[Altars] 1735 - 1745

Joseph Anton Feuchtmayer made this drawing called 'Altars', though the exact date is unknown, with pen and black ink on paper. In the 18th century, altar design was big business across the Catholic parts of Europe. Feuchtmayer was one of many artists who would produce detailed plans, hoping to win commissions. These designs were more than just pretty pictures. They represented a complex negotiation between the church's spiritual needs, the patron's financial desires, and the artist's own creative ambitions. In a region like Southern Germany, dominated by powerful monastic institutions, these negotiations played out in a very specific social context. Feuchtmayer, as a professional designer, had to navigate this world carefully. To understand this image fully, one must delve into the archives of the monasteries and aristocratic families who commissioned such works. By studying these records, we can begin to understand the social and economic forces that shaped the art of the time. The meaning of any work of art is contingent on its social and institutional context.