Bruno Thomas

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Bruno Thomas (born February 3, 1910 in Vienna ; † June 29, 1988 ibid.) Was an Austrian art historian and important weapons expert . He was head of the weapons collections at the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna and at Ambras Castle in Innsbruck. His achievements in the field of historical armament were groundbreaking.

Life

After graduating from high school, Thomas studied archeology and art history a. a. at the University of Vienna and the Christian-Albrechts-University in Kiel , he also attended the Vienna Institute for Austrian Historical Research (state examination 1933). In 1932 he was at the Faculty of Kiel University with a thesis on The Westphalian figure portals in Muenster, Paderborn and Minden to Dr. phil. PhD.

In 1933 he came to the Archaeological Seminar in Kiel as a scientific contract employee. In 1934 he was a trainee at the Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna, where he switched to the scientific service in 1936 as a contract employee. From 1940 to 1945 he did military service in the Wehrmacht ; most recently he was taken prisoner of war .

At the Kunsthistorisches Museum he was responsible for the reconstruction of the weapons collection after the Second World War: in 1948 he became custodian II and in 1951 first class. In 1950 he took over the management of the weapons collection, in 1952 he was also head of the weapons collection at Ambras Castle in Innsbruck. From 1954 to 1958 he was head of the collection for sculpture and applied arts (later the Kunstkammer) and from 1958 until his retirement in 1975 he was director of the weapons collection (later the court and hunting armory) in Vienna; In 1968 he was appointed councilor . From 1967 to 1970 he was also responsible for the restoration of holdings (weapons and armor) with flood damage at the Museo Nazionale in Florence. He also rearranged 21 domestic and foreign collections. Ortwin Gamber was his successor in Vienna .

He became an honorary member of the following organizations: Arms and Armor Society / London (1952), Societa S. Marciano / Turin (1956) and Vaabenhistorixke Solskab / Copenhagen (1960). In 1952 he became a board member and from 1969 to 1975 he was President of the Board of Directors of the International Association of Museums of Arms and Military History and in 1962 Membre expert des arts cynégétiques du Conseil International de la Chasse (1962) and a member of the Austrian National Committee of ICOM .

Thomas is responsible for the introduction of methods of art-historical style criticism and historical research in the historical armory, so he expanded it from a historical auxiliary science to an area of ​​art history.

Fonts (selection)

  • with August Grosz: Catalog of the weapons collection in the new castle. Permanent collection (= guide through the art historical collection in Vienna . H. 28). Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna 1936.
  • German armorer art . Bruckmann, Munich 1944.
  • Harnesses (= Wolfrumbücher . No. 6). Kunstverlag Wolfrum, Vienna 1947.
  • with Ortwin Gamber , Hans Schedelmann: The most beautiful weapons and armor from European and American collections . Keyser, Heidelberg a. a. 1963 (Italian translation 1965; license, Löwit, 1975)
  • with Ortwin Gamber: Catalog of the Leibrüstkammer. The period from 500 to 1530 (= guide through the Kunsthistorisches Museum . No. 13). Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna 1976, ISBN 3-7031-0417-1 .
  • Collected writings on historical weapons science . 2 volumes, Akademische Druck- und Verlagsanstalt, Graz 1977, ISBN 3-201-00984-9 .
  • Hans Schmidt from and to Helding. The "artful" gunsmith from Ferlach (around 1600–1669) (= From Research and Art . Vol. 23). History Association for Carinthia, Klagenfurt 1982.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Peter Broucek , Kurt Peball : Trends and Goals since 1945 . In: Dies .: History of Austrian Military Historiography . Böhlau, Köln / Wien 2000, ISBN 3-412-05700-2 , pp. 107-180, here: 174.
  2. ^ Richard Perger : Thomas, Bruno . In: Felix Czeike : Historisches Lexikon Wien. In 6 volumes . Volume 5: Ru-Z . K & S, Vienna a. a. 2004, ISBN 3-218-00749-6 , p. 449.
  3. ^ Kurt Peball : Thomas, Bruno . In: Peter Broucek , Kurt Peball: History of Austrian Military Historiography . Böhlau, Cologne a. a. 2000, ISBN 3-412-05700-2 , pp. 618-619, here: p. 619.
personal data
SURNAME Thomas, Bruno
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian art historian and weapons expert
DATE OF BIRTH February 3, 1910
PLACE OF BIRTH Vienna
DATE OF DEATH June 29, 1988
Place of death Vienna