Ernst Willemsen

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Ernst Willemsen (born September 6, 1913 , † August 4, 1971 ) was a German restorer .

Life

Willemsen was head of the restoration workshop at the Rhineland State Conservatory from 1953 until his death in 1971 . In numerous writings he laid the foundations for today's binding ethical restoration principles. Willemsen was against a reconstructive restoration, i.e. against the restoration of intactness; his principles were based on respect for the original.

From today's point of view, the professional side is criticizing the rigidity with which he completely removed later overpainting of sculptures or paintings in his own restoration projects. This procedure no longer corresponds to the agreements in force today, which should respect not only the original work of art, but also its further history and, if possible, document it.

Willemsen earned undisputed merit with his commitment to uniformly regulated and certified training for restorers. "His precise suggestions are to be seen as the basis and preparation for later university education." Willemsen's most important undertaking is the exhibition Colored Pictures of the Middle Ages in the Rhineland (1967).

Willemsen had an encyclopedic knowledge of art history, he corresponded a. a. with Paul Klee and Ernst Wilhelm Nay . He translated the Norwegian writer Knut Hamsun into German, and he also provided a story with his own illustrations. His son Roger confessed that he had acquired "his great appreciation for linguistic differentiation". Janis concludes that "the clarity of his thought processes, the virtuosity and precision of his language as well as the direct insight into his fundamental considerations contribute significantly to an understanding of the complex processes involved in conservation and restoration."

He died at the age of 57 from complications from cancer and was buried in Oedekoven near Bonn. Willemsen left behind his wife Regine and three children, including the presenter and author Roger Willemsen .

Publications (selection)

  • Museum painting restoration. Art collections of the city of Düsseldorf (ed.), Düsseldorf 1950, pp. 3–16.
  • Restoring - a technical problem? In: Yearbook of the Rheinische Denkmalpflege , Vol. 27, 1967, pp. 257–262. Reprinted in: Journal for Art Technology and Conservation , ISSN  0931-7198 , special issue, Worms 1989, pp. 34-40.
  • with Hans Peter Hilger : Colored images of the Middle Ages in the Rhineland. Complete catalog for the exhibition of the Rhineland State Conservator in the Rheinisches Landesmuseum Bonn in the summer of 1967. Rheinland Verlag, Düsseldorf 1967
  • One suggestion: exams for restorers . In: Günther Borchers (ed.), Yearbook of the Rheinische Denkmalpflege 28 (1971), pp. 137–143.
  • with Heinz Althöfer and Rolf E. Straub: Contributions to the investigation and conservation of medieval works of art. [Landesdenkmalamt Baden-Württemberg], Deutscher Kunstverlag, Munich / Berlin 1974 (research and reports on building and art monument maintenance in Baden-Württemberg; vol. 4); ISBN 3-422-00664-8 .

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Reports on the activities of the restoration workshop 1965–1970. In: Yearbook of the Rheinische Denkmalpflege 28 (1971), pp. 5–10.
  2. ↑ Conversation text : alpha forum: Roger Willemsen, author and moderator. In: Bayerischer Rundfunk , January 22, 2001, manuscript , (PDF; 17 p., 58.5 kB).
  3. ↑ Katrin Janis: What am I allowed, what am I not, what should I do? Conservation and restoration through the ages. In: The Art of Preserving , ed. from the yearbook Foundation Prussian Palaces and Gardens Berlin-Brandenburg , Volume 8, Potsdam 2006, Akademie-Verlag, Berlin 2010, ISBN 978-3-05-004532-0 , p. 37.
  4. ↑ Katrin Janis, 2005, ISBN 978-3-89975-513-8 , p. 37f.
  5. ↑ cf. z. B. ECCO professional guidelines (I) - The profession of restorer. In: Romoe Restorers Network , accessed September 13, 2017.
  6. ↑ "Leading restorers such as Johannes Taubert at the Bavarian State Office for Monument Preservation and Ernst Willemsen at the Rhenish Monument Office initiated the basis for" scientific "restoration with the implementation of these tasks." In: Freelance and commissioning of restorers , expert opinions for the Association of Restorers. In: Institute for Liberal Professions (IFB) at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg , 07/2010, p. 8.
  7. ^ Nicole Riedl: 9th history of restoration in the context of monument preservation. In: Provincial Roman wall painting in Germany. History - historical materials - technology - history of restoration in the context of monument preservation presented using selected examples. Dissertation from the University of Bamberg , 2007, p. 209, (PDF; 308 p., 2,729 kB), complete book , table of contents .
  8. ↑ a b c Insa Wilke : Conversation 1. In: The passionate contemporary , S. Fischer, ISBN 978-3-10-002422-0 , pp. 15-39, (PDF; 109 kB).
  9. ↑ Katrin Janis, 2005, ISBN 978-3-89975-513-8 , p. 42.
  10. ↑ Hans-Peter Fuß: “It's about the quiet moments” In: General-Anzeiger (Bonn) , October 1, 2013, interview with Roger Willemsen.
  11. ^ Se: Roger Willemsen. In: Munzinger Archive , November 10, 2015, only beginning of article.
personal data
SURNAME Willemsen, Ernst
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German restorer, head of the restoration workshop of the Rheinisches Landesmuseum Bonn
DATE OF BIRTH September 6, 1913
DATE OF DEATH 4th August 1971