|
It is simply not enough, to say that the Deutsches Haus is the most sumptuous half-timbered building in Dinkelsbühl. Serious art historians have described it as “one of the most beautiful half-timbered buildings of all times”, or have declared: “The façade is one of the highlights of the German High Renaissance.”
While the proud gable construction is often gazed upon from top to bottom, the sheer amount of ornamentation can nevertheless confuse the viewer. In addition, the decoration is cloaked in a dark, almost gloomy pigmentation. Around the year 1600, builders, carvers, and painters worked on completing the building, which emphasizes the horizontal element by protruding ledges.
Stretched across the facade is a sumptuous web, so richly ornamental that one is reminded of the art of painting, not that of carving. Straight and curvilinear lines diverge, only to touch or cross each other. Engaged piers have been carved in high relief so intricately, that they appear as columns; string courses connect to the ledges.
A highly fertile and playful imagination! Nevertheless, the ornamentation is severe and restrained – as prescribed by the measured proportions typical of the German Renaissance.
The viewer would have to use binoculars to fully appreciate the ornamental splendour. Nude Atlas-figures, each one differing slightly from the others, are supporting the posts with their strong arms and straight necks. The carver had them squatting or crouching on one leg, as if they were about to lunge forward.
The Atlas-figures adorning the half-timbered stories seem relaxed by comparison. Arms crossing in front of their torsos, these figures act as supports for the gable construction. Despite all this classicizing figural ornamentation, it is the Virgin who protects the portal of this tall building that once belonged to the noble Drechsel Family. The family’s coat of arms shows their wealth, as well as their sense of artistic beauty.
|
 "tn_Fasade1_jpg"){kind=small}
 "tn_Fasade2_jpg")
 "tn_Fasade3_jpg"){kind=small}
 "tn_Fasade4_jpg")
 "tn_Fasade5_jpg")
 "tn_Fasade6_jpg"){kind=small}