Joseph Anton Feuchtmayer

Who was Joseph Anton Feuchtmayer?

Joseph Anton Feuchtmayer was an important Rococo stuccoist and sculptor, active in southern Germany and Switzerland.

J. A. Feuchtmayer was born in Linz, a member of the famous Feuchtmayer family of the Wessobrunner School. He was the son of Franz Joseph Feuchtmayer; the nephew of Johann Michael Feuchtmayer and Michael Feuchtmayer; the first cousin of Franz Xaver Feuchtmayer and Johann Michael Feuchtmayer; and the first cousin once removed of Franz Xaver Feuchtmayer.

Joseph Anton began studying sculpture in Augsburg in 1715 and did work in Weingarten starting in 1718. After the death of his father Franz Joseph, he took over his father's workshop in Mimmenhausen. At the same time, he became the "house sculptor" of the monastery in Salem, delivering for them his first commission, the organ case for the Salemer Münster.

Feuchtmayer was influenced by the Italian stuccoist Diego Francesco Carlone, with whom he worked in Weingarten. From him, he learned the production techniques for creating the stucco figures with highly polished surfaces that would make Feuchtmayer famous.