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Werner Hofmann

ヴェルナー・ホフマン

Werner Hofmann

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1928-08-08 （Vienna, Austria）
Died
2013-03-13 （Hamburg, Germany） age 84
Nationality
Austria
Languages
German
Residence History
Vienna → Paris (study) → New York (visiting appointments) → Hamburg → Cambridge, Massachusetts (visiting)

Career

Occupations
art historian, cultural journalist, writer, curator, museum director, university lecturer
Active Years
1950-2013
Affiliations
Albertina (Vienna), Museum Moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig (mumok) (founding director), Hamburger Kunsthalle (director), Barnard College / Columbia University (visiting professor), University of California, Berkeley (visiting professor), Harvard University (visiting professor)
Influenced By
Vienna School of Art History, Julius von Schlosser
Influenced
Generation of modernist art historians associated with the Hamburg School, Curators and museum professionals influenced in exhibition practice

Education

University of Vienna
Art History
Degree: Ph.D.
Period: 1947–1950
Year of Graduation: 1950
Country: Austria
Studied art history in Vienna; Ph.D. dissertation on Honoré Daumier
University of Paris (study)
Art History (studies)
Period: 1948–1949
Country: France
Studied in Paris during his Vienna years

Awards

Commandeur de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres
1990
Organization: French Ministry of Culture (Ordre des Arts et des Lettres)
Result: 受賞
Sigmund Freud Prize for Academic Prose
1991
Organization: German cultural institutions
Result: 受賞
Preis der Stadt Wien für Geisteswissenschaften
1992
Organization: City of Vienna
Result: 受賞
Aby Warburg Prize
2008
Organization: Aby-Warburg-Foundation etc.
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Art in the Nineteenth Century (The Earthly Paradise)

1960 Art history

A seminal study that interprets 19th-century European art not chronologically but through opposing themes and motifs, situating works within their ideological and cultural contexts.

19th-century artRomanticismmodernitythemes and ideology
Translations
  • English translation: Art in the Nineteenth Century / The Earthly Paradise

Foundations of Modern Art: An Introduction to Its Symbolic Forms

1966 Art history / theory

A systematic introduction to symbolic forms in modern art, demonstrating an interdisciplinary approach drawing on music, philosophy and literature.

symbolic formsmodern artinterdisciplinary analysis

Caspar David Friedrich: Art around 1800

1974 Exhibition catalog / art history

Exhibition catalogue for the 'Kunst um 1800' show at the Hamburger Kunsthalle, examining Caspar David Friedrich and contemporaries to explore art around 1800.

Romanticismlandscape paintingexhibition history

Goya: From Heaven Through the World to Hell

2003 Exhibition catalog / art history

A study and exhibition catalogue on Francisco de Goya, relating his life and work to revolutions and social change; an English edition was also published.

Goyarevolution and artsocial-historical context
Translations
  • English edition: Goya: To Every Story there Belongs Another

Caricature from Leonardo to Picasso

1956 Art history

A study tracing the history of caricature and caricaturists from Leonardo to Picasso; one of his early notable works and translated into English.

caricatureiconographyhistory of representation
Translations
  • English translation: Caricature from Leonardo to Picasso

Bibliography

  • Die Karikatur von Leonardo bis Picasso. Hamburg 1956.
  • Zeichen und Gestalt: Die Malerei des 20. Jahrhunderts. Frankfurt am Main 1957.
  • Die Plastik des 20. Jahrhunderts. Frankfurt am Main 1958.
  • Henry Moore: Writings and Sculptures. Frankfurt am Main 1959.
  • Art in the Nineteenth Century. Munich 1960.
  • Foundations of Modern Art: An Introduction to Its Symbolic Forms. 1966.
  • Turning Points in 20th Century Art. 1974.
  • Caspar David Friedrich: Art around 1800. Exhibition catalog, Hamburger Kunsthalle 1974.
  • Goya: To Every Story there Belongs Another. 2003.
  • Phantasiestücke: On the Fantastic in Art. 2010.
  • Beauty Is a Line: 13 Variations on a Theme. 2014.

Translations of Works

  • Das irdische Paradies → Art in the Nineteenth Century / The Earthly Paradise (English translation)
  • Goya: Vom Himmel durch die Welt zur Hölle → Goya: To Every Story there Belongs Another (English translation)
  • Die Karikatur von Leonardo bis Picasso → Caricature from Leonardo to Picasso (English translation)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
non-linear, thematic approachinterdisciplinary (references to music, philosophy, literature)clear, argument-driven scholarly prose
Recurring Motifs
conflicts of modernity and Romanticismart and politicslandscape and perceptions of naturemyth and symbolism

Health

  • heart attack
    2013（最終的な発症・死因）
    Died of a heart attack while hospitalized

Legacy

Werner Hofmann was a major figure in modern art history, bridging the Vienna and Hamburg schools. His thematic approach and landmark exhibitions left a lasting impact on art-historical scholarship and museum practice in the German-speaking world.

Archives

  • Archives held at the Hamburger Kunsthalle

Quotes

  • Considered by his colleagues as one of the most distinguished European scholars of modern art and its ideology.
    Source: Wikipedia (article summary) (2013)

Trivia

  • Founding director of Vienna's Museum Moderner Kunst (now mumok) in 1962.
  • Director of the Hamburger Kunsthalle from 1969 to 1990.
  • Served as visiting professor at Barnard College/Columbia, UC Berkeley and Harvard.
  • Left a significant mark on exhibition history through numerous catalogs and monographs.