ZÜRN, Jörg

German sculptor, part of a family of sculptors. He was born in Uberlingen, a town on the northern shore of Lake Constance (Bodensee), the eldest son of sculptor Hans Zürn the Elder. Jörg was first apprenticed to his father before training at several different workshops in southern Bavaria. In 1604, at the age of 21, he joined the local GuildGLOSSARYAn association of the masters of a particular craft, trade or profession (painters, goldsmiths, surgeons, and so on) set up to protect its members' rights and interests. Such guilds existed in virtually every European city in the 16th century. The guild also monitored standards of work, acted as a court for those who brought their trade into disrepute, and provided assistance to members in need. of Sculptors. Given the demand for his family's services, Hans Zürn the Elder would no doubt have kept his eldest son busy from the moment he finished his training.

A specialist in wood carving, Jörg is best known for his masterpieceGLOSSARYA term now loosely applied to the finest work by a particular artist or to any work of art of acknowledged greatness or of preeminence in its field. Originally it meant the piece of work by which a craftsman, having finished his training, gained the rank of'master' in his guild. of BaroqueGLOSSARYThe period in art history from about 1600 to about 1750. In this sense the term covers a wide range of styles and artists. In painting and sculpture there were three main forms of Baroque: (1) sumptuous display, a style associated with the Catholic Counter Reformation and the absolutist courts of Europe (Bernini, Rubens); (2) dramatic realism (Caravaggio); and (3) everyday realism, a development seen in particular in Holland (Rembrandt, Vermeer). In architecture, there was an emphasis on expressiveness and grandeur, achieved through scale, the dramatic use of light and shadow, and increasingly elaborate decoration. In a more limited sense the term Baroque often refers to the first of these categories. The development of the Baroque reflects the period's religious tensions (Catholic versus Protestant); a new and more expansive world view based on science and exploration; and the growth of absolutist monarchies. sculpture - the 10-metre-high, five-storey High Altar of the Virgin Mary (1613-16), in the Church of Saint Nicholas at Überlingen. No other major sculptures by him are known.