Johnny Roosval
Encyclopedia
John August Emanuel Roosval (29 August 1879 - 18 October 1965) was a Swedish art historian.
Roosval was born in a bourgeois family in Kalmar
, but grew up in Stockholm
from the age of five and went to school there. He studied at Uppsala University
from 1897, and finished his kandidat degree in Philosophy, Latin, French, and Æsthetics with the history of literature and art, and Scandinavian philology in two years. In 1899 he went to Berlin as a tutor for the son of the Swedish military attaché there, Henrik de Maré. The son, Rolf de Maré
, later became known as an art collector and as the owner of the Ballets Suédois
. Henrik de Maré's wife, Ellen von Hallwyl, would later divorce him and married Roosval in 1907.
At the same time, he enrolled at the University of Berlin, where he was a student of Heinrich Wölfflin
and Adolph Goldschmidt
, two of the founders of art history as an academic discipline. Roosval joined Goldschmidt on bicycle tours of rural churches in the vicinities of Berlin, a method for art historical exploration he would later introduce to his Swedish students. He was awarded his Berlin Dr. phil. degree in 1903 for a dissertation on Flemish altarpieces in Sweden. Returning from Berlin to Sweden, he worked at the Nordiska museet in Stockholm and also trained as a reserve officer, later teaching at Uppsala University as a docent of art history, newly established as an independent discipline, having previously counted as part of the study of Æsthetics.
He remained in Uppsala until 1914, when he moved to the University of Stockholm. There, he received a titular professorship in 1918, was appointed to the Anders Zorn professorship of Scandinavian and comparative art history in 1920, in accordance with the wishes of the donor, the painter Anders Zorn
, but transferred to the J. A. Berg professorship of art history and theory in 1930, becoming an emeritus in 1946. He also held the Kahn lectures
at Princeton University
in 1929 and the Charles Eliot Norton lectures
at Harvard University
1936-1937. In 1933 he presided over the International Congress of the History of Art held in Stockholm.
Roosval is known in particular for his studies of the medieval ecclesiastical art of Gotland
, which he described in his Die Kirchen Gotlands: ein Beitrag zur mittelalterlichen Kunstgeschichte Schwedens (Stockholm: Norstedt, 1911) and Die Steinmeister Gottlands (Stockholm: Fritze, 1918). He also wrote extensively on the Saint George statue in the Stockholm Church of Saint Nicholas (Storkyrkan
) and was the first to attribute it to the Lübeck master Bernt Notke
. With Sigurd Curman, he co-founded the Sveriges Kyrkor (The Churches of Sweden) documentation project, of which the first volume was published in 1912.
Roosval was born in a bourgeois family in Kalmar
Kalmar
Kalmar is a city in Småland in the south-east of Sweden, situated by the Baltic Sea. It had 62,767 inhabitants in 2010 and is the seat of Kalmar Municipality. It is also the capital of Kalmar County, which comprises 12 municipalities with a total of 233,776 inhabitants .From the thirteenth to the...
, but grew up in Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
from the age of five and went to school there. He studied at Uppsala University
Uppsala University
Uppsala University is a research university in Uppsala, Sweden, and is the oldest university in Scandinavia, founded in 1477. It consistently ranks among the best universities in Northern Europe in international rankings and is generally considered one of the most prestigious institutions of...
from 1897, and finished his kandidat degree in Philosophy, Latin, French, and Æsthetics with the history of literature and art, and Scandinavian philology in two years. In 1899 he went to Berlin as a tutor for the son of the Swedish military attaché there, Henrik de Maré. The son, Rolf de Maré
Rolf de Maré
Rolf de Maré , sometimes called Rolf de Mare, was a Swedish art collector and leader of the Ballets Suédois in Paris in 1920–1925. In 1933 he founded the world's first museum for dance in Paris.-Biography :...
, later became known as an art collector and as the owner of the Ballets Suédois
Ballets Suédois
The Ballets suédois was a predominantly Swedish dance ensemble that, under the direction of Rolf de Maré , performed throughout Europe and the United States between 1920 and 1925, rightfully earning the reputation as a “synthesis of modern art” .The Ballets suédois created pieces that negotiated...
. Henrik de Maré's wife, Ellen von Hallwyl, would later divorce him and married Roosval in 1907.
At the same time, he enrolled at the University of Berlin, where he was a student of Heinrich Wölfflin
Heinrich Wölfflin
Heinrich Wölfflin was a famous Swiss art critic, whose objective classifying principles were influential in the development of formal analysis in the history of art during the 20th century. He taught at Basel, Berlin and Munich in the generation that raised German art history to pre-eminence...
and Adolph Goldschmidt
Adolph Goldschmidt
Adolph Goldschmidt was a Jewish German art historian.He was born in Hamburg.After a short business career he devoted himself to the study of the history of art at the universities of Jena, Kiel, and Leipzig...
, two of the founders of art history as an academic discipline. Roosval joined Goldschmidt on bicycle tours of rural churches in the vicinities of Berlin, a method for art historical exploration he would later introduce to his Swedish students. He was awarded his Berlin Dr. phil. degree in 1903 for a dissertation on Flemish altarpieces in Sweden. Returning from Berlin to Sweden, he worked at the Nordiska museet in Stockholm and also trained as a reserve officer, later teaching at Uppsala University as a docent of art history, newly established as an independent discipline, having previously counted as part of the study of Æsthetics.
He remained in Uppsala until 1914, when he moved to the University of Stockholm. There, he received a titular professorship in 1918, was appointed to the Anders Zorn professorship of Scandinavian and comparative art history in 1920, in accordance with the wishes of the donor, the painter Anders Zorn
Anders Zorn
Anders Leonard Zorn was one of Sweden’s foremost artists who obtained international success as a painter, sculptor and printmaker in etching.-Biography:...
, but transferred to the J. A. Berg professorship of art history and theory in 1930, becoming an emeritus in 1946. He also held the Kahn lectures
Kahn Lectures
The Kahn Lectures were series of lectures that took place from 1929 to 1931 at the Department of Art and Archaeology of Princeton University, sponsored by the New York banker Otto Hermann Kahn...
at Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
in 1929 and the Charles Eliot Norton lectures
Charles Eliot Norton Lectures
The Charles Eliot Norton Professorship of Poetry at Harvard University was established in 1925 as an annual lectureship in "poetry in the broadest sense" and named for the university's former professor of fine arts. Distinguished creative figures and scholars in the arts, including painting,...
at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
1936-1937. In 1933 he presided over the International Congress of the History of Art held in Stockholm.
Roosval is known in particular for his studies of the medieval ecclesiastical art of Gotland
Gotland
Gotland is a county, province, municipality and diocese of Sweden; it is Sweden's largest island and the largest island in the Baltic Sea. At 3,140 square kilometers in area, the region makes up less than one percent of Sweden's total land area...
, which he described in his Die Kirchen Gotlands: ein Beitrag zur mittelalterlichen Kunstgeschichte Schwedens (Stockholm: Norstedt, 1911) and Die Steinmeister Gottlands (Stockholm: Fritze, 1918). He also wrote extensively on the Saint George statue in the Stockholm Church of Saint Nicholas (Storkyrkan
Storkyrkan
Sankt Nikolai kyrka , most commonly known as Storkyrkan and Stockholms domkyrka , is the oldest church in Gamla Stan, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden. It is an important example of Swedish Brick Gothic...
) and was the first to attribute it to the Lübeck master Bernt Notke
Bernt Notke
' was the most important German painter and sculptor in Northern Europe in his times....
. With Sigurd Curman, he co-founded the Sveriges Kyrkor (The Churches of Sweden) documentation project, of which the first volume was published in 1912.