Asamkirche: An Ode to Adolescence?

Quite contrary to my little knowledge on the region, München (of the monks) or Munich, holds some of the finest examples of Baroque and Rococo architecture – a style of artistic expression which startles and moves. In Altstadt, the Asamkirche, a church built in 1733–1746, is a befitting example of the late Baroque (Rococo) style. Built by two brothers, Egid Quirin Asam, a sculptor, and his brother Cosmas Damian Asam, who wished to create a private chapel they could sculpt and paint to their own desires, not withheld by any authority or patron.

Using all the elements of the Baroque style, the impact of entering the Asamkirche feels inundating; drenched with gilded and chiselled detail, leaving no surface unattended. Darker colours used in the base denote the suffering of the human condition; white marble cherubs cling to striated grey granite that enshrine the seven confessionals, the main feature of this church. The midsection gets lighter with its arches denoting paintings of saints, and the altar and upper parts of the church are the brightest (being closest to heaven), placed with hidden windows to catch direct rays of sun, making incandescent the gold and silver altar that denotes the symbolic five stars of St John of Nepomuk, the patron saint of bridges and confession.

Perhaps it could be contemplated as the unmet adolescent desires of the Asam brothers, their thirst for a space without intrusions, a canvas to create unbounded what was born in the mind’s eye. The overt decoration of the Asamkirche could mirror the inchoate sexuality of adolescence. The emergent desire to be seen as not a child. As seen in many an adolescent to adorn themselves with piercings, makeup or a wish to wear very little to expose the maturing elements of their bodies. The church was soon made public, to which the Asam brothers dedicated it to the youth of Munich; inviting them to utilise the confessionals, as a bridge to help them traverse the troubled waters that must be crossed between childhood and adulthood.