SCHARDT, Johann Gregor van der

The four statues depict the Four Seasons in the form of the deities Flora (Spring), Ceres (Summer), Bacchus (Autumn) and Vulcan (Winter). They were probably made from a design by Wenzel Jamnitzer and are all that remains of a three-metre-high, mechanical silver fountain which the Nuremberg goldsmith Jamnitzer worked on from around 1568 by appointment of Emperor Maximilian II, and which was delivered in Prague in 1578 to Rudolf II, Maximilian’s son. The fountain was melted down between 1547 and 1750 in Vienna. The only remaining pieces of the famous fountain are the four statues of gods, which were made of bronze and therefore not suitable to be melted down.

In the portrait bust of Willibald Imhoff, a wealthy Nuremberg patrician, Van der Schardt created a highly naturalistic likeness, including such details as wrinkles, warts, and liver spots. The presentation, however, is distinctive. He does not stare outward, as in most portraits, but rather gazes intently at the ring in his left hand. As Imhoff quietly contemplates the work’s aesthetic merits, his mouth opens slightly as if about to speak.

As a result of his travels in Antwerp, Brussels, Italy and Vienna, before settling in Nuremberg, van der Schardt’s art reflect the pan-European influences he encountered. His own style and choice of materials (terracotta or bras/bronze) varied according to the needs of the individual project. His portraits were very realistic while his mythological statuettes, such as Flora, reflect current artistic trends. Her attenuated body, notably the elongated neck, small head and sensuous curves, conform to the mannered tastes of the day that often stressed aesthetic effect over natural mimicry.

Flora is one of the four surviving statues that formed the base of an indoor fountain that Van der Schardt and Wenzel Jamnitzer created for the Neugebäude, Maximillian II’s new palace near Vienna.

This sculpture formed part of a group with several other personifications of celestial bodies. It comes from a large table fountain - a stack of statues and water basins that stood in the middle of an aristocratic or royal dining-table. During the meal, the figures spouted water. It is not known who commissioned this particular table fountain, it was probably someone at the court of the Habsburg emperor, Maximilian II.

This sculpture formed part of a group with several other personifications of celestial bodies. It comes from a large table fountain - a stack of statues and water basins that stood in the middle of an aristocratic or royal dining-table. During the meal, the figures spouted water. It is not known who commissioned this particular table fountain, it was probably someone at the court of the Habsburg emperor, Maximilian II.