles showing the military troups where to go with his coloured banner. Ensigns were required to be single, by which means the state prevented from being sued with financial compensations charged by widows and offspring. Later on during the seventeenth century ensigns and civic militia would loose their active military and guarding functions and were merely of ceremonial importance during festivities.
The coat of arms with an axe returns several times in drawings by Adam Elsheimer, Friedrich Brentel, Daniel Lindtmayer, Bartholomäus Lingg and Christoph Murer.[2][3][4][5][6]
The standardbearer's beard reminds us the impressive beard of Albrecht Dürer's "Saint Jerome".
A big and warm thanks to Dr. Ariane Mensger for her most kind help with attributing the drawing.
[1] Dr. Ariane Mensger, Die Scheibenrisse der Staatlichen Kunsthalle Karlsruhe. Böhlau Verlag, 2012. p. 73, no. 65, Friedrich Brentel (attributed to), Entwurf für ein Oberbild mit Reiterzweikampf mit pistolen.
Staatlichen Kunsthalle Karlsruhe, Inv. Nr. XI 62.
[2] ibid. Vol I. p. 126, no. 158. Daniel Lindtmayer d.j., Scheibenriss mit Szenen aus dem Metzger- und Gerberhandwerk, dazwischen acht teils leere, teils nicht identifizierte Wappenschilde (1590).
Staatlichen Kunsthalle Karlsruhe, inv. nr. XI 114.
[3] ibid. Vol I. p. 170, no. 247. Bartholomäus Lingg (zugeschreiben), Scheibenriss mit Schildhalter und nicht identifiziertem Wappen, im Oberbild lUandlihe Szenen.
Staatlichen Kunsthalle Karlsruhe, inv. nr. XI 1195.
[4] ibid. Vol II. p. 341, no. 586. Christoph Murer. Scheibenriss mit Tischgesellschaft, darunter drei nicht identifizierte Wappen, im Oberbild zwei Szenen aus der Münzfabrikation.
Staatlichen Kunsthalle Karlsruhe, inv. nr. XI 355.
[5] Joachim Jacoby, Die Zeichnungen von Adam Elsheimer.
Städel Museum, Frankfurt am Main, 2008.
[6] ibid. p. 99, Kat 1. Adam Elsheimer, Scheibenriss für eine Wappenscheibe des frankfurter Bürgers Philip Mohr und seiner frau Katharina, geborene Bach. Düsseldorf, museum kunst palast (ehemals Städtisches Kunstmuseum), sammlung der Kunstakademie (NRW), Inv. Nr. KA (FP) 5473.
