Hans Gerhard Evers

Hans Gerhard Evers (1956)

Hans Gerhard Evers (born March 19, 1900 in Lübeck ; † April 8, 1993 in Hofgeismar ) was a German art historian and university professor .

Life

Parental home, school and studies

Hans Gerhard Evers was the youngest of three children of the pastor and from 1919 seniors of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Lübeck state Johannes Evers (1859–1945) and his wife Anna Evers, née. Plitt (1874-1906). Until his Abitur in 1917, he attended the Katharineum Humanist High School in Lübeck .

He first studied German, history and gymnastics at the universities of Göttingen, Heidelberg and Berlin and in 1923 passed the state examination for a higher subject. During his studies in Göttingen he became a member of the 1918 Schwarzenburg Bund - connection Burschenschaft Germania .

He first came into contact with the fine arts during his studies, in particular through the influence of the archaeologist Ludwig Curtius in Heidelberg and the art historian Georg Graf Vitzthum in Göttingen. In 1924, he was with a thesis on Winkelmann and Lessing in the struggle for education for arts doctorate . With this topic and the examination subjects of literary history, art history and archeology, he made the switch to the art history disciplines.

Scientific career up to the Second World War

In 1924/25 Evers was assistant to Carl Neumann at the art history seminar at Heidelberg University . An American work and travel grant for Egyptological studies enabled him to study in Egypt for six months in the winter of 1925/26 and to work as an assistant at the Egyptological Institute with Hermann Ranke in Heidelberg. As a result, the two-volume work by Evers Staat aus dem Stein appeared in 1929 on Egyptian sculpture from the Middle Kingdom , mainly illustrated with his own photographs.

After this dual role as Egyptologist and art historian, Evers finally decided on art history, moved to the University of Munich in 1928 and applied for a teaching permit with Wilhelm Pinder . He completed his habilitation at the end of 1932 with a thesis on the broad direction of the basilica and then worked as a private lecturer in modern art history at the University of Munich.

Military service / art protection

From 1939 to 1945 Evers was called up for military service. He served first as a simple soldier, then as a private in a detoxification unit. In 1940 he became a non-commissioned officer. From September 1940 he was employed in the protection of art in France and Belgium. From November 1943 until his release from American captivity in September 1945, he was a military administrator responsible for the protection of art treasures and architectural monuments in occupied Italy.

Full professor of art history at the TH Darmstadt

After he had been classified as "unencumbered" in the context of denazification , Hans Gerhard Evers was able to return to the University of Munich as an adjunct professor without a chair of his own. From 1949 he held the chair for art history in the Faculty of Architecture at the Technical University of Darmstadt, initially as a lecturer and then from 1950 to 1968 as a full professor . He represented this chair beyond the age limit and continued to work scientifically after his retirement .

Familiar

Hans Gerhard Evers had two children from a first marriage and four children from a second marriage, Tilman Evers is his son. He died in Hofgeismar in 1993 after suffering from Alzheimer's for many years .

Act

Teaching and Research

Hans Gerhard Evers represented an extraordinary breadth of content in his art history teaching. As the only representative of his field of expertise at the TH Darmstadt, he held lectures in cycles lasting several years , which covered the entire history of art from the earliest Stone Age traditions to contemporary modernism . He considered architecture , painting and sculpture equally. Evers always spoke freely and always had two photographs projected side by side in order to illustrate his statements in direct comparison. His lectures in the always overcrowded large lecture hall resonated far beyond the architecture faculty and the university. They were seen as a bridge between the university and the city and were attended by numerous guest students. With the architecture students he led numerous large excursions a. a. to France, England and several times to Egypt.

His comprehensive view and knowledge of art history as a whole is also reflected in his research and publications, which span several millennia and all genres of the visual arts.

In addition to his teaching activities at the Technical University of Darmstadt, he also taught art history at the Werkkunstschule Darmstadt and gave slide lectures on art history at various organizers throughout Germany.

In contemporary art-historical expert circles, Evers' variety of topics was considered unusual and was sometimes viewed critically. Evers was also not afraid to repeatedly give controversial impulses by going it alone.

Rubens research

Research on the Flemish baroque painter Peter Paul Rubens has been a focus of Evers since 1925 . After half of the main text for a new Rubens biography was already written when it was called up in 1939, Evers was ordered to Antwerp from October 1941 to 1943 on the recommendation of the art protection authorities and was used to complete the biography. As a result, Evers presented two extensive volumes on Peter Paul Rubens, in 1942 a biography based on the original sources with new, self-photographed image material, and in 1943 a supplementary research volume. These publications established Evers' reputation as a Rubens specialist; he was in demand for expert reports and Rubens contributions well into old age .

Historicism / 19th century art

As one of the very first art historians, he paid tribute to historicist art of the 19th century , in particular the palace buildings of Ludwig II of Bavaria , to which he devoted treatises in his early publications as well as his last major book. Evers had access to the secret house archive of the Wittelsbach family and to the king's diaries, which gave him an additional and unique insight into the way of thinking of Ludwig II.

Civil engineering

As an art historian at a technical university, Evers also worked on engineering structures, such as the iron structures for bridges, halls and ships, in which he recognized an independent form of architecture.

photography

Whenever possible, Evers photographed his research objects himself and often illustrated his particular point of view and interpretation through the choice of perspective and detailed shots. Subsequent researchers were only able to work partly on the basis of his recordings of structures destroyed in the war. Today, the majority of the photos can be found in the Art History Institute of the TU Darmstadt, in the Photo Archive Photo Marburg and in the Department of Art History, New York University .

As an art historian, Evers also dealt early with photography as a new art form and promoted its recognition in his specialist circles.

Darmstadt Talks / Art Exhibitions / Civic Engagement

Evers took an active part in cultural life in Darmstadt. He was one of the co-initiators and then from 1950 to 1968 consistently on the Standing Committee of the Darmstadt Talks. He led the first Darmstadt Talks in 1950 on the topic of the image of man in our time . In two of the subsequent Darmstadt discussions, he also took over part of the lead. He contributed significantly to major Darmstadt art exhibitions such as Evidence of Fear in Modern Art (1963), First International of Drawing (1964), Images of People (1968) or a major exhibition of works on Henry Moore (1969) and their exhibition catalogs.

Evers was a founding member and, from 1961 to 1985, 2nd chairman of the Friends of the State Museum and a member of the jury for the Darmstadt Wilhelm Loth Prize for many years .

Honors

• Johann Heinrich Merck Award of the City of Darmstadt (1960)
• Silver plaque of merit of the city of Darmstadt (1965)

(Evers only accepted the award after his protest against the planned demolition of the war-damaged old court theater by Georg Moller was successful. The building now houses the Hessian State Archives in Darmstadt and the House of History.)

Publications (selection)

Notes on the list of publications

Fonts

• Winckelmann and Lessing in the struggle for education in art. Phil. Diss. Göttingen, November 20, 1924. (Excerpt from the yearbook of the Phil. Faculty of Göttingen 1924)
• State from the stone. Monuments, history, and importance of Egyptian sculpture during the Middle Kingdom. 2 volumes. F. Bruckmann, Munich 1929.
• Death, power and space as areas of architecture. Neuer Filser-Verlag, Munich 1939. 2nd, improved and expanded edition with numerous illustrations, Wilhelm Fink Verlag, Munich 1970.
• Peter Paul Rubens. F. Bruckmann, Munich 1942. (Flemish edition from De Sikkel, Antwerp 1946). // Rubens and his work. New research. De Lage Landen, Brussels 1943.
• The image of man in our time. Edited on behalf of the City of Darmstadt Magistrate and the Darmstadt Conversation Committee 1950 by HG Evers. New Darmstadt Publishing House, Darmstadt 1951.
• Evidence of fear in modern art. Foreword and epilogue "'. In: Hans Gerhard Evers (Ed.): Evidence of Fear in Modern Art. Catalog for the exhibition on the 8th Darmstadt Conversation at Mathildenhöhe Darmstadt from June 29 to September 1, 1963, p. 7– 15th
• From historicism to functionalism. Holle Verlag, Baden-Baden 1967. (1980, ISBN 3-87355-121-7 ) (Art of the World. Its Historical, Sociological and Religious Foundations. The Cultures of the Occident)
• 20th century art in Hessen. Vol. III: Architecture. Peters Verlag, Hanau 1969.
• Dürer near Memling. Wilhelm Fink Verlag, Munich 1972.
• Fonts. Technical University of Darmstadt, 1975. (Collection and reprint of important articles)
• Ludwig II of Bavaria, theater prince, king, client. Edited by JA Schmoll called Eisenwerth and obtained by Klaus Eggert. Hirmer Verlag, Munich 1986.

Other publications

Egyptology / archeology / sinology

• Afterlife of the Egyptian lion design. In: Journal of the Egyptian Language. 67, 1931, p. 31.
• To the Constantine buildings at the Holy Tomb in Jerusalem. In: Journal of the Egyptian Language. 75, 1939, pp. 53-60. (Reprinted in "Schriften", 1975)
• Hermann Ranke. In: Lübeckische Blätter. Journal of the Society for the Promotion of Charitable Activities. 89, 1953, No. 11, pp. 146-147. (Reprinted in "Schriften", 1975)
• The Greek Temple, Before and After. In: The artist's work. Studies on iconography and the history of form. Hubert Sehrade for his 60th birthday presented by colleagues and students. Stuttgart 1960, pp. 1-35. (Reprinted in "Schriften", 1975)
• Hans Gerhard Evers, Rolf Romero: Red and white monastery near Sohag. Reconstruction problems. In: Klaus Wessel (Ed.): Christianity on the Nil. Aurel Bongen, Recklinghausen 1964, pp. 175–199 (International workshop on the exhibition "Coptic Art", Essen, Villa Hügel, July 23–25, 1963). (Publication on a building history excursion with architecture students to Coptic monasteries in Egypt)
• Carl Hentze . In: Carl Hentze. The work of the scholar and artist. Exhibition catalog at the Kunsthalle Darmstadt, February 3 - March 10, 1968. (Reprinted in "Schriften", 1975)
• Longing for Egypt. Festschrift Wolfgang Krönig. In: Aachener Kunstblätter . 41, Verlag L. Schwann, Düsseldorf 1971, pp. 7-18. (Reprinted in "Schriften", 1975)

middle Ages

• A German sculptor: Erminoldmeister. In: III. Newspaper. Leipzig 1939, no.4919.
• Paul Booz, the masters of Gothic church building. Review of the dissertation from 1952 at the TH Darmstadt. In: Nassau Annals. 66, 1955, pp. 280-281.
• The eight sides of the late Gothic sculpture. In: Variae Formae. Festschrift F. Gerke. 1962, pp. 149-162. (Reprinted in "Schriften", 1975)
• Creation of the cube capital. In: Festschrift Karl Oettinger on the occasion of his 60th birthday on March 4, 1966. Universitätsbund Erlangen-Nürnberg eV, Erlangen 1967, pp. 71–92. (Reprinted in "Schriften", 1975)

Renaissance / Baroque

• Bernini's 'Scala Regia' as the grand staircase of the Vatican. In: Actes Gongres Londres. 1939, pp. 14-15.
• The Angel Bridge in Rome by G. Lorenzo Bernini. Gebr. Mann, Berlin 1948. (Art Letter No. 53.) (Reprinted in "Schriften", 1975)
• To the 'Scala Regia' of the Vatican. In: Rendieanti della Pontificia Accademia di Archeologia. 39, 1966/67, pp. 189-215. (Reprinted in "Schriften", 1975)
• Introduction to: Wendel Dietterlin, Architectura. Reprographic reprint of the Nuremberg 1598 edition from the Darmstadt State and University Library. Knowledge Buchgesellschaft, Darmstadt 1965. (Reprinted in "Schriften", 1975)
• For the drawing '1514 die grosz kirch zu Anttorff' in the Albertina. In: Pantheon. Issue XXXII / 3, 1974. Flemish edition: Over de tekening '1514 die grosz kirch zu Anttorff. In: Antwerp. Tijdscjrift of the city of Antwerp, June 1975.

Peter Paul Rubens

• Peter Paul Rubens. On the 300th anniversary of his death. In: People and World. Hanover, May 28, 1940.
• Mary of Medici, Queen of France and Peter Paul Rubens. In: DE VLAG, Brussels, 4, 1942, p. 441.
• 'Simson and Delia' by Rubens in the August Neuerburg collection in Hamburg. In: Pantheon. Vol. 16, 1943, pp. 65-68. Flemish edition: 'Samson and Delila' by Pierre Paul Rubens. In: Apollo. (Brussels), No. 17, 1942, pp. 5-9.
• Rubens' visit to the Dutch ambassador Albrecht Joachimi. In: Brussels newspaper . 21./23. February 1943.
• The way geudgd door de blijde Inkomsten along de Straten te Antwerp. In: Irmengard v. Roeder-Baumbach: Versieringen bij blijde Inkomsten. Antwerp 1943, pp. 117ff.
• Rubens, Meeting of Christ with Veronica. In: Siegerland in the picture. July 2, 1958, p. 11.
• On a sheet with drawings by Rubens in the Berlin Kupferstichkabinett. In: Pantheon. 19, 1961, pp. 93-97 and 136-140. (Reprinted in "Schriften", 1975)
• Graphic after Peter Paul Rubens. In: Siegerländer Blätter. Wins 1963.
• Self-portraits by Rubens; Rubens as a citizen. In: Peter Paul Rubens. Exhibition catalog Siegen, June 28 - July 19, 1967, pp. 8–47.

19th century / historicism

• Historicism. In: Historicism and fine arts. Lectures and discussions in October 1963 in Munich and Anif Castle. Munich 1965, pp. 25-42. (Studies on 19th Century Art, 1) (Reprinted in "Schriften", 1975).
• 19th century plastic. In: Propylaea art history. Vol. 11, Propylaen Verlag, Berlin 1966, pp. 153-169, plates 312-357.
• Can historicist church architecture of the 19th century be understood as trivial art? In: Trivial Zones in Religious Art of the 19th Century. Frankfurt 1971, pp. 179-198.
• Historicism and palace construction. In: Renate Wagner-Rieger, Walter Krause (Hrsg.): Studies on the art of the 19th century. Prestel-Verlag, Munich 1975.
• Thoughts on the re-evaluation of 19th century architecture. In: Bibliography on the history of art in the 19th century. Prestel-Verlag, Munich 1968, pp. 41–45 (studies on 19th century art).
• Bridges. In: Ludwig Grote (Hrsg.): The German city in the 19th century. Urban planning and building design in the industrial age. Prestel-Verlag, Munich 1974. (Studies on the Art of the Nineteenth Century, Vol. 24).

20th century

• The sculptor Hermann Geibel. In: Art. 50, 1951-52, pp. 130-133.
• To the exhibition Francis Bacon in the Kunsthalle Mannheim. In: Mannheimer Hefte, 1962, No. 3, pp. 8-15. (Reprinted in "Schriften", 1975)
• Art Nouveau and things. In: HW Sabais (ed.): Praise of the Province, a Darmstadt reading book. Darmstadt 1967, p. 128.
• Plastic in construction in the work of Henry Moore. Lecture on the exhibition Darmstadt 1969.
• Thoughts on Henry Moore's art. In: Wilfried Seipel (Ed.): Henry Moore 1898-1986, A retrospective on the 100th birthday. Exhibition catalog of the Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna. Vienna 1998, ISBN 3-900-325-83-3 , pp. 59–76 (published posthumously)

photography

• About architecture photography. Perutz-Mitteilungen, Munich, year 1933, issue No. 2, pp. 54–59. (Reprinted in "Schriften", 1975)
• Letter on architecture photography. In: Baukunst und Werkform. 7, 1954, H. 9, pp. 522-548. (Reprinted in "Schriften", 1975)
• Introduction to: W. Strache, 0. Steinert (Ed.): Das deutsche Lichtbild 1964. Stuttgart 1963.
• The human face of Europe. Lecture on the photo exhibition, 1960. (Reprinted in "Schriften", 1975)
• Photography - Reality - Consciousness. In: Bauwelt. 7/1976. (TOPIC: Photography - Reality - Awareness, 1976)

Others

• Carl Neumann in memory. In: Ruperto Carola . Bulletin of the Association of Friends of the University Student Union
• Art prohibitions by moral courts. Lecture and reprint of Littera magazine . 1964.
• In memory. Commemorative speech for Friedrich Gerke. In: Small writings of the society for fine arts. Mainz 1966, issue 33, p. 38. (Reprinted in "Schriften", 1975)

literature

• Hans-Jürgen Imiela : Bold thinking, Professor Dr. Hans Gerhard Evers will be sixty-five years old. In: Darmstädter Echo. March 19, 1965.
• Contributions - For Hans Gerhard Evers , Darmstädter Schriften 22, ed. Commissioned by the City of Darmstadt, Justus von Liebig Verlag, Darmstadt, 1968
• Robert d'Hooghe: Festive hour for the university and the city, academic celebration for the professor emeritus Dr. Hans Gerhard Evers. In: Darmstädter Echo. July 22, 1968.
• (ts): Outstanding teacher of art history, appreciation from Professor Dr. Evers on the occasion of his retirement / reception in the castle. In: Darmstädter Tagblatt. July 22, 1968.
• (th): Impulses for art and society, Professor Evers will be seventy years old tomorrow. In: Darmstädter Echo. March 18, 1970.
• Committed to art, for the 70th birthday of Professor Hans Gerhard Evers. In: Darmstädter Tagblatt. March 19, 1970.
• (jan): Creating the essentials, congratulations on Prof. Evers' seventieth birthday. In: Darmstädter Echo. March 20, 1970.
• (th): Food for thought from ancient culture, Professor Evers 75 years old. In: Darmstädter Echo. March 18, 1975.
• Art and the image of man, Professor Hans G. Evers will be 85 tomorrow. In: Darmstädter Tagblatt. March 18, 1985.
• Georg Friedrich Koch: Regsam in Darmstadt's cultural life, The head of the first Darmstadt conversation , Professor Dr. Hans Evers, is 85 years old. In: Darmstädter Echo. March 18, 1985.
• Georg Friedrich Koch: Prof. Hans Gerhard Evers 85 years. In: THD-intern. April 1985.
• (DE): Art, history - royalty, Professor Evers will be 90 on Monday. In: Darmstädter Echo. March 17, 1990.
• Professor Evers 90 years. In: THD-intern. April 1990.
• Heiner Knell : teacher, researcher, stimulator - art historian Hans Gerhard Evers dead. In: Darmstädter Echo. April 15, 1993.
• YES. Schmoll called Eisenwerth : loners and lateral thinkers, From Stonehenge to the Kingship of Ludwig II: A memory of the art historian Hans Gerhard Evers. In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. April 22, 1993
• Metzler-Kunsthistoriker-Lexikon . 210 portraits of German-speaking authors from four centuries. 2nd, updated and expanded edition. Verlag JB Metzler, Stuttgart / Weimar 2007, ISBN 978-3-476-02183-0 , pp. 84-86.
• City Lexicon Darmstadt. Edited by the Historical Association for Hesse on behalf of the City of Science Darmstadt. Theiss Verlag, Stuttgart 2006, ISBN 3-8062-1930-3 , p.?.

Family archive of the Hans Gerhard Evers family

• As of April 2012

Web links

• Dictionary of Art Historians

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} The Friends of the State Museum (PDF; 4.3 MB) Section: Prof. Dr. Hans Gerhard Evers
2. ^ Hermann Goebel (ed.): Directory of members of the Schwarzburgbund. 8th edition, Frankfurt am Main 1930, p. 66 No. 695.
3. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h} see section "Sources"
4. ↑ Evers family archive. Significant are u. a. Letter from several Italian preservationists attesting that Evers showed impeccable commitment to Italian art after the end of the war. See also: Cecilia Ghibaudi: Pinacoteca di Brera. Milan 1943-1945. The protective measures of the Soprintendenza alle gallery and their relationship to the German art protection. In: Christian Fuhrmeister, Johannes Griebel, Stephan Klingen, Ralf Peters (eds.): Art Historians in War, German Military Art Protection in Italy 1943–1945. Böhlau Verlag, Cologne / Weimar / Vienna 2012, ISBN 978-3-412-20804-2 , pp. 129–152.
5. ↑ Evers family archive
6. ↑ ^{a b} See section Publications
7. ↑ z. For example: Albrecht Dürer's art from a depth psychological perspective , March 1972 at the Literary Society Graefelfing
8. ↑ Namely on the recommendation of Franz Graf Wolff Metternich and Bernhard von Tieschowitz . A corresponding confirmation of these two superiors from Evers in the art protection department is preserved in the family archive.
9. ↑ Death, Power and Space , see section Publications
10. ↑ Ludwig II of Bavaria , see section publications
11. ↑ ^{a b} See Markus Spangenberg, below (status 5/2012) and family archive.
12. ↑

    “... It was the final breakthrough in overcoming a normative taboo that photography had nothing to do with art. That was the formulation with which in 1970 the editors of the specialist body of German art historians, the "Kunstchronik", had rejected a recession for the Munich exhibition ("Painting and Photography in Dialogue from 1840 to Today", author's note) from the Spring by Prof. Dr. Hans Gerhard Evers / Darmstadt to print. Only a protest by several colleagues and meetings in over fifty newspapers led to the inspection and thus to the publication of the rejected review. "

    - Josef Adolf Schmoll called Eisenwerth, in: 1. The Art History Institute of the Saarland University: Pictures of Life, 2006.
13. ↑ When Evers resigned when he retired, the tradition of the Darmstadt Talks broke off after the 10th meeting
14. ^ Conference volume: Hans Gerhard Evers (Ed.): Darmstädter Talk, The image of man in our time. New Darmstadt Publishing House, Darmstadt 1950.
15. ^ Proceedings: Hans Schwippert (Ed.): Darmstädter Talk, Mensch und Technik. New Darmstadt Publishing House, Darmstadt 1952; Conference proceedings: Rudolf Krämer-Badoni, Hans Gerhard Evers (eds.): Darmstadt conversation, people and images of people. New Darmstadt Publishing House, Darmstadt 1968.
16. ↑ What fear is afraid of. In: The time. 32/1963.
17. ^ Newspaper articles, see Sources, conference volumes of the Darmstadt Talks, exhibition catalogs.
18. ↑ Stadtlexikon Darmstadt, see Lexika
19. ↑ Statute on honors of the city of Darmstadt (PDF; 99 kB) and https://www.darmstadt.de/rathaus/ehrungen (overview of honors by the city of Darmstadt)
20. ^ Theater building: Pour le mérite. In: Der Spiegel. 49/1960.
21. ↑ Newspaper article and family archive, see sources and quotation from Die Freunde des Landesmuseums , see previous note
22. ^ Bibliography up to 1968 in: Articles. For Hans Gerhard Evers on the occasion of his retirement in 1968. Darmstädter Schriften 22, ed. JA Schmoll called Eisenwerth, Justus von Liebig Verlag, Darmstadt, 1968, pp. 101-106. Additions and later publications: Own research and Evers family archive
23. ↑ As Alzheimer's disease began, Evers was unable to complete this last book himself. Klaus Eggert took care of the printing under the editorship of JA Schmoll called Eisenwerth.