Johann Josef Amberg
Born in 1805.
Died in 1875.
The dossier presents him as the patriarch of a dynasty of painters spanning at least three generations, some members of which attained, according to the text, supra-regional recognition. The early generations of the Amberg family are described as farmers and Heimweber (domestic weavers), with a presence in Büron attested since the sixteenth century. Married to Maria Weltert, Jean Amberg had, according to the extract, eighteen children.
Professionally, he worked both as a painter and as a Bildschnitzer (ornamental sculptor), and was notably authorised to execute the decorations and ornaments of the Pfarrkirche in Willisau. The dossier attests that he also practised Hinterglasmalerei (reverse glass painting), a technique popular in the period and region. He is described as having developed a particular technique for these paintings: he painted different «Ausschnitte» on glass panes of identical format, then arranged them one in front of the other to produce a strong impression of depth.
Among the dated works associated with the dossier is the Hochaltargemälde of the Heiligkreuzkirche in Hasli/Entlebuch, dated 1787. Mention is made in 1795 of the depiction of the Maria Himmelfahrt in the St. Wendelinskapelle in Krumbach/Geuensee, as well as paintings placed beside the Hochaltar of the Kapuzinerkloster in Sursee. One of the three ceiling paintings in the Wendelin chapel is described as representing the Assumption (Maria Himmelfahrt), a work linked in the text to Jean Amberg.
The dossier also presents the Liebfrauenaltar north of the Stadtkirche in Sursee, with its medallions of the mysteries of the rosary, as a work by Jean Amberg. Among the documented commissions, he was entrusted in 1823 with creating the two side altars of the Church of Saint Gallus in Büron. Several local altars and altarpieces are thus presented on the website as created by or attributed to Jean Amberg, the wording varying from one notice to another.
For bibliographical context, the notice refers to Georg Staffelbach’s work on the history of glass painting in the canton of Lucerne. The article used focuses explicitly on Johann Josef Amberg and certain of his descendants—notably Josef Anton and Johann Anton Sebastian—and provides the chronological and attributional information reproduced here.