Book launch and discussion with Detlef Witt and Irmfried Garbe

Elias Kessler (c. 1670/80–1730) was the most important sculptor of the Baroque period in Western Pomerania. His sculptures reveal a training influenced by antiquity and European high art. His workshop produced altars, pulpits, baptismal fonts, baptismal and lectern angels, family tombs and epitaphs, crucifixes, town coats of arms, casting models and more. Kessler’s works can be found in many places: alongside his base in Stralsund and the immediate surrounding area, including the island of Rügen, in Rostock, Loitz, Lassan, Görmin, Semlow and other locations as far afield 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 North-East Germany
With catalogue entries by Felix Schönrock
Berlin, Lukas Verlag 2025, 410 pages, 585 illustrations

https://www.lukasverlag.com/neuerscheinungen/titel/der-stralsunder-bildhauer-elias-kessler.html

Admission: donation