19th Century German Art History

Volume 6 Issue 4, December 2014

        Iain Boyd Whyte,  Editorial
        Robin Curtis, An Introduction to Einfühlung, translated by Richard George Elliott from German (“Einführung in die Einfühlung”, in Robin Curtis and Gertrude Koch (eds.), Einfühlung. Zu Geschichte und Gegenwart eines ästhetischen Konzepts, Munich: Wilhelm Fink, 2008)
        Joseph Imorde, Empathy in Art History, translated by Richard George Elliott from German (“Einfühlung in der Kunstgeschichte”, in Curtis and Koch, 2008)
        Kirsten Wagner, Animating Architecture: Empathy and Architectonic Space, translated by Jonathan Blower from German (“Die Beseelung der Architektur. Empathie und architektonischer Raum”, in  Curtis and Koch, 2008).
        Peter Sloterdijk, Museum — School of Alienation, translated by Iain Boyd Whyte from German (“Museum — Schule des Befremdens”, in Der aesthetische Imperativ, Hamburg, 2007).

Since 1823 the consecration date of 1129 for the Church of St. Boniface inscribed on the Freckenhorst baptismal font from the imperial convent of St. Boniface (Westphalia, Germany) has continued to be considered, by some, the date for when the font was carved. For over two hundred years this precocious date has divided academic communities, despite the numerous and comprehensive counter arguments asserting that the font is a later twelfth century if not early thirteenth century vessel. This raises the question, “Why has there been such resistance to recognize this vessel as a later product of the prolific Westphalian stone industry?” This article reviews the historiography to uncover the roots of the ‘sanctified status’ that the Freckenhorst font acquired over the centuries from the post-Imperial period of Germany through the two World Wars. The literature reveals not only why the Freckenhorst font came to symbolize ‘Germanic ingenuity’ for German art historians but also the challenges and changes within the evolving discipline of art history and the scholarly networks that connected art historians in the first half of the twentieth century.

Mostra/Exhibition Catalogue: Work in progress. Opere dal Museo d'Arte Moderna di Palazzo Collicola e dalla Fondazione Marignoli di Montecorona /Artworks from the Galleria d’Arte Moderna di Palazzo Collicola and from The Marignoli di Montecorona Foundation; a cura di / curators Michele Drascek, Duccio K. Marignoli, Marco Tonelli; Palazzo Collicola, Spoleto, 26 giugno / June - 26 settembre / September, 2021; catalogo edito da /catalogue published by Editoriale Artemide, Roma, agosto 2021.

15 years and many archives later, this book has appeared with Schwabe Verlag (Basel).  Available on amazon.de and other places.  Five case studies of the imbrication of politics -- political events, political thought and the political beliefs and engagement (or disengagement) of art historians -- and the art historical concept of the baroque. Focused primarily but not exclusively on architectural history, where the concept of the baroque was worked out, this study gives a face to art history and uncovers a political substrate in many classic texts.

This is the chapter on Adolf von Hildebrand (1847-1921) from my PhD. It challenges the common view of Hildebrand as a mere classicist theoretician and argues that his theory (and its inconsistencies) may have evolved out of his analysis of his own major work, the standing youth in the Nationalgalerie in Berlin. You will also find a one page paraphrase of the whole theory.