Joseph Hubert Verbunt, decorative arts sculptor

Nederlandse versie hier

Josephus Hubertus Verbunt was baptized a Roman Catholic on March 27, 1809 in the parish 't Heike in Tilburg, the Netherlands. He was the son of the Tilburger cloth dyer Gerardus Johannes Verbunt and Maria Elisabeth Michal from Verviers (nowadays Belgium). Godfather and godmother at this baptism were his great-uncle Joannes Hubertus Wienand and his grandmother Joanna Catharina van Bommel.

Childhood

His father Gerardus is usually quoted as cloth dyer, but in the census of 1810 he was called manufacturer. He came from the better families of Tilburg. His grandfather Josephus was at his death in 1797 one of the aldermen of the city of Tilburg and his uncle Antonius Josephus was a tax collector. Several members of the family Verbunt were merchant and draper and by marriage related to families of regents in Tilburg. See o.a. Lambert G. De Wijs on the website of the Family Verbunt van Spaendonck. On April 17, 1810 Gerardus bought from Peter Francis Mennen a house and yard in the neighborhood Kerk in the Nieuwlandsche street. The house was on lot No. 1330, east was the street, west a carriage way, south lived the widow Roelof Piggen and north Adriaen Francis Venmans.

Nieuwlandstreet in 1905.

Josephus had a litlle brother: Antonius Petrus, born in Tilburg on February 4, 1811. His father Gerard was already very ill and bedridden (in the French act of the time: très malade, au lit). He died almost two weeks later on February 16 at the age of 34. Just before his death on February 12, Gerardus and Maria Elisabeth made a testament (Notarial Archives Tilburg, part 160, act 10 and 11), in which Gerardus regulates that his wife is sole heir. Little Anthony, just half a year old, died in that same year on August 23.

His mother Marie Elisabeth (Elisabeth in some records) did not marry again. On September 29, 1813 (notarial archives Tilburg, part 160, act 113) she signs a liability declaration for 250 guilders because of a loan from the wine buyer Martinus Liemdt at a rate of 5%. Her house serves as collateral (mortgage) and her brother-in-law Antonius Josephus Verbunt is guarantor for this loan. On February 13, 1816 (notarial archives Tilburg, part 169, act 17) she concludes a new mortgage on her house to a value of 250 guilders at 5% interest, this time, a loan from the master carpenter Peter van der Schoot. It is a loan for 10 years and it is up to her how and when to replace it. In those years, she is referred to as a private person, but thereafter as a seamstress and at the end of her life as someone without profession.

Marie Elisabeth Michal died at the age of 82 in Tilburg on October 20, 1861 in the neighborhood Veldhoven. An acquaintance and the grandson of her brother-in-law Antonius Josephus Verbunt gave notice of her death. She originated from Verviers (nowadays in Wallonia, Belgium). Before the French Revolution Verviers was part of the Diocese of Liège and was then and after the French time a thriving textile industry town. So, there might have been a trade link with Tilburg.

On his 19th birthday Josephus Hubertus Verbunt was the tallest Tilburger of the 1809 generation. At his registration for military service in 1828 he was 177.2 cm tall, 15 cm more than the average of his year of birth. The register also lists him as an only child, which was a reason to grant him one year postponement. That postponement was repeated in 1829, 1830 and in 1831. Finally in 1832 he was granted dispensation.

Marriage and family

Josephus Hubertus married at the age of 38 on January 19, 1848 in Dreux, a town in the northwest of France, with Melanie Augustine Marie MENAGER, who was 16 years younger and the daughter of Louis Marie MENAGER and Marie Adelaide MANCEL. She was born in Nogent-le-Rotrou, near Dreux, on March 12, 1825 and in Dreux - probably in childbirth of her first child - deceased on December 28, 1848. From this marriage was born:

Gerard Joseph Louis Verbunt, born December 17, 1848 at Dreux (F) and after six months deceased on June 28, 1849.

From the marriage act No.5 (1848) of Dreux (Archives d'Eure et Loir):

L'an mil huit ans quarante huit le mercredi du neuf janvier Sept heurs du soir ... de la ville de Dreux se sont presenter pour contracter mariage Joseph hubert Verbunt sculpteur agé de trente huit ans, domicilié à Dreux, fils majeur de feu Gerard Jean Verbunt et de Elisabeth Michal sa veuve, demeurant à Tilbourg (Brabant septentrional), d'un part. Et Melanie Augustine Marie Menager, agée de vingt trois ans, demeurant chez sa père et mère a Dreux, fille majeure de Louis Marie Menager et de Marie Adelaïde Mancel sa femme, propriétairals, d'autre part. ... L'acte naissance Joseph hubert Verbunt, epoux, en date à Tilbourg du vingt sept mars mil huit cent neuf. Celui du dècu de Gerard Jean Verbunt ... en date aussi à Tilbourg, du seize fevrier mil huit cent onze. Le consentement donné à ce mariage par Elisabeth Michal, sa mère, suivant acte dressé par Me~ Bekers Notaire à Tilbourg le onze fevrier ... enregistré. Vu enfin l'acte de naissance de Melanie Augustine Marie Menager épouse, en date à Nogent le Rotrou, du doux mars mil huit ans vingt cinq. ...

From the baptism act No.324 (1848) of Dreux of the son Gerard (Archives d'Eure et Loir):

L'an mil huit cent quarante huit le dix huit décembre deux heures du soir devont nous Maire et officier de l'Etat civil de la ville de Dreux. Est comparu le sieur Joseph hubert Verbunt sculpteur, agé de trente ... ans, domicilié à Dreux rue des capucins, Lequel nous a déclaré que Melanie Augustine Marie Menager sa femme agée de vingt trois ans, est accoucher hier cinq heures du soir en son domicile 's usdit(?) d'un enfant du sexe masculin qu'il nous présente et auquel il donne les prénoms de Gerard Louis Joseph. Les dites déclaration et présentation faites en présence des sieurs Louis Marie Menager, proprietaire, âgé de cinquante sept ans et francois René Menager, menuisier, agé de quarante sept ans, domicilié audit Dreux, aïeul et oncle de l'enfant. Et ont les père et témoins signé avec nous après lecture faite.

Joseph Hubert Verbunt died in Lyss, a peasant village near Bern in Switzerland, on October 15, 1870 at the age of 61.

Life and work

In Tilburg (NL)

According to the draft registers 1828-1832 his profession was a schrijnwerker or schreinwerker, a carpenter or maker of cabinets and furniture.
He left Tilburg on December 16, 1829 to Antwerp, but apparently came back. On March 15, 1832, shortly after his final dispensation from military service, he has left again and this time to Hilvarenbeek. When Josephus has left the Netherlands to settle abroad is (still) not known.

References in several lexica

In: Vollmer, H., 1926. Allgemeines lexikon der bildenden künstler. 34ster band.

Verbunt, Joseph Hubert, Dekorationsbildhauer, * 27.3.1809 Tilburg (Holland), † 15.10 1870 Lyß, Kanton Bern. Schüler von M.J.N.Liénard in Paris. Tätig an der Kathedr. in Dreux, in den 50er Jahren am Neubau des Schlosses Schadau des Barons Rougemont in Thun, anschließend am Bundesratshaus in Bern u. an den Schlössern in Neuenburg, Oberhofen u. Buonas. Lit.: Brun, Schweiz. Kstlerlex., 3 (1913). Jenny, Kstführer d. Schweiz, 2. Aufl. (1934).

In: Bénézit, E., 1955. Dictionnaire critique et documentaire des peintres, sculpteurs, dessinateurs et graveurs. Nouvelle édition.

Verbunt (Joseph Hubert), sculpteur de décorations, né à Tilbourg le 27 mars 1809, mort à Lyss le 15 octobre 1870 (Ec. Suis). Elève de J.L. Liénard à Paris. Il travailla d’abord pour les églises de Dreux, puis à Berne.

In: Benezit, 2006. Dictionay of artists. Volume 14.

Verbunt, Joseph Hubert. Swiss, 19the century. Born 27 March 1809, in Tilburg; died 15 October 1870, in Lyss. Sculptor, Decorative schemes. The pupil of J.L. Liénard in Paris, Verbunt worked initially for the churches of Dreux, then in Bern.

In: SIKART Lexikon und Datenbank, Schweizerisches Institut für Kunstwissenschaft (www.sikart.ch).

Verbunt, Joseph Hubert. * 27.3.1809 Tilburg, † 15.10.1870 Lyss. Holländischer Dekorationsbildhauer. In den 1850-er Jahren am Neubau des Schlosses Schadau des Barons de Rougemont in Thun tätig.

Personal communication SIKART: There is no literature on this artist in Swiss libraries nor any documentation in our archives.

In: Inventar der neueren Schweizer Architektur, Band 4. Bern 1982, S. 461 (personal communication B.Mutter, Gesellschaft für Schweizerische Kunstgeschichte).

Verbunt hat auch die Bauplastik (Kapitelle , Masswerk usw.) in der Stadtkirche von Glarus geschaffen.

Most of this information seems to date back to one source, possibly: Carl Brun (1913) - Schweizerisches Künstlerlexikon.

From: Schweizerisches Künstlerlexikon, 1913 (Mitteilung des Herren Architect Eduard Davinet)

Student of M.J.N. Liénard

Chapelle Royale today (source: wikipedia)

The sculptor of decorative artwork Michel Joseph Napoléon Liénard (1810-1870) contributed to the spread of the neo-renaissance style. His ornaments were derived from the sixteenth century, cartouches, interlacings, excessive framework, caryatids, cupids, satyrs, chaplets of shells, grimacing figures. ... He worked with the architect Duban in restorations of castles in Amboise, of Versailles, Blois and the chapel of Dreux, which was a guarantee for a steady hand and a variety of knowledge about the old styles and especially the Renaissance. He is the modeler of sculptures of the fountain Saint-Michel in Paris. From 1835 to 1865, Liénard played a major role and was the supplier of models of all sorts of the neo-Renaissance style (source: www.marcmaison.com).

Joseph Verbunt and Michel Liénard were contemporaries. It is not clear where and how they met, maybe in Paris, maybe later in Dreux. One of the masterpieces of Liénard , between 1839 and 1845, was his work on the Royal Chapel in Dreux, where the French king Louis-Philippe wanted to erect the official burial place of his dynasty.

Tombstone inside the chapel (source: wikipedia)

Additional information on life and work of Michel Liénard is to be found in the thesis of Sophie Derrot.

In Dreux (F)

His exact year of arrival in or departure from Dreux is not known, but he maried there and had a son and lost both wife and son in 1848-1849. According to Vollmer (1926) and Bénézit (1955, 2006) he worked for churches in Dreux. If in cooperation with Liénard he migth have arrived around 1839. In 1848 he and his family lived in Rue des Capucins and later on in Rue Faubourg Saint Jean.
It is likely that he worked for the Chapelle Royale Saint-Louis, probably not involved in the making of the different sculptured tombstones, but the ornaments of the chapel itself.
Additional pictures on www.chapelle-royale-de-dreux.abcsalles.com, choose Photos. From this website:

L’édifice constitue ainsi un bel exemple d’architecture du XIXème auquel les vitraux conçus par les ateliers de la manufacture de Sèvres apportent un éclat particulier. Enfin, l’ensemble des gisants constitue une exceptionnelle collection de sculptures funéraires. Tous ces éléments nés du talent des plus grands artistes du XIXème siècle font de la Chapelle Royale de Dreux un témoin privilégié de son temps.

In Thun (CH)

The castle Schadau in Thun in 1855 (Photo: Gastronomy Museum, Thun)
Detail front castle Schadau (Photo: Dr.Hans Kelterborn)
Spiral staircase in castle Schadau (Photo: Christian Helmle, Thun, 1980)

Probably soon after the death of his wife and son he must have gone to Switserland. In the years 1847 - 1852 the castle Schadau was to be build in Thun on the foundations of an older building, commissioned by the Neuchâtel banker Alfred de Rougemont, a great art connoisseur and collector, and his wife Sophie de Pourtalès. It was based on plans of the architect Pierre Charles Dussillon from Paris. Did he knew of the skills of Joseph Hubert Verbunt and recommend him for the decorative artwork?
Some quotes from sources on the internet about the building and design of the castle Schadau:

www.schloss-schadau.ch

1847 - 1852 durch Alfred de Rougemont und Sophie de Pourtalès an Stelle zweier Vorgängerbauten erbaut. Geplant durch den Pariser Architekten Pierre Charles Dussillon. Sansteintreppe und -schmuck durch den Holländer Josef Hubert Verbunt. Stil: Romantischer Historismus mit Anlehnungen an die Loire-Schlösser, englische Tudor-Gotik und Renaissance-Formen.

www.swisscastles.ch/bern/schadau.html

Erbaut 1846-54 nach Plänen von Pierre-Charles Dusillon für den Neuenburger Banquier Abraham Denis Alfred de Rougemont. Gesamtrestauration ab 1972. Bedeutender historischer Schlossbau der Romantik von hoher Qualität und ausserordentlichem Formenreichtum. Elemente der Neurenaissance von Loire-Schlössern und der Tudorgotik von Landhäusern. Bauplastik von Joseph Hubert Verbunt. Reiche Innenausstattung mit Eichenholzschnitzereien, Ledertapeten, Malereien und gemusterten Parkettböden.

www.g26.ch/schloss_schadau.html

Schloss Schadau. Eines der bedeutendsten historistischen Schlösser der Romantik. An Stelle eines nacheinander den v. Strättligen, v. Bubenberg und v. Erlach gehörenden Schlosses erb. 1849–54 nach Plänen von James Victor Colin (Grundkonzept) und Pierre-Charles Dusillion (Fassadengestaltung) unter Friedrich Ludwig Osterrieth und Jakob Wirth für Alfred de Rougemont-de Pourtalès. Heute Restaurant und kleines Gastronomiemuseum. Gesamtrest. ab 1972 (mit Rekonstruktion der peristylartigen Gartenhalle). Malerischer Gesamteindruck durch Vieltürmigkeit, aufgelöste Dachlandschaft und verschiedenfarbiges Steinmaterial. In der Gestaltung angelehnt an Loireschlösser und Landhäuser der Tudorgotik. Bauplastischer Schmuck von Joseph Hubert Verbunt, hervorragendstes Element die freispiralige Wendeltreppe mit Masswerkgeländern und Stützen mit Laubwerkkapitellen, bevölkert mit kleinen Fabelwesen. Raffinierte Innenausstattung, Eichentäfer mit aufgemalten Intarsien, gepresste mehrfarbige Ledertapeten und dreifarbig gemusterte Parkettböden.

The staircase was Verbunts masterpiece, but you can also see his skillness in the front of the castle or in a detail (personal communication Dr. Hans Kelterborn, the Gastronomy-Museum (located in the castle)).
Detail photography of castle Schadau: HERE.

In the same periode Verbunt was also working on the castle Oberhofen on the shores of the Thunersee. The reason was, that the proprietors of Schadau and Oberhofen (10 km distance) were relatives (cousins) (personal communication Dr. Hans Kelterborn).

www.kunstmuseum-thun.ch

In 1844 Schloß Oberhofen passed into the hands of the Neuenburg-Prussian family de Pourtales. From 1849-1855 the buildings were significantly refurbished, as were the parklands, under the supervision of the Neuenburg architect James Colin. The castle garden is particularly interesting: it is one of the first historicizing landscape projects and was also included in Colin's overall plan.

Detail photography of castle Oberhofen: HERE.

In Bern (CH)

In 1856 the city council of Bern approved a design for a monumental fountain in the inner court of the Bundeshaus in honour of Berna, the female personification of the city of Bern: the Berna-Brunnen. The fountain itself was designed by Joseph Hubert Verbunt. Some qoutes from www.g26.ch/bern_brunnen_40.html:

Der Berna-Brunnen

The Berna-Brunnen in Bern (source: wikipedia).

Beim Gang durch die Berner Bundesgasse fällt der Blick unwillkürlich auf den monumentalen Brunnen, welcher im Hof des Bundeshauses West steht. Auf seiner hohen Säule thront die stolze Bronzestatue der Berna - Symbolfigur der Stadt Bern mit ihrer jahrhundertelangen Tradition. Mit dem Berna-Brunnen - eingeweiht im Jahre 1863 - wurde der Bau des Bundesratshauses (heutiges Bundeshaus West) durch die Stadt Bern abgeschlossen.

Am 22. Dezember 1856 genehmigte der Gemeinderat auf Antrag der besonderen Baukommission für das Bundesratshaus den «schönen und geschmackvollen» Entwurf des leitenden Architekten Studer - nur der Entscheid über das vorgesehene Standbild wurde noch vertagt. Als Material wählte man hellen Solothurnerstein. Gestaltet wurde der Brunnen vom holländischen Bildhauer Joseph Hubert Verbunt. Aus je vier Schwanenhälsen und Löwenköpfen ergiesst sich das Wasser in das Becken, das die Form eines eidgenössischen Kreuzes aufweist. Auf dem Brunnenstock, rund um die aufgesetzte Säule, sind vier gusseiserne Figuren angeordnet, welche die Jahreszeiten verkörpern.

Detail photography of the Bernabrunnen in 2010: HERE.
More background information and pictures here and a beautifull 1914 postcard here.

Miscellaneous

In Switserland Joseph has also contributed to the work regarding the castles in Neuenburg (Neuchâtel) and Buonas (Vollmer, 1926) and the church in Glarus (personal communication B.Mutter). The latter might have been after the hugh city fires in 1861.

Sources

Concise pedigree of Josephus Hubertus Verbunt (in Dutch).
Book of baptisms 1797-1810 Tilburg (parish't Heike) page 52v

(shift+click to open in new window)

Marriage act Joseph Hubert Verbunt and Melanie Augustine Marie Menager, Dreux (F) 1848

( http://www.archives28.fr/ec/index.php, Dreux Mariages 1848, act No. 5 (archives d'Eure et Loir) )

Kinship between the three named Verbunt, born in 1809 (in Dutch).
Body length from the military register of 1828 in Stories regarding 1809 (in Dutch).

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Author: Pieter van de Sanden

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