STAMMEL, Josef Thaddäus

The artist’s extraordinarily expressive figures in the collegiate library, in which local stylistic traditions are combined with formal concepts of the Italian Baroque, are based on allegories of transitoriness and motifs of Vanity. The allegorical figures representing the “Four Last Things,” including the Death, seriously admonished the visitor to the library to be mindful of the earthly power of death and to put the books at the service of future spiritual salvation.

The artist’s extraordinarily expressive figures in the collegiate library, in which local stylistic traditions are combined with formal concepts of the Italian Baroque, are based on allegories of transitoriness and motifs of Vanity. The allegorical figures representing the “Four Last Things,” including the Hell, seriously admonished the visitor to the library to be mindful of the earthly power of death and to put the books at the service of future spiritual salvation.

Admont Abbey is a Benedictine monastery located in the town of Admont, Austria. It is the oldest remaining monastery in Styria and contains the largest monastic library in the world.

While the abbey itself was completed in 1074 the library (late Baroque) was not completed until 1776. It was commissioned by Abbot Matthäus Offner (reigned 1751-1779) and built by the Graz Master Builder Josef Hueber (1715-1787).

Adorning the ceilings are seven frescoes by Bartolomeo Altomonte. The sculptures were made by master Baroque sculptor Josef Stammel. Particularly famous is The Four Last Things, a group of four oversized presentations of Death, the Last Judgement, Heaven and Hell.

The library collection comprises some 200,000 volumes. The most valuable treasures are the more than 1,400 manuscripts (the earliest from the 8th century) and the 530 incunabula (early printed books before 1500).

Admont Abbey is a Benedictine monastery located in the town of Admont, Austria. It is the oldest remaining monastery in Styria and contains the largest monastic library in the world.

While the abbey itself was completed in 1074 the library (late Baroque) was not completed until 1776. It was commissioned by Abbot Matthäus Offner (reigned 1751-1779) and built by the Graz Master Builder Josef Hueber (1715-1787).

Adorning the ceilings are seven frescoes by Bartolomeo Altomonte. The sculptures were made by master Baroque sculptor Josef Stammel. Particularly famous is The Four Last Things, a group of four oversized presentations of Death, the Last Judgement, Heaven and Hell.

The library collection comprises some 200,000 volumes. The most valuable treasures are the more than 1,400 manuscripts (the earliest from the 8th century) and the 530 incunabula (early printed books before 1500).

Admont Abbey is a Benedictine monastery located in the town of Admont, Austria. It is the oldest remaining monastery in Styria and contains the largest monastic library in the world.

While the abbey itself was completed in 1074 the library (late Baroque) was not completed until 1776. It was commissioned by Abbot Matthäus Offner (reigned 1751-1779) and built by the Graz Master Builder Josef Hueber (1715-1787).

Adorning the ceilings are seven frescoes by Bartolomeo Altomonte. The sculptures were made by master Baroque sculptor Josef Stammel. Particularly famous is The Four Last Things, a group of four oversized presentations of Death, the Last Judgement, Heaven and Hell.

The library collection comprises some 200,000 volumes. The most valuable treasures are the more than 1,400 manuscripts (the earliest from the 8th century) and the 530 incunabula (early printed books before 1500).