Wenzel d. Ä
Jamnitzer (Gamizer, Jamitzer)

 1507/08 Vienna – † 15, buried December 19, 1585 Nuremberg, Grave No. 664 in the Johannisfriedhof Cemetery, which passed to the descendants of Nicolaus Emmerling in 1688. The original epitaph has been in the GNM since 1918; a replica is on the gravestone. Son of Hans the Elder; brother of Albrecht; father of Hans the Younger, Abraham, and Wenzel the Younger. ∞ June 22, 1534 Anna (* c. 1513/15 – buried April 6, 1575), daughter of the goldsmith Bruno Rauch, six sons, five daughters. On July 22, 1534, he passed the master craftsman's examination and was sworn in as a master craftsman on July 29, 1534. On May 20, 1534, he acquired citizenship. From 1544 to 1548, he was a juror, from 1556 a member of the nobility, and from 1573 a councilor. After just a few years, Jamnitzer was among the most respected goldsmiths in Nuremberg. He was appointed court goldsmith to four emperors: Charles V, Ferdinand I, Maximilian II, and Rudolf II. He also worked for many princes, including Archduke Ferdinand of Tyrol, Elector Augustus of Saxony, Duke Albert V of Bavaria, Ercole of Este, Duke of Ferrara, and Cardinal Antoine Perrenot de Granvelle. Patricians were also among his clients, including the Tucher, Imhoff, and Behaim families. Presumably around 1540, Jamnitzer began an intensive collaboration with woodcarvers, who created models for plaques based on his designs, of which he incorporated silver casts into his works. In 1542, he granted the Nördlingen sculptor Michael Fuchs the opportunity to work off his debts with wood carvings. Mathias Zündt worked for Jamnitzer as a wood carver and also produced cast animals for him in the 1550s. Hans I. Lobsinger constructed a stamping press for gold, silver, and other materials for him. Characteristic of Jamnitzer's work from the 1540s to 1560s was the extensive use of natural casts of insects and other small animals, as well as plants. From 1542 to 1584, he sold large quantities of goldsmith's work to the council, including, according to an invoice dated June 6, 1556, a chest for 1,997 florins and a writing case for 2,002 florins. The price per silver mark, at 30 thalers (= 34 florins), was roughly twice what the council usually paid for one mark of processed silver. Both pieces were presented as gifts from Empress Maria and Emperor Maximilian II on June 8, 1570. As early as 1548, Maximilian, then still Archduke, had commissioned a fountain from Jamnitzer weighing 40 marks (approximately 9.3 kg), which was completed in 1551. Another pleasure fountain commissioned by Emperor Maximilian II as a table centerpiece was not completed until Rudolf II and delivered by Jamnitzer to Prague in 1578. It was 3.07 m high and 1.535 m wide. The price was 8,838 florins, and the commissioners provided large quantities of silver. In 1747/50, the fountain was melted down in Vienna, except for the four seasons figures, which were made of bronze. Maximilian II was also a good customer of Jamnitzer's. During his visit to Nuremberg on June 8, 1570, the council invited Jamnitzer to present his wares to the Emperor at the castle. The latter gave the goldsmith particularly costly commissions and, on October 2, 1570, still owed him 2,386 florins for work delivered. Later, Jamnitzer received a lifelong imperial pension. Jamnitzer also received a major order in 1553 from Duke Henry of Brunswick, for whom he produced silverware weighing 400 marks of silver (approximately 93 kg); the cost amounted to 4,000 florins. In 1552, he, Jacob Hofmann, and Bonaventura Hegner were accused of having journeymen from other workshops produce half a dozen pieces after work, while their masters remained unemployed. Subsequently, the trade regulations were amended so that in the future, such contracts were to be awarded to the masters themselves. Jamnitzer also constructed astronomical and mathematical instruments, including an astrolabe for the Elector of Saxony and a stamping machine for ornamental stripes. In 1566 he made a terrestrial and a celestial globe for Egidius I Ayrer based on specifications by Johannes Praetorius. In 1570 he delivered a large compass to Emperor Maximilian, for which he received 79 florins. He also worked to a lesser extent as an engraver and provided models for goldsmiths. From 1543 to 1559 he held the office of municipal die cutter. Two of his apprentices are known by name: Ulrich Hainburger from Carinthia (1539-1543) and Caspar Heussner (around 1560), who was banished from the city for counterfeiting coins. Jamnitzer owned several houses, including the property at 17 Albrecht-Dürer-Straße, which he lived in until his death. Nicolas Neufchatel painted his portrait, which is in the Musée d'art et d'histoire in Geneva. Panzer recorded his portrait. Chr. Andr. Imhoff, listed eleven medals minted in his honor in 1792. Jamnitzerstrasse was named after him and his family. In 1591, his heirs sold the property for 1,000 florins and 50 florins of his own.

He bought the house at Albrecht-Dürer-Straße 17 with interest (1,000 florins mortgage). His daughter Anna married the goldsmith Hans Straub on June 15, 1569; Susanna married the goldsmith Martin Holweck on February 11, 1561; and Maria married the goldsmith Valentin Maler on November 2, 1569. Works:

Book works, among others: Perspectiva, Corporum Regularum ..., Nuremberg 1568; Sintagma, In quo variae ..., Amsterdam 1618; for a plaque catalog, see Weber, Renaissance Plaques 1975.

Museum: AMSTERDAM, Rijksmus.: Merkel Centerpiece; –, Museum. Meyer van den Bergh: Weight Scale, around 1565. BERLIN, Kunstgew.-Mus.: Imperial Cup. COBURG, Kunstslgn. der Veste. DRESDEN, Green Vault: Writing instrument case. HAMBURG, Museum of Arts and Crafts: Weight scale, circa 1565. LONDON, BM; –, V&A; –, National Art Library: Jamnitzer's two-volume manuscript on the instruments he built and used. MADRID: Ornate case in the Barefoot Convent (Monastery of the Real Descalzas), 1570. MILAN, Diocesan Museum. MUNICH, Treasury of the Residence; –, BNM. NUREMBERG, GNM; –, MStN. PARIS, Louvre. VIENNA, Albertina; –, KhM. Lit.: NDB; Thieme-Becker; Rosenberg 3832; Doppelmayr, 1730; Will, GL II, p. 223; Will, Münzbel. Vol. I, pp. 291f.; Imhoff II, 1782, pp. 795f.; Lochner-Neudörfer 1875; R. Bergau: Wenzel Jamnitzer's designs for magnificent vessels in silver and gold, 1879; Stockbauer, 1893; Scholler, 1916; M. Rosenberg: Jamnitzer, Ffm. 1920; Pechstein, in: GNM A, 1967, 1970 and 1977; Mulzer and Pechstein, in: MVGN 61, 1974; Weber, Renaissance plaques 1975; Jamnitzer, 1985; Viola Effmert, in: GNM A, 1989, pp. 131f; Zahn DI-N No. 1699; Erlanger/Fischer, 2000; Goldschmiedekunst, 2007 No. 403; Kohn, NHb Sebald. Exh.: 1906/2; 1952/5; 1969/12; 1980/9, –/13; 1992/17, –/18; 1987/18; 2002/1 Nos. 58, 60, 63, 140, 141, 142.

(quoted from the Nuremberg Artists' Lexicon, edited by Manfred H. Grieb)