Georg Theodor Schirrmacher. Architekt między Gdańskiem, Berlinem a Hamburgiem

Abstrakt

The aim of this article is to present the life and works of Georg Theodor Schirrmacher (1833, Gdańsk – 1864, Berlin), a young architect from Berlin Bauakademie, whose flourishing career in Berlin and Hamburg was interrupted by premature death. Schirrmacher, along with Herman von der Hude, was the designer of the first Kunsthalle in Hamburg, built in 1863-69, commissioned by the city council and local art. society. The monograph is based on a scattered legacy from the architect, which can now be found in Berlin (Technische Universitat, Kunstbibliothek and Kupferstichkabinett by Staatliche Museen zu Berlin) and Warsaw (Institute of Art of the Polish Academy of Sciences). Schirrmacher’s known legacy consists of a dozen or more drawings and blueprints made during his study at the Bauakademie; several dozen of drawings depicting his hometown, Gdańsk, its remarkable architecture and famous artworks; a couple of architectural design competition projects (i.e. Vienna Court Opera on Ringstrasse); and finally picturesque watercolours documenting his artistic grand tour through Italy and Greece. Georg Theodor drew inspiration both from the architecture of Italian Renaissance and the medieval Gdańsk monuments, but his main source of knowledge and sense of architectural style were above all his masters and mentors: the Gdańsk art teacher Johann Carl Schultz, not long deceased Berlin’s architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel and his students, at that time professors at Bauakademie, Friedrich August Stuler, and Johann Heinrich Strack. The thoroughly examined research materials show that the artistic route taken by Schirrmacher was very typical of most Bauakademie students at the time; however, due to his sudden death Georg Theodor was not able to step forward in order to develop his own unique style and to win acclaim among other architects.