Book presentation and discussion with Detlef Witt and Irmfried Garbe
“The Stralsund Sculptor Elias Kessler: Baroque Sculpture in Northeast Germany”
Book presentation and discussion with Detlef Witt and Irmfried Garbe
Elias Kessler (c. 1670/80–1730) was the most significant sculptor of the Baroque era in Vorpommern. His sculptures reveal a training rooted in antiquity and European high art. His workshop produced altars, pulpits, baptismal fonts, baptismal and lectern angels, family tombs and epitaphs, crucifixes, city coats of arms, casting models, and more. Kessler’s works can be found in many places: in addition to his workshop in Stralsund and the immediate surrounding area, including the Island of Rügen, in Rostock, Loitz, Lassan, Görmin, Semlow, and other locations as far as Nowe Warpno on the Haff and Freyenstein in Prignitz. Many of these works have been restored in recent years. Elias Kessler also had a lasting influence on the art of his successors in Stralsund.
In this lecture, art historian Detlef Witt (Katzenow) will present his book on the sculptor’s work in conversation with Pastor Irmfried Garbe (Beggerow-Hohenbollentin Parish).
Detlef Witt
The Stralsund Sculptor Elias Kessler
Baroque Sculpture in Northeast Germany
With catalog entries by Felix Schönrock
Berlin, Lukas Verlag 2025, 410 pages, 585 ill.
https://www.lukasverlag.com/neuerscheinungen/titel/der-stralsunder-bildhauer-elias-kessler.html
Admission: Donation
