The Consecration of Freiburg Minster

Shortly after construction on the grand duke's Kunsthalle had begun, Hübsch contacted Moritz von Schwind (1804 -1871), on the recommendation of Julius von Carolsfeld. Schwind's earlier work had proven him the fitting master for this task. Particularly convincing was his children's frieze for the Rudolf von Habsburg Hall of the Munich Residenz, of which several cartoons had been acquired for Karlsruhe in 1837.

In 1838, the decoration of the stairwell was approved, with a payment of 5000 Gulden for Schwind. It was agreed that the subject matter should be the consecration of Freiburg cathedral by "Duke Berthold, the Zähringer", illustrated with lifesize figures. Schwind's contract required him "within the course of this year [1838] - in order to assure himself of the portrait resemblance of Duke Berthold and the situation of the cathedral - to travel to Freiburg, and to produce the completed cartoon and colour outline until the end of the following year [1839] at the latest."

Schwind presumably travelled to Freiburg early in 1839, in order to have a close look at the cathedral. There, he also contacted Lucian Reich and Anton Geck. who would later be responsible for the wall decoration of the halls on the ground floor of the Kunsthalle. Schwind's historical research resulted in a correction of the contract. His watercolour design of 1838 and, of course, the completed wall-painting itself, shows, as the inscription indicates, Conrad of Zähringen as the ancestral father of the House of Baden at the consecration of the cathedral.

The cartoons for Karlsruhe were completed in February or March of 1840, and they were apparently on exhibition in Munich for four days. They were in Karlsruhe by August and were approved by the duke. A painter from Baden-Baden completed the ceiling paintings before Schwind's arrival. The seven central rectangular fields were left out. For these, Schwind created sketches of fourteen angels floating across from one another with cartouches. The inscription in these fields, above the stairwell, reads: "Grand Duke Leopold dedicated these rooms to Art in the year MDCCCXLIV".

When Schwind arrived in Karlsruhe on September 22, 1840, the structure of the stairwell was no longer as it had originally been designated in the contract. Hübsch had transformed the earlier plan for a vault above a loggia into a "funnel vault" above a closed stairwell. For the three lunettes that were thus created above his fresco, Schwind designed new compositions. He completed the two outer frescoes by mid-December, 1840. They illustrate "Imagination" and "Mathematics" as prerequisites for architecture. Then winter arrived, and the work was laid aside. Back in Munich, Schwind developed a cartoon for the central lunette, depicting "The Protection of State and Church Architecture".

He painted it until the beginning of July, 1841, having settled back in Karlsruhe that May. He was full of enthusiasm for the work at hand. In good spirits and full of hope, he wrote in December, 1841, "In addition, I have come to find Karlsruhe to be the most interesting city in the world. I know of no region, no roads, no stars that are more beautiful than here. The newly-fledged spot has everything I require. Whether I shall obtain it all is another question. Working sphere and wife, who could ask for more? At most, perhaps a bunch of children as well."7 Four years later, Schwind's feelings about Karlsruhe were no longer quite so positive, since his cooperation with Hübsch posed difficulties.

Schwind worked on the main frescoes in 1841 and 1842. The result of his work is a historical image with many figures, reflecting the formulation of a political platform. Ceremonial processions approach the centrally positioned portal of the cathedral from both directions. The portal itself appears like a stage setting, its rounded archway decorated with ornamental festoons. Young boys pull back a curtain hanging from the portal, opening the view to the church interior and the high altar. By the right jamb, the architect and members of the stonemasons' lodge of the cathedral (in the middle, behind the architect are Heinrich Hübsch and holding an angle iron next to him, his teacher Friedrich Weinbrenner) await the arrival of the Zähringen sovereign. The latter approaches the church from the right with a squire and a flag bearer displaying the colours of Baden. His court, children, and the prominent patricians and craftsmen of Freiburg follow in his wake.

The architect gestures towards a kneeling boy, who presents the monarch with a model of the cathedral. The miniature represents the building as it was initially designed in the 13th century. A procession of spiritual leaders has arrived from the left. The singing choir boys who precede them are already positioned on the splendidly ornamented carpet, which is laid out on the steps before the entranceway. Two deacons with a processional cross follow behind them, and are themselves followed by a bishop and a monk. Curious observers watch from the windows of the cathedral, and at the right edge of the painting, a child accompanied by a dog leaps across a rivulet, carefully supported by his father. The builders on the scaffolds also observe the arrival with great interest. Schwind has joined their ranks. He is depicted in profile on the upper storey of the scaffold, to the right of the portal. From there, he peers down at the colourful scene on one side of the church building. Schwind gestures towards a medieval cityscape in the background next to the cathedral.

At the right is the castle of the Zähringen family on a mountain, and at the edge of the forest is a small group led by Saint Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153), who made reference to the Freiburg church for the first time in a sermon in 1146.

The architecture and costumes in this majestic image, which has the appearance of a gobelin hung on the wall, indicate that Schwind sought, on the one hand, to portray the era of the elder Conrad, who reigned from 1122 until 1152 and founded the Town Parish Church of Freiburg. It was Count Conrad| (1236-1272), however, who completed the Gothic western tower that is depicted in the model here up to the halfway point, as though the architect commended himself and his own plan for the continuation of the building . In a letter to Wilhelm Füßli in 1841, Schwind named his sources: "The image that I am painting here, as Merz described it to you, represents the founding of the sembling his descendent, Grand Duke Leopold, the founder of the Kunsthalle. He holds the hand of the heir to the throne, and is followed by the Grand Duchess and princesses. The only spiritual figure who appears on the Zähringen side is Conrad's son Rudolf, who became bishop of Liege in 1167 and died near Freiburg in 1191, after returning from the second crusade. The Dominican monk with the burning candle has been identified as Bertold Schwarz, who is said to have invented gun powder in Freiburg. Next to Hübsch, Weinbrenner, and the anonymous architect of the Freiburg Parish Church, to the right of the portal jamb, Erwin von Steinbach, the architect of the Strasbourg Cathedral, appears as an apprentice to the Freiburg stonemasons.

After the main painting, Schwind was hired to decorate the two large square fields above the doors next to the "Consecration" fresco. At the left is "Sabine, Daughter of Erwin von Steinbach, working on the sculptures of the Strasbourg Cathedral". This legendary woman - her historical existence was considered certain in the 19th century - is depicted working on the cathedral's most famous jamb figure of the period, "Synagogue". The fresco on the right was meant to represent "Duke Berthold the Rich having his portrait painted by Baldung Grün".

The contractually determined subject was modified, and the scene with Margrave Christopher I took its place. There were historical sources for Christopher's portrait, the most important being a woodcut likeness by Hans Baldung Grien from 1511, and his painting from 1509/10, which shows Christopher with the margravial family, gathered around the Holy Family with Anna, Mary, and the infant Jesus. Schwind's own evaluation of his work for the Kunsthalle can be found in a letter to Füßli: "When you come to Carlsruhe this autumn,' " he wrote, "you should just go into the new academy building and always follow the signs, "'Entry Prohibited'. That will lead you right to me, and I will be able to show you rooms that still remain to be transformed with paintings, of which the Grand Duke speaks as though it were a foregone conclusion. When it is all finished, it will be a truly significant work."