Dominikus Zimmermann: Lichtgestalt des Rokoko

Abstract

The outstandingly talented Rococo architect and stuccoer Dominikus Zimmermann (together with his brother Johann Baptist Zimmermann) was an important representative of the Wessobrunner School. The conclusion and height of his work was the Pilgrimage Church of Wies in Steingaden, now regarded as one of the major works of the German Rococo period and part of the UNESCO World Heritage. This illustrated book about select Rococo churches in Southern Germany follows the artistic development of Dominikus Zimmermann, who used elaborate means to transform the smallest church spaces into cheerful, light architecture with elegant and playful details. Photographs by Hans Engels and text by Axel Tilch very clearly show how Zimmermann's options for means of expression increased from building to building, and how virtuoso he had become by the end of his career with the construction of the Pilgimage Church of Wies, where he used the lighting as a design element for the interior in a way not previous imagined.