Franz Mayer of Munich

Window by Franz Mayer & Co. for St. Matthew's German Evangelical Lutheran Church in Charleston, South Carolina, USA.

Franz Mayer of Munich is a German stained glass design and manufacturing company, based in Munich, Germany, that has been active throughout most of the world for over 170 years. The firm was very popular during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, and was the principal provider of stained glass to the large Roman Catholic churches that were constructed throughout the world during that period. Franz Mayer of Munich were stained glass artists to the Holy See and consequently were popular with Roman Catholic clients.^[1] The family business is nowadays managed in the fifth generation and works in conjunction with renowned artists around the world.

History[]

Monaghan Saint Macartan's Cathedral Window Patrons of Ireland Detail Saint Patrick

Great window in the choir gallery of St. Mary – St. Catherine of Siena Parish (Charlestown, MA, USA)

Conductor - Joseph Gabriel Mayer[]

In 1847, Joseph Gabriel Mayer (1808–1883) founded the “Institute for Christian Art“ in Munich, to make ecclesiastical furnishings.^[2] Royal commissions for the Cologne and Regensburg cathedrals drew Mayer to create a stained glass department in 1860. In 1865 a branch was opened in London, and in 1888 in New York City.^[3]

"Stylistically, Mayer's windows tend to contain richly colored scenes bordered by architectural frames consisting of pilasters, columns, architrave and elaborate canopies."^[4] It represents an aesthetic that was evidently prized in its time for its craftsmanship and opulence as well as for its ability to engage the viewer emotionally and spiritually.^[4]

Broadly speaking, the Munich Pictorial Style is Romantic and "owed much to the revival of religious painting - especially fresco painting in the tradition of the Italian Renaissance masters, especially Masaccio, Raphael, and Michelangelo - in Germany early in the 19th-century."^[4] "The studio often incorporated imagery from Great Master paintings as well as compositions of the nineteenth century, a standard practice in public decorative work of the era. For example, a window in the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, Charleston, South Carolina, installed in 1907 or 1925-26, shows the Transfiguration of Christ modeled after the 1517 painting by Raphael in the Vatican."^[5]

2nd Generation[]

• Joseph Leonhard Mayer(* 1846; † 1898 Munich), sculptor and artistic director
• Franz Borghias Mayer(* 1848; † 1926 Munich), artist and councilor of commerce

In 1882 the company was awarded the status of “Royal Bavarian Art Establishment“ by King Ludwig the II. In 1892, Pope Leo XIII named the company a “Pontifical Institute of Christian Art“.^[3] "Munich glass windows could be imported as art, i.e., glass “paintings” and—exempt from a high tariff on imported “raw” glass ... the broad aesthetic appeal, economic advantage, and papal approval made Munich glass windows the overwhelming choice among Roman Catholics in the United States."^[6]

3rd Generation - between two wars[]

• Anton Mayer(* 1886; † 1967 Munich), academic painter
• Karl Mayer(* 1889; † 1971 Munich), poet and merchant
• Adalbert Mayer (* 1894; † 1987 Munich), businessman and strategist

In 1919 the company became a workshop for free artists, such as . In 1922 the neighboring properties on Seidlstraße 25/27 were purchased. The new building by the architect Theodor Fischer serves as today´s company headquarters. In the years following 1933 the Mayer brothers successfully remain untangled with affairs of the NSDAP. In 1939 the companies Mayer and Zettler combined, but the production grinds to a halt in 1941. In 1944 the staff had decreased from an original 500 to less than 20 employees.

Rapid post war renovations followed the war. Many of munich's cathedral windows where restorated by the company, such as the windows of the Munich Frauenkirche. In 1961 Karl Knappe designed a mosaic for the Assumption of Mary Cathedral, Hiroshima.

4th Generation - Transition to the international artist workshop[]

• Konrad Mayer(* 1923; † 2012 Munich), son of Karl Mayer
• Gabriel Mayer(* 1938 Munich), son of Adalbert Mayer

In 1953 Konrad Mayer took over the representation in South America. From 1970 on Gabriel Mayer pushed architecture-related works and the Middle East market, resulting in the realization of the Heart Tent by Bettina and Frei Otto at the Diplomatic Club Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. In 1988 Gabriel Mayer founded a new workshop in New York with the focus on Public Art. From 1990s many projects with artist Brian Clarke were realized, e.g. in Rio de Janeiro, New York and more.

In 2013 Gabriel Mayer pulled back from the companies management board. In 2016 he was awarded the Bavarian Culture Prize together with Charlotte Knobloch.[6]

5th Generation - present[]

• Michael Claudius Mayer(* 1967 Munich), mosaicist and businessman
• Petra Wilma Mayer(* 1964 Aschaffenburg), Architect (TUM)

Since 1994 the couple collaborated on munich projects such as the (1996), Fünf Höfe(2001) and Path of memory, Ohel Jakob synagogue (Munich)(2005). Around the turn of the millenium Gabriel and Michael Mayer revived the traditional stained-glass Munich/Mayer Style and thus the DNA of the house. The float glass department was newly constructed. In 2014 the company opened an office at New York City. In 2018 Petra Mayer founded the Chamber of wonders, featuring editions and selected pieces from a selection of worldwide artist friends. In the same year Franz Mayer of Munich realized a 400m2 mosaic for the New York City-metro station World Trade Center station (PATH) with the artist Ann Hamilton.

Mayer's commissions include over seventy-six cathedrals, twenty-six of them in the United States.

Along with stained glass, about half of the company's work is in mosaics. In the fifties and sixties, Mayer developed their own fibre-glass mesh. Adhesives have also been developed to the firm's own specifications. The company provides installation and curatorial services.^[7]

Nowawdays the company fabricates and realizes mosaic and glass projects in collaboration with renowned artists, such as Georg Baselitz, Kiki Smith, Shahzia Sikander, Brian Clarke, Doug and Mike Starn, Ellsworth Kelly, Jani Leinonen, JR, William Wegman, Nick Cave, Sean Scully, Jan Hendrix, Peter Beard or Vik Muniz. Franz Mayer of Munich gives an daily insight about work at the munich studio and ongoing projects on their Instagram account mayerofmunich.

Works in Ireland[]

The Mayer Co. is responsible for stained glass in at least ten of Ireland's Cathedral churches (Derry, Thurles, Letterkenny, Ballaghaderreen, Newry, Waterford, Ballina, Enniscorthy, Carlow, and Cobh). The work of Franz Mayer & Co. in Ireland is the subject of ongoing research at Trinity College Dublin. (as at January, 2020).^[8]

Catholic cathedrals[]

Detail of a stained glass window featuring St. Dominic receiving the rosary from the Virgin Mary by Franz Mayer in Carlow Cathedral

Thurles Cathedral Rose Window

• Armagh RC Cathedral (St. Patrick's Catholic Cathedral, Armagh)
• Ballaghaderreen Cathedral
• Carlow Cathedral
• Cathedral of St Patrick and St Colman, Newry
• Derry Cathedral
• St. Aidan's Cathedral, Enniscorthy
• Letterkenny Cathedral
• Monaghan Cathedral
• Thurles Cathedral
• St. Patrick's Cathedral, Karachi 1878

Church of Ireland cathedrals[]

• Cathedral Church of St. Fethlimidh, Kilmore, County Cavan
• Christs Church Cathedral, Lisburn, County Antrim
• St. Canice Cathedral, Kilkenny^[11]
• St. Colmans Cathedral, Cloyne, County Cork

Catholic churches In Ireland[]

Church of Ireland churches[]

• Park Rd., Dún Laoghaire
• St. John's, Sligo
• St. Mary's, Church of Ireland, Athenry, Co. Galway
• St. Mark's Church of Ireland, Ligoniel Road, Belfast
• St. Nicholas' Church of Ireland, Adare, Co. Limerick
• Skibbereen
• Templeague
• Church of Christ the Redeemer, Shankill Parish, Lurgan

Works in the United States[]

Close up shot of the Mayer & Co. maker's mark on a stained glass window in St. Edward Catholic Church in Palm Beach, Florida. Image shows the text "Mayer & Co. Munich New York".

Mayer & Co. mark on stained glass window in Omaha, Nebraska.

• St. Timothy's Episcopal Church, (Columbia, SC)
• Atlanta First United Methodist Church, Atlanta, Georgia
• Basilica of the Immaculate Conception (Jacksonville), Jacksonville, Florida
• Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Atlanta, Georgia Roman Catholic
• Basilica San Francisco de Asis, Mission Dolores, San Francisco (Roman Catholic)
• Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption, Covington, KY (Roman Catholic)
• Cathedral-Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, Mobile, Alabama, (Roman Catholic)
• Cathedral Basilica of St. James, Brooklyn, New York (Roman Catholic)
• Cathedral Church of the Advent, Birmingham, Alabama {Episcopal)
• Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Biloxi, MS
• Cathedral of St. Andrew, Grand Rapids, Michigan
• Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, Charleston, SC (Roman Catholic)
• Cathedral of the Epiphany, Sioux City, Iowa
• Chapel of the Rock, Saint Malo Church, Colorado.
• Chapel of the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit, Holy Ghost Preparatory School
• Christ and St. Luke's Episcopal Church, Norfolk, Virginia
• Christ Church (Greenville, South Carolina)
• Christ Church, Frederica St. Simons Island, Georgia (Episcopal)
• Church of the Holy Name of Mary, (1848) Newport, RI
• Church of the Most Holy Trinity, Augusta, GA (Roman Catholic)
• Church of Saint Peter, Saratoga Springs, NY (Roman Catholic)
• Corpus Christi Church, Buffalo, New York (Roman Catholic)
• Dahlgren Chapel of the Sacred Heart, Washington, D.C. (Roman Catholic)
• The Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia Motherhouse, Nashville, TN, St. Dominic Oratory and St. Cecilia Chapel^[14]
• The Episcopal Church of the Holy Innocents, Henderson, NC
• Grace Episcopal Church, Radford, VA
• Mother of God, Covington, KY (Roman Catholic)
• Mulberry Street United Methodist Church, Macon, GA
• Our Lady Help of Christians, Philadelphia, PA, Port Richmond section of the city (Roman Catholic), established in 1885
• Our Lady of the Lake Catholic church, Louisiana
• Resurrection Roman Catholic Parish (formerly St. Stephen) in Johnstown, PA
• Sacred Heart Church, Norfolk, Virginia (Roman Catholic)
• St. Adalbert's Basilica, Buffalo, New York (Roman Catholic)
• St. Alphonsus Parish, Chicago, IL
• St. Ann's Catholic Church, Staten Island, NY
• Saint Anne's Catholic Church, Peasant Point Passamaquoddy Reservation, ME
• St. Edward Roman Catholic Church, Palm Beach, Florida (Roman Catholic)^[15]
• St. Elizabeth Church – Greenville Alabama
• St. Gertrude Parish, Chicago, IL
• St. Hyacinth Basilica, Avondale neighborhood of Chicago, IL
• St. Frances Cabrini Catholic Church, Omaha, NE
• St. James Episcopal,^[16] Greenville, South Carolina
• St. James Parish,^[17] Haverhill, Massachusetts (Roman Catholic)
• Saint John Catholic Church, Westminster, MD
• St. Joseph's Catholic Church, Circleville, Ohio
• St. Joseph Catholic Church, Macon, Georgia
• St. Joseph Catholic Church, Stockbridge, MA
• St. Joseph's Parish,^[18] Biddeford, ME (Roman Catholic)
• St. Joseph Catholic Church, Houston, TX www.saintjoseph.org
• St. Joseph's Villa, Richmond, Virginia, est. 1930
• St. Leo the Great Catholic Church, Philadelphia, PA
• St. Mary – St. Catherine of Siena Parish (Charlestown, MA)
• St. Mary Church, Norwalk, CT^[19]
• St. Mary's Church, Greenville, SC (Roman Catholic)
• St. Mary's Church, Newark, NJ
• St. Mary's Church, Uxbridge, Massachusetts
• St. Mary Help of Christians Church, Aiken, SC (Roman Catholic)
• St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church (Charleston, South Carolina)
• St. Matthew's Church, East Syracuse, NY
• St. Matthew's German Evangelical Lutheran Church, Charleston, South Carolina
• St. Michael's Church- Chicago, IL, in Old Town (Roman Catholic)
• St. Stanislaus – Bishop & Martyr Church, Buffalo, New York (Roman Catholic)
• St. Stephen the Martyr Catholic Church, Omaha, NE
• St. Thomas Aquinas, Lincoln, NE
• Shrine of the Sacred Heart Church, Baltimore, MD
• Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Mary, Monroe, MI
• Trinity Episcopal Parish Church (Seattle)

Works in Canada[]

• Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church (Ottawa)
• Cathedral-Basilica of Notre-Dame de Québec
• Notre-Dame Basilica (Montreal)
• Cathedral of Christ the King (Hamilton)
• Cathedral Church of St. James (Toronto)
• Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Saint John
• Church of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, Guelph, Ontario (Roman Catholic)^[20]
• St. Michael's Cathedral (Toronto)
• St. Patrick's Basilica, Ottawa
• St. Patrick's Church, Halifax
• St. Thomas Aquinas Church, Toronto

St. Andrews Catholic Church, St. Andrews West Ont.

Works in the rest of the world[]

• All Saints Church, Appleton Roebuck, near York, North Yorkshire, England
• All Saints' Church, Dunedin Aotearoa New Zealand
• Church of St Michael, Princetown^[21]
• Holy Trinity Church, Nice, France: four examples^[22]
• Pershore Abbey, Pershore, Worcestershire, England – east single lancet in SE transept (1879) and east window in NE chapel (1879–80)^[23]
• Metropolitan Cathedral of Antofagasta, Chile, 1910^[24]
• St. John the Evangelist, Fremantle, Western Australia, Australia
• St John's Church, Acaster Selby, near York, North Yorkshire, England
• St. Mary's Fochabers, Moray, Scotland.
• All Saints' Church, Rockwell Green, Somerset, England

See also[]

• Franz Xaver Zettler, glass painter and Mayer's son-in-law

References[]

External links[]

Coordinates: 48°08′48″N 11°33′30″E / 48.146594370848376°N 11.558321864270347°E / 48.146594370848376; 11.558321864270347

• https://mayersche-hofkunst.de/en