Moritz Thausing
Encyclopedia
Moritz Thausing was an Austria
n art historian
, and counts among the founders of the Vienna School of Art History
.
, in the region of Litoměřice
), Thausing began his academic career as a student of German literature and history. He studied first in Prague
, and in 1858 went to Vienna
, where he studied at the Österreichische Institut für Geschichtsforschung (Austrian Institute for Historical Research). There he came into contact with Rudolf Eitelberger
, who since 1852 had held the first chair in art history at the University of Vienna
. Under his influence Thausing began to study the history of art. In 1862 he received an appointment as a library assistant at the Akademie der bildenden Künste
, where he also gave general lectures on world and cultural history. In 1864 Eitelberger secured a position for him with the print collection of the Albertina
, which he would direct beginning in 1868, although he received the formal title of Director only in 1876.
In 1871 Thausing was an active participant in the so-called "Holbein convention" in Dresden
, at which a number of prominent art historians convened to determine which of two versions of Hans Holbein the Younger
's Meyer Madonna was the original work.
In 1873, once again due to the advocacy of Eitelberger, Thausing was appointed as a professor extraordinarius for art history at the University, and became ordinarius in 1879. A progressive mental illness overshadowed his final years. His health declined dramatically after he became interim director of the newly-founded Istituto Austriaco di studi storici in Rome
. Following a temporary commitment to a mental hospital, he died during a vacation in his homeland through drowning (probably intentional) in the Elbe
.
. The task of the art historian was, for him, solely the establishment of facts regarding any given work, and not aesthetic judgment. In this regard he was profoundly influenced by the so-called "experimental method" of the Italian scientist and connoisseur Giovanni Morelli
, whom he honored as his "fratello in Raffaele" ("brother in Raphael
"). Morelli had developed a meticulous procedure, through which he claimed to be able to determine the painter of a work through analysis of physiognomic details. Although this procedure was somewhat inaccessible, it represented a first step toward the comparative stylistic analyses that would serve as a foundation for modern art history. The transition from Morellian connoisseurship to stylistic analysis was conclusively effected by Thausing's students, and in particular by Alois Riegl
and Franz Wickhoff
, the most important representatives of the Vienna School of art history.
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n art historian
Art history
Art history has historically been understood as the academic study of objects of art in their historical development and stylistic contexts, i.e. genre, design, format, and style...
, and counts among the founders of the Vienna School of Art History
Vienna School of Art History
The Vienna School of Art History is a collective term used to describe the development of fundamental art-historical methods at the University of Vienna...
.
Life
The son of a palace official in Schloß Tschischkowitz (modern ČížkoviceCížkovice
Čížkovice is a village and municipality in Litoměřice District in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic.The municipality covers an area of , and has a population of 1,335...
, in the region of Litoměřice
Litomerice
Litoměřice is a town at the junction of the rivers Elbe and Ohře in the north part of the Czech Republic, approximately 64 km northwest of Prague....
), Thausing began his academic career as a student of German literature and history. He studied first in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
, and in 1858 went to Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, where he studied at the Österreichische Institut für Geschichtsforschung (Austrian Institute for Historical Research). There he came into contact with Rudolf Eitelberger
Rudolf Eitelberger
Rudolf Eitelberger, full name Rudolf Eitelberger von Edelberg was an art historian and the first Ordinarius for art history at the University of Vienna...
, who since 1852 had held the first chair in art history at the University of Vienna
University of Vienna
The University of Vienna is a public university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world...
. Under his influence Thausing began to study the history of art. In 1862 he received an appointment as a library assistant at the Akademie der bildenden Künste
Academy of Fine Arts Vienna
The Academy of Fine Arts Vienna is an institution of higher education in Vienna, Austria.- History :The Academy of Fine Arts Vienna was founded in 1692 as a private academy by the court-painter Peter Strudl, who became the Praefectus Academiae Nostrae. In 1701 he was ennobled as Baron of the Empire...
, where he also gave general lectures on world and cultural history. In 1864 Eitelberger secured a position for him with the print collection of the Albertina
Albertina, Vienna
The Albertina is a museum in the Innere Stadt of Vienna, Austria. It houses one of the largest and most important print rooms in the world with approximately 65,000 drawings and approximately 1 million old master prints, as well as more modern graphic works, photographs and architectural drawings...
, which he would direct beginning in 1868, although he received the formal title of Director only in 1876.
In 1871 Thausing was an active participant in the so-called "Holbein convention" in Dresden
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
, at which a number of prominent art historians convened to determine which of two versions of Hans Holbein the Younger
Hans Holbein the Younger
Hans Holbein the Younger was a German artist and printmaker who worked in a Northern Renaissance style. He is best known as one of the greatest portraitists of the 16th century. He also produced religious art, satire and Reformation propaganda, and made a significant contribution to the history...
's Meyer Madonna was the original work.
In 1873, once again due to the advocacy of Eitelberger, Thausing was appointed as a professor extraordinarius for art history at the University, and became ordinarius in 1879. A progressive mental illness overshadowed his final years. His health declined dramatically after he became interim director of the newly-founded Istituto Austriaco di studi storici in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
. Following a temporary commitment to a mental hospital, he died during a vacation in his homeland through drowning (probably intentional) in the Elbe
Elbe
The Elbe is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Krkonoše Mountains of the northwestern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia , then Germany and flowing into the North Sea at Cuxhaven, 110 km northwest of Hamburg...
.
Legacy
In methodological hindsight, Thausing played a decisive role in the development of art history as an autonomous discipline. Although his mentor, Eitelberger, had already sought to lend historica research and the aesthetic appreciation of art equal weight, Thausing sought the complete separation of art history from aestheticsAesthetics
Aesthetics is a branch of philosophy dealing with the nature of beauty, art, and taste, and with the creation and appreciation of beauty. It is more scientifically defined as the study of sensory or sensori-emotional values, sometimes called judgments of sentiment and taste...
. The task of the art historian was, for him, solely the establishment of facts regarding any given work, and not aesthetic judgment. In this regard he was profoundly influenced by the so-called "experimental method" of the Italian scientist and connoisseur Giovanni Morelli
Giovanni Morelli
Giovanni Morelli was an Italian art critic and political figure. As an art historian, he developed the "Morellian" technique of scholarship, identifying the characteristic "hands" of painters through scrutiny of diagnostic minor details that revealed artists' scarcely conscious shorthand and...
, whom he honored as his "fratello in Raffaele" ("brother in Raphael
Raphael
Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino , better known simply as Raphael, was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. His work is admired for its clarity of form and ease of composition and for its visual achievement of the Neoplatonic ideal of human grandeur...
"). Morelli had developed a meticulous procedure, through which he claimed to be able to determine the painter of a work through analysis of physiognomic details. Although this procedure was somewhat inaccessible, it represented a first step toward the comparative stylistic analyses that would serve as a foundation for modern art history. The transition from Morellian connoisseurship to stylistic analysis was conclusively effected by Thausing's students, and in particular by Alois Riegl
Alois Riegl
Alois Riegl was an Austrian art historian, and is considered a member of the Vienna School of Art History...
and Franz Wickhoff
Franz Wickhoff
Franz Wickhoff was an Austrian art historian, and is considered a member of the Vienna School of Art History. Wickhoff studied at the University of Vienna under Alexander Conze and Moritz Thausing. In 1879 he received a position at the k.k...
, the most important representatives of the Vienna School of art history.
Selected works
- Dürers Briefe, Tagebücher und Reime (Vienna, 1872).
- Die Votivkirche in Wien (Vienna, 1879).
- Le livre d'esquisses de J. J. Callot (Vienna, 1881).
- Dürer. Geschichte seines Lebens und seiner Kunst, two volumes (Leipzig, 1876; 2nd ed. Leipzig, 1884).
- Wiener Kunstbriefe (Leipzig, 1884).
Selected secondary literature
- Rudolf von Eitelberger, "Nekrolog Moriz Thausing," Wiener Zeitung, 26 August 1884, pp. 4 ff.
- Simon Laschitzer, "Nekrolog Moriz Thausing," Kunst-Chronik: Beiblatt zur Zeitschrift für bildende Kunst 19 (45), 9 October 1884, pp. 749 ff.
- Julius von Schlosser, "Die Wiener Schule der Kunstgeschichte," Mitteilungen des Österreichischen Instituts für Geschichtsforschung 13 (Innsbruck, 1934).
- Artur Rosenauer, "Moriz Thausing und die Wiener Schule der Kunstgeschichte," Wiener Jahrbuch für Kunstgeschichte 36 (1983), pp. 135 ff.
External links
- Thausing, Moritz. in the Dictionary of Art Historians Lee Sorensen, ed.
- Art as Existence Gabriele Guercio - The MIT Press, 2006