Peter Heel. Der vornehme Bildhauer von Pfronten (1696-1767)

Peter Heel, the brilliant son of Pfronten

Professional art research has so far dealt only little or not at all with Peter Heel (1696-1767), the great, indeed brilliant son of Pfronten and, according to Peter Volk, the "most significant Rococo sculptor of the region". It is therefore a mandatory task to finally give Peter Heel the recognition and honor he deserves in the year of his 250th anniversary of death.

Herbert Wittmann began his search for Peter Heel's previously unknown works almost 30 years ago. Even if many works – especially those from his early creative period – remain undiscovered, the yield of his tireless and often arduous research is impressive: he made finds not only in over 30 places in the East and Upper Allgau, but also in other parts of Swabia, and even in Upper and Lower Bavaria, in Baden-Wurttemberg, and in the Tyrolean Ausserfern (see the red marked locations on the map below).

With almost detective-like intuition, meticulous accuracy, and immense artistic knowledge, he demonstrates the characteristic stylistic features of the Pfronten sculptor on every new work of art. Another of the author's findings is that Peter Heel also practiced his art in a wide variety of collaborative work groups. Peter Heel often worked with his half-brother, the painter Johann Heel, as well as with the master builders Johann Georg Fischer and Franz Kleinhans. However, he was also active in churches together with such famous artists as Joseph Anton Feuchtmayer, Diego Francesco Carlone, and Cosmas Damian Asam.

Herbert Wittmann grew up in the Allgau and has lived in Biessenhofen since 1974. Numerous publications – most recently the Church Guide Ostallgau and Kaufbeuren (2016) – bear witness to his great commitment to local art history.

In August 1988, his encounter with Heel's figures in the parish church of Schollang (near Oberstdorf) became a key experience for him: "Upon seeing St. Barbara and St. Catherine at the high altar, it was all over for me, so to speak," he writes in retrospect.

170 pages - numerous illustrations - published on April 29, 2017.