00:45 Nov 2 

I would translate Grabdenkmal as funerary monument, in all probability, in brick and plaster, since it is likely to be a piece of figural sculpture in an architectural surround. Also think the Gedächtnisbild is as likely to be a sculptural relief (cf Bildhauer) as it is a painting/wall painting.
Some nice pics of the Medici Chapel, as comparative material:
http://www.museumsinflorence.com/musei/Medici_chapels.html

19:33 Nov 1 

Ah, ninacoon, thanks for the vote. You seem to have one of those cumulative pieces of writing where information about the subject comes in bits in the terms successively applied, as well as explicit description/definition - so that the Grabdenkmal (1, & I stand to b corrected, any tomb statue/sculpture or 2) the tomb as a monument in itself) may in this case be a Grabkapelle, our funerary chapel in the church, and, again in the case at hand at least, over the Gruft. Or the chapel could be in the Gruft (Gruft as crypt). Yet again this is all without specific research on my part, so "ohne Gewähr & bitte konsultieren Sie Ihren Arzt/Apotheker".
Your Gedächtnisbild **sounds** like yer everyday commemorative/memorial portrait, be it a painting or (less likely) a relief - with a view behind the portrait, of the church interior (probably he was a donor). Sorry to be so lazy re. sources & verification, but at least that's where the language takes me. I'd presume Erbbegräbnis to be synon. with Erbgrab/-gruft, hereditary tomb, crypt or whatever. Wikip. confirms: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erbbegräbnis (googling any of those Erb-* terms brings up a full yield)
Best / S.

18:37 Nov 1 

Apologies, this is my first post to the site and I've not had time to devote to my translation since Friday eve due to family commitments. Actually in this case it would take too long to list the very many specific references to the terms in question, as I have 45 short texts, some in the form of lists, referring to various features such as Erbbegräbnis, Grabdenkmal, Grabkapelle, Gruft unsw. and I was curious to know if there are subtle differences between these descriptions. For example, I have one text that refers to "Grabdenkmäler aud Ziegelstein und Stuck". Then another text that says at the top: "Kapellenrahmung für das Erbbegräbnis" and then further down "über der Grufttür Inschrifttafel für Justus Michael Sprögel." Some are just phrases, not complete sentences. The descriptions refer to fragments or photos of tombs/crypts in the church. Another text describes a "Gedächtnisbild für Johann von Kötteritz...Der Hintergrund gewährt einen Blick in den Innenraum der Nikolaikirche und auf wichtige Ereignisse im Leben eines Christen. Der Anblick der Grüfte und Grabkapellen gemahnt an die Endichkeit des Daseins." That particular sentence got me thinking there mus

17:33 Nov 1 

Unless you provide us with the sentence to be translated and the specific usage of the terms, we really cannot help you in any more detail. Please do so another time - it really is what people tend to do here and are in fact asked to do. Nothing personal.

12:04 Nov 1 

Thanks for all your helpful responses. I think I'll go with funerary chapel and crypt, it's just that the text I have seems to freely interchange the two terms as though they were one and the same, perhaps they are?

00:42 Oct 31 

more about the subject (architecture) than I do.

00:41 Oct 31 

http://www.sehepunkte.de/2004/09/druckfassung/5682.html
http://209.85.229.132/search?q=cache:Y3YbyBjy-OoJ:www.archae...
I think a mausoleum is a very particular type of funerary chapel, free-standing, etc. Unless you know it is a mausoleum, I would advise sticking with funerary chapel.

00:34 Oct 31 

has he? Just arrived at the computer....

00:33 Oct 31 

00:32 Oct 31 

mentioned somewhere else that that is what he's looking for?

00:32 Oct 31 

'mausoleum' ist Mausoleum: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mausoleum

00:30 Oct 31 

a mausoleum is generally a free-standing edifice, whereas a funerary chapel is a chapel with a church/cathedral.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mausoleum

00:27 Oct 31 

Funerary chapel looks good, but what wrong with mausoleum: A large stately tomb or a building housing such a tomb or several tombs.

00:27 Oct 31 

is, I believe, a crypt: some pics of crypts -
http://images.google.co.uk/images?sourceid=navclient&hl=en-G...

00:25 Oct 31 

Constructed at the beginning of the sixteenth century as a funerary chapel for Cardinal Giovanni Battista Zen, the Zen Chapel, located in the southwest corner of the Basilica, was originally open to the Piazzetta and thus served as the primary ducal and ceremonial entrance from the sea. In 1504, the procurators of San Marco contracted Antonio Lombardo to build this funerary chapel for Cardinal Giovanni Battista Zen; Antonio, however, left Venice for Ferrara in 1506, and his father Pietro and later his brother Tullio completed the project. Antonio is credited not only with the overall design of the chapel, but also with the beautiful bronze sculpture of a Madonna and Child seated on a throne, which is known as theMadonna of the Shoe.Considered one of the most beautiful sculptures in Venice, it is notable for its unified composition and the intimate relationship between mother and child.
http://www.savevenice.org/site/pp.asp?c=9eIHKWMHF&b=68750

00:22 Oct 31 

The correct term is generally funerary chapel - Stephen, you should post this (you'll have at least one agree!).

22:28 Oct 30 

M.L. Apelt/ Ger-Eng. Dict. Art Hist- Archaeology has mortuary chapel for Grabkirche, but that sounds more like the funeral chapel (chapel FOR funerals) below. What about funerARY chapel? & sepulchral chapel? Just an unresearched, unverified addition in passing (can't break off own work much just now)