About the life and work of church artist Thomas Buscher

In 1937 Thomas Buscher, one of the most famous church artists of his time, died in Ammerland.

His works can also be found between the Isar and Loisach.

Münsing

- In the spring of 1937 a man visits Ammerland again, more precisely the Villa Rösl.

Again he stayed in the lake house of the imposing villa on today's Siegleweg and spent many hours with his old friend, the painter Josef Rösl.

From this visit he does not return to his hometown Munich.

He dies at the age of 77 and is buried in the Münsingen cemetery.

That in itself would not have been remarkable if this man had not been one of the most famous sculptors and wood carvers of his time.

Thomas Buscher's style was that of historicism, that is, he drew on styles from past centuries.

You can find numerous works by him in Upper Bavaria.

Many churchgoers in Upper Bavaria know his representations without knowing who they are from: Just think of the crucifixion group at Munich's Westfriedhof, the Marien Altar in the Johanneskirche in Freising or the “nail altar” in Bamberg Cathedral.

There is also a lot to be found in the district: the figurative representation of the altar of the hospital chapel in Bad Tölz, the Immaculate of the Church of St. Katharina in Thankirchen, and a particularly beautiful bust of the Sacred Heart.

It dates from 1926 and can be found in the community he loved to visit: Münsing.

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Thomas Buscher, portrait from 1929.

© Private

Thomas Buscher was born in Gamburg (Baden-Württemberg) in 1860 as the sixth child of master stonemason Friedrich Buscher and his wife Dorothea.

Like some of his brothers, he dedicated himself to art and did an apprenticeship as a sculptor in the institute for church art in Munich with the architect Joseph Elsner.

He later went to America and worked in Chicago as an ornament carver in the workshop of his older brother, who a few years earlier had settled permanently in the US city on Lake Michigan.

In 1900 he bought a house on Nymphenburger Strasse in Munich, which also housed his church art studio.

On June 13, 1907, he was granted Bavarian citizenship, and in 1913 he was appointed royal Bavarian professor of sculpture at the art academy without teaching commitment.

Thomas Buscher became one of the most famous church artists of his time, like Balthasar Schmitt, Heinrich Wadere, Waldemar Kolmsperger.

Connoisseurs complain that his works have not yet been thoroughly researched, although they are of great artistic value.

Nevertheless, his hometown has dedicated a museum to him.

Also read: A new book about the villas on Lake Starnberg

The Herz Jesu in Münsing and the Immaculata in Thankirchen

The Sacred Heart bust by Thomas Buscher is currently not on display in the Münsingen parish church.

"Probably not because there is always a picture of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in a side altar anyway," presumed Pastor Martin Kirchbichler.

There is evidence that the bust was previously erected on Sacred Heart Friday (the first Friday of the month).

When Pastor Kirchbichler came to Münsing in 2006, however, this custom no longer existed.

He likes the idea that the bust could find its place again, for example in June, the month of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

According to the archbishopric's art department, the bust dates from 1926 and is made of linden wood.

It may have been donated to the parish after the artist's death.

It is quite conceivable that even more figures in the parish church can be traced back to Thomas Buscher, such as saints Nepomuk and Aloisius.

A little less is known about the representation of the Virgin Mary in the Kuratiekirche St. Katharina in Thankirchen.

“It was set up in the left side altar in 1917,” reports Pastor Thomas Neuberger.

Why a figure was acquired this year, in the middle of World War I, is no longer understandable today.

One thing is certain: St. Michael in the right side altar is still an original from the 18th century.

"Perhaps the old figure was lost or you wanted to rededicate the altar or simply redesign it," presumed Pastor Neuberger.

"We do not know it."

Practically nobody in Münsing knows the name Buscher anymore, the grave was closed in 1985.

Only a biographer wanted to change that.

Heinz Bischof from Karlsruhe, author of the now out of print book “Chronik der Buscher-Brüder”, attempted in the 1980s to have a memorial plaque erected at the cemetery.

Vain.

"This was rejected by several agencies on the grounds that the artist had no direct connection to the community," reports Buscher's great-great-niece Charlotte Baumann-Hendriks.

She does a lot to ensure that Thomas Buscher's life and work does not fall into oblivion.

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There is also a work by the Munich resident in Thankirchen.

The Immaculata (= The Immaculate) in St. Katharina dates from 1917.

© Hans Lippert

The essay “Last Days in Ammerland” by Heinz Bischof, in which he describes why Ammerland and its residents were so important to Thomas Buscher, has been preserved in the Münsinger archive.

He was inspired by the fishermen here.

“The figures carry facial expressions and gestures by people whom Buscher met on his hikes.

In doing so, he realizes the principle that he has set for himself: nothing to heroize or idealize, but rather to focus on naturalness and the truth of life in everything.

The worshipers in the church should practice self-knowledge on the figures. "

Information on the Internet:

www.thomas-buscher.de