The heartmonument for Emperor Karl VII in the Holy-Chapel, Altötting
Type
Sculpture
Inscriptions
IN MEMORIA AETERNA ERIT JUSTUS PSALM III,VII (cartouche under the bust)
AMOR POST FATA SUPER STES (cartouche in front of the lion)
J: Straub Sculp: AD 1745 (under inscription no 2)
Critical History
The socalled heartmoument for Emperor Karl VII (1697-1745) is the number 1 on Lipperts list. 1 Volk dates the work of J. B. Straub in 1745-1749. 2 The monument is erected in the chapel of most popular icon of grace in Bavaria. Karl VII was the first Bavarian Emperor who arranged that his heart was presented separately from his buried body in a urn made of silver close to the image of grace in Altötting. In a curved niche with a window fittet with bars what might involve the impression for a chapel under earth. The bust of Karl VII is standing on a console. He is dressed like a Roman emperor. The heart-urn is embedded into a glassed niche in the console. On the left side of the console is standing a female statue which is expressing her sadness about the dead of the emperor her hands are folded for a prayer. On right side of the console the Bavarian Lion together with flags and weapons symbolize the courage of Karl VII. The double headed eagle with the insignia of the emperor is flying above the bust.
Construction / Execution
Volk indicates the materials lead and tin for the sculptures and decorations and marble for the console. Probably urn is not cast but driven metall.
Components
Metalwork
The heartmonument for Emperor Karl VII in the Holy Chapel, Altötting
Author: Johann Baptist Straub (Wiesensteig ca. 1704 – Munich 1784)
Completed: 1745 – 1749
Technique(s): casting, embossing
Masonry
The heartmonument for Emperor Karl VII in the Holy Chapel, Altötting
Author: Johann Baptist Straub (Wiesensteig ca. 1704 – Munich 1784)
Completed: 1745 – 1749
Technique(s): stone carving
Material(s): marble
Polychromy
The heartmonument for Emperor Karl VII in the Holy Chapel, Altötting
Completed: 1745 – 1749
Images
The heartmonument of Emperor Karl VII in the Holy Chapel, Altötting photo Bavarian State Department of Monuments and Sites, Michael Forstner 10.2017
Catalogue entry prepared by Rupert Karbacher
Recommended citation: Rupert Karbacher, The heartmonument for Emperor Karl VII in the Holy-Chapel, Altötting, in: TrArS – Tracing the Art of the Straub Family, 2018, (accessed 03/02/2026) URL
Sources and Bibliography
Johann Caspar Lippert, Kurzgefaßte Nachricht von dem churbaierischen ersten Hofbildhauer Herrn Johannes Straub, in: Augsburgisches monatliches Kunstblatt. Kunstzeitung der kaiserlichen Akademie zu Augsburg, 1772, Nr. 54f
Peter Steiner, Johann Baptist Straub (Münchner kunsthistorische Abhandlungen, VI), München und Zürich, Verlag Schnell & Steiner, 1974
Peter Volk, Johann Baptist Straub 1704–1784, München, Hirmer Verlag, 1984
