New Advent
 Home   Encyclopedia   Summa   Fathers   Bible   Library 
 A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z 
New Advent
Home > Catholic Encyclopedia > S > Alexander Maximilian Seitz

Alexander Maximilian Seitz

Please help support the mission of New Advent and get the full contents of this website as an instant download. Includes the Catholic Encyclopedia, Church Fathers, Summa, Bible and more — all for only $19.99...

Painter, b. at Munich, 1811; d. at Rome, 1888. He studied under Cornelius, and two early pictures "Joseph sold by his Brethren", and the "Seven Sleepers" received speedy recognition. Heinrich Hess employed him on the frescoes in the Church of All Saints. After he had painted compositions depicting four of the sacraments, Cornelius took him to Rome. Here Seitz found in Overbeck a man of the same religious opinions, with a style which he at once sought to make his own. He aided Overbeck in carrying out the frescoes of the Evangelists and Apostles at Castel Gandolfo, and at a later date, when Overbeck's strength was no longer equal to the task, Seitz, with the aid of his gifted son, Ludwig Seitz, completed Overbeck's frescoes in the cathedral at Diakovár by filling the gaps with compositions of his own. With the help of his son, Seitz painted a cycle of pictures of saints, for Herder of Freiburg. Besides some secular compositions, as the genre pictures of the life of the common people at Rome, he treated pre-eminently scenes and persons of the Old and New Testaments. His pictures of the "Adoration of the Shepherds", "Christ as the Friend of Children", "Awakening of the Young Man of Naim", "Tribute Money", "Jacob and Esau", and "The Finding of Moses", are entirely in the spirit of Overbeck. A "Mater Amabilis" aroused much admiration; an enthroned Madonna went to England. The "St. Anthony, and St. Benedict", as engraved by the Capuchin Bernardo da Monaco, had a wide popularity. Good pictures also are: "Translation of St. Catherine to Sinai by angels", and especially a round picture of "Rest during the Flight to Egypt". In this three angels worship Christ, who lies with outstretched arms on the lap of the mother, while at some distance is Joseph with the beast of burden. In the Trinità de' Monti at Rome he painted in fresco the return of the prodigal son and Christ with heart aflame.

Sources

RACZYNSKI, Histoire de l'art moderne en Allemagne, II, III (Paris, 1840); F0RSTER, Gesch. der deutschen Kunst (5 vols., Leipzig, 1860).

About this page

APA citation. Gietmann, G. (1912). Alexander Maximilian Seitz. In The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13687d.htm

MLA citation. Gietmann, Gerhard. "Alexander Maximilian Seitz." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 13. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13687d.htm>.

Transcription. This article was transcribed for New Advent by Joseph E. O'Connor.

Ecclesiastical approbation. Nihil Obstat. February 1, 1912. Remy Lafort, D.D., Censor. Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York.

Contact information. The editor of New Advent is Kevin Knight. My email address is webmaster at newadvent.org. Regrettably, I can't reply to every letter, but I greatly appreciate your feedback — especially notifications about typographical errors and inappropriate ads.

Copyright © 2023 by New Advent LLC. Dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

CONTACT US | ADVERTISE WITH NEW ADVENT