Georg Humann

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Architectural drawing of the Essen Minster, drawn by Georg Humann and used by Georg Dehio

Georg Humann (born December 8, 1847 in Rellinghausen (today a district of Essen ), † January 18, 1932 in Aachen ) was a German art historian .

Life

Humann came from a long-established Essen family, his father was the rent manager of the property belonging to Schellenberg Castle . Like his better-known cousin Carl Humann , who discovered the Pergamon Altar , Humann studied architecture. He attended the Hanover Polytechnic from 1873 to 1876 . After completing his studies, he settled in Essen, where he lived in the house of his maternal ancestors. For health reasons he could not work as an architect.

Humann dealt intensively with the Minster Treasure and the Essen Minster , stimulated by the Gothicization of the Minster Church from 1880 . Humann was represented at other views than the responsible architect Peter Zindel , whose plans also Gotisierung the west part FROM ROCHE. Humann prevailed by engaging the Prussian conservator Heinrich von Dehn-Rotfelser . His preoccupation with the minster and its treasures resulted in Humann's writings, which were highly valued by his contemporaries, so Georg Dehio adopted drawings by Humann for the sections of his handbook of German art monuments relating to the Essen minster .

In 1908, Humann received an honorary doctorate from the Royal Theological and Philosophical Academy of Münster and an honorary membership of the Essen History Friends for his research . After his house in Essen had to be sold in 1897 due to an inheritance dispute, Humann moved to Aachen, where he lived in the Vincenzstift since 1900 and died in 1932.

After his death, Humann bequeathed his private library with around 300 individual volumes on art history and his own works to the Aachen City Library .

Today's assessment

Many of Georg Humann's art historical findings are outdated by more recent research, but his works are still used today because Humann observed, described and above all drew very precisely. In many cases, his works make it possible to compare the current situation with that before the First World War. The early dating of the Essen Westwerk, which Humann undertook in 1890 on the basis of style comparisons, and which has meanwhile been considered refuted, was taken up again with further arguments by more recent research.

Lasting merit is Humann's intervention in favor of the Ottonian shape of the west building in Essen, as well as his discovery during the investigation of the Golden Madonna while working on his book on the cathedral treasure that this valuable wooden figure was infested with pests inside. Without the subsequent restoration, the figure would have been destroyed in the meantime.

Fonts (selection)

  • The restoration of church buildings . Essen 1880.
  • The west building of the Essen Minster . Essen 1890 ( digitized version ).
  • The oldest parts of the cathedral at Essen. Bonn 1892.
  • The former abbey building to eat. Essen 1894.
  • For assessing medieval works of art with regard to their temporal and local origin. In: Repertorium für Kunstwissenschaft 25, 1902, pp. 9–40.
  • The works of art in the Muenster Church in Essen . Düsseldorf 1904.
  • The relationship between handwriting ornamentation and Romanesque architecture. Heitz, Strasbourg 1907.
  • On the history of Carolingian architecture. Part I. Heitz, Strasbourg 1909. Part II. Heitz, Strasbourg 1911.
  • Architecture under Bishop Meinwerk of Paderborn. Aachen 1918 ( digitized version ).
  • Carolingian-early Romanesque architecture in Essen. Aachen 1924.
  • Change of supports in Romanesque architecture, especially in cloisters and dwarf galleries. Heitz, Strasbourg 1925.
  • The relationship between handwriting ornamentation and Romanesque architecture . Heitz, Strasbourg 1927.

literature

  • Joseph Buchkremer : Dr. Georg Humann. In: Zentralblatt der Bauverwaltung , 46th year 1926, No. 48, pp. 544–545. ( Digitized version )
  • Karl Mews: Georg Humann †. In: Contributions to the history of the city and monastery of Essen , 50, 1932, pp. 1–5 (with picture).
  • Karl Mews: Georg Humann, the discoverer of the Essen Minster. In: Münster am Hellweg, bulletin of the Association for the Preservation of the Essen Minster , 2, 1949, pp. 6-7.

Web links

Commons : Georg Humann  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Handbook of the historical book collections in Germany, Austria and Europe .
personal data
SURNAME Humann, Georg
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German art historian
DATE OF BIRTH December 8, 1847
PLACE OF BIRTH Rellinghausen
DATE OF DEATH January 18, 1932
Place of death Aachen