Joseph Gantner was a Swiss art historian.

His father Alfred Gantner, a manager at Brown Boveri, and his wife Marie (née Wächter), a midwife. In 1932 Joseph Gantner married Maria Hanna Dreyfus.

Gantner's studies took him to the universities at Zurich

University of Zurich

The University of Zurich , located in the city of Zurich, is the largest university in Switzerland, with over 25,000 students. It was founded in 1833 from the existing colleges of theology, law, medicine and a new faculty of philosophy....

, Basel

University of Basel

The University of Basel is located in Basel, Switzerland, and is considered to be one of leading universities in the country...

, Geneva

University of Geneva

The University of Geneva is a public research university located in Geneva, Switzerland.It was founded in 1559 by John Calvin, as a theological seminary and law school. It remained focused on theology until the 17th century, when it became a center for Enlightenment scholarship. In 1873, it...

, and finally to Munich, where he completed a doctorate in 1920 under 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...

 (1864–1945). He also spent a semester in Rome with Adolfo Venturi. His Habilitation

Habilitation

Habilitation is the highest academic qualification a scholar can achieve by his or her own pursuit in several European and Asian countries. Earned after obtaining a research doctorate, such as a PhD, habilitation requires the candidate to write a professorial thesis based on independent...

sschrift was completed in 1926. From 1922 or 1923 to 1927 he was Editor of the periodical Das Werk and later also of Das neue Frankfurt. From 1927 until 1932 Gantner taught at the Kunstschule in Frankfurt-am-Main.

He returned to Switzerland in 1933 when the Nazi menace began to increase. From 1926–28 and then again from 1933–38, he worked on a second Ph. D. from the University of Zurich. In 1938 at the age of 42 he was appointed Professor of Art History at the University of Basel

University of Basel

The University of Basel is located in Basel, Switzerland, and is considered to be one of leading universities in the country...

, and remained there until retirement in 1967. In 1954 he became Rector

Rector

The word rector has a number of different meanings; it is widely used to refer to an academic, religious or political administrator...

 of the University and that same year became a member of the Basel Art Museum Commission. He founded the Basler Beiträge zur Kunstgeschichte in 1943, and edited the Zeitschrift für Ästhetik und allgemeine Kunstwissenschaft from 1952 together with Heinrich Lützler.

His portrait was painted by Augusto Giacometti

Augusto Giacometti

Augusto Giacometti was a Swiss painter from Stampa, Graubünden, cousin of Giovanni Giacometti who was the father of Alberto, Diego and Bruno Giacometti....

, a second cousin of Alberto Giacometti

Alberto Giacometti

Alberto Giacometti was a Swiss sculptor, painter, draughtsman, and printmaker.Alberto Giacometti was born in the canton Graubünden's southerly alpine valley Val Bregaglia and came from an artistic background; his father, Giovanni, was a well-known post-Impressionist painter...

, and is now in the possession of his daughter Vera.