Matthäus Frauenpreiss d. Ä. (1505-1549)
Stigma - coat of arms with a tricolor flower.
Matthäus Frauenpreis I, probably born around 1505, may have been of Flemish descent. He is first mentioned in Augsburg in 1529, when he married Anna Hertzler, the widow of Briccius Helmschmid, Colman's younger brother and therefore Desiderius's uncle. He may have served in Briccius's workshop on Schmiedegasse am Hornbruck. In 1530, he became a master in the Augsburg guild, paying taxes for Briccius's old workshop. His son, Matthäus II, who continued his father's craft, was born the same year. In 1547, he became a master (deputy) of the gunsmiths' guild. That year, he paid tax not only for himself but also for his relative, Kunradt Frauenpreis, and his stepson, Hanns Helmschmid. It is known that in 1548, Hans Burgkmair II, a painter and engraver, worked for him as an engraver. The following year, he hired Jörg Sorg II to engrave the garniture to which the Wallace Collection A270 belongs and became the overseer of crafts in Augsburg. He died on October 22, 1549. Jörg Sorg's pattern book lists no more than five garnitures by Matthäus I. The remaining garnitures registered there, since they date from 1550 or later, must have been executed by his son, who lived around 1575. One of them may have been made by his father for Vratislaus von Pernstein, chancellor of Emperor Maximilian II and owner of the Wallace Collection A1004. None of its parts have been identified so far.
Famous customers of the master:
Emperor Maximilian II.
Armor of the great master you can see:
Hermitage museum, Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation.
The Wallace Collection, London, United Kingdom.
Real Armería de Madrid, Madrid, Provincia de Madrid, Comunidad de Madrid, Reino de España.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, New York, USA.
Hofjagd- und Rüstkammer, Wien, Republik Österreich.
The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
