Friedrich Lippmann (art historian)

Friedrich Lippmann (born October 6, 1838 in Prague , Austrian Empire ; died October 2, 1903 in Berlin ) was an Austro-German art historian .

Life

Lippmann was born in Prague as the youngest son of a wealthy factory owner. There he received his scientific training partly at high school and partly through private lessons. He had a special disposition and interest in music.

Far from ordinary youthful pleasures, he lived in the company of his father and his sick older sister. He developed an enthusiasm for the sport and was active in it until his later years. He was a rider , an excellent fencer , mountaineer , cyclist and, above all, a passionate rower . Lippmann's father spent most of his winters in the south because of his health and the joy of art, and he also attended a course at the Vienna Academy . The son always accompanied him, including to Italy . The interest in art that arose in the boy over time became an interest in collecting works of art.

After thorough completion of the baccalaureate 1856 be carried exam in State and Law at the University of Prague . There was no study of art history at that time. So he gathered his knowledge during his travels to France and England , especially in the art collections in Paris and London, and so eagerly continued his studies which he had begun in Vienna in the Belvedere , in the Albertina and in the imperial library .

In 1867 he joined the Association of Austrian Museums, first as a correspondent , and later from 1868 as curator . That of Eitelberger Rudolf founded the Museum of Decorative Arts was equipped by Lippmann in true collector's passion. However, after Eitelberger demanded more scientific work, inventory work and lectures, Lippmann's pleasure in working at the museum was ultimately spoiled more and more.

When Crown Prince Friedrich Wilhelm became protector of the Berlin museums in Berlin in 1872 , many vacant director positions were to be filled with younger staff. Friends and colleagues knew how to draw attention to Lippmann in such a way that at the beginning of November 1876 he was appointed director of the Kupferstichkabinett in Berlin . In order to obtain scientific legitimacy in the form of a doctorate, he wrote his work on "The beginnings of the art of shape cutting and image printing". With his knowledge and connections, Lippmann finally succeeded in building up a Dürer collection that is second only to the collection in the Albertina in Vienna.

Lippmann's publications, mostly created from the material of the Berlin Cabinet, were less scientific and more artistically designed. His publications with reproductions from drawings, engravings and woodcuts are significant and influential. His publications of Botticelli's Dante drawings, Cranach's engravings and woodcuts , Dürer's drawings and Rembrandt's hand drawings remain unmatched .

His knowledge, his feeling for art and his profitable handling and his contacts to museums and collectors all over the world were and will remain unique.

Publications

"Drawings by Albrecht Dürer", Friedrich Lippmann (Ed.), Illustration of all seven volumes

• with Joseph Meder , Friedrich Winkler (ed.): Drawings by Albrecht Dürer in replicas (collotype facsimile) . G. Grotesche Verlagsbuchhandlung Berlin, 1883–1929, (large folio).
  • Vol. 1: (F. Lippmann, 1883) Section I – IV (Collection Kupferstichkabinett Berlin, Collection William Mitchell, John Malcolm of Poltalloch, Frederick Locker)
  • Vol. 2: (F. Lippmann, 1888) Department V – XXII (collections in Bremen, Braunschweig, Coburg, Weimar, Hamburg, Graz, London, Prague, Düsseldorf, Berlin, Budapest, Bamberg, Frankfurt, Munich, Dresden and Darmstadt)
  • Vol. 3: (F. Lippmann, 1894) Department XIII – XXV (collections of the museums in London and Paris)
  • Vol. 4: (F. Lippmann, 1896) Department XXVI – XLVIII (collections in Chantilly, Paris, Windsor Castle, Oxford, Chatsworth, Warwick, London, Turin, Vienna, Prague, Erlangen, Karlsruhe and Berlin)
  • Vol. 5: (J. Meder, 1905) Department XLIX (collection in the Albertina in Vienna) (published after Lippmann's death)
  • Vol. 6: (F. Winkler, 1927) Department VI (years of apprenticeship and journeys) (published after Lippmann's death)
  • Vol. 7: (F. Winkler, 1929) Department VII (Nuremberg Years and Journeys) (published after Lippmann's death)
• with Cornelis Hofstede de Groot (Ed.): Drawings by Rembrandt Harmensz van Rijn, reproduced in the original colors by Emrik & Binger in Haarlem. First episode: Delivery I – IV. 200 drawings in 4 portfolios (canvas), numbered 1–200. Each portfolio contains 50 drawings. The first edition appeared in Berlin in 1888-1892. The second, unchanged edition is published under the direction of C. Hofstede de Groot and only 75 copies were printed.
• The copper engraving. W. Spemann, Berlin 1893.
• (Ed.): Lucas Cranach - Collection of reproductions of his most excellent woodcuts and his engravings , G. Grote'sche Verlagbuchhandlung, Berlin 1895 ( digitized version ).

literature

• Wilhelm Bode : Friedrich Lippmann, director of the Berlin Kupferstichkabinett, died on October 2, 1903 . In: Kunstchronik No. 5 from November 20, 1903.
• Metzler art historian lexicon. Two hundred portraits of German-speaking authors from four centuries Metzler, Stuttgart 1999, pp. 242–244.
• Lippmann, Friedrich. In: Lexicon of German-Jewish Authors . Volume 16: Lewi – Mehr. Edited by the Bibliographia Judaica archive. Saur, Munich 2008, ISBN 978-3-598-22696-0 , pp. 80-83.
• Lippmann, Friedrich. In: Susanne Blumesberger, Michael Doppelhofer, Gabriele Mauthe: Handbook of Austrian authors of Jewish origin from the 18th to the 20th century. Volume 2: J-R. Edited by the Austrian National Library. Saur, Munich 2002, ISBN 3-598-11545-8 , pp. 838f.

Web links

• Friedrich Lippmann in the Dictionary of Art Historians