Hellmut Sichtermann

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Hellmut Sichtermann (born November 21, 1915 in Bartschin ; † January 2, 2002 in Freiburg im Breisgau ) was a German classical archaeologist .

Hellmut Sichtermann was born as the second son of Pastor Franz Sichtermann and his wife. Since 1924 he grew up in Bromberg , where he also attended the German school. He first began to study Protestant theology at the University of Poznan , and after his father died early, moved with his family to Berlin in 1938. There he studied classical archeology, art history and philosophy at the Berlin University . The most important academic teacher was Gerhart Rodenwaldt until the end of the war . The course was interrupted by the Second World War. In 1949 he was able to work on the subjectGanymede in ancient art with Carl Weickert . In April he began working for the German Archaeological Institute (DAI), for which he was to work his entire professional life. First he worked at the head office in Berlin, in 1953/1954 for 14 months in the Madrid department , then again for a short time in Berlin and from April 1955 for 25 years until his retirement in 1980 in Rome . Where he led among the directors Guido Kaschnitz Weinberg , Reinhard Herbig and Theodore Kraus the photographic library of the institute. In many photo campaigns he toured almost all of Italy in the 1950s and 1960s. In 1971 he also became an honorary professor at the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg , but did not teach. Freiburg was also Sichtermann's last place of residence since 1999.

In addition to his work in the photo library of the Rome department of the DAI, Sichtermann devoted himself to ancient sculpture, in particular Greek sculpture, relief art and ideal sculpture, vase painting and Roman sarcophagi . In addition, he dealt with philological and cultural-historical studies, for example on Johann Joachim Winckelmann , Johann Wolfgang Goethe , Gotthold Ephraim Lessing , Rainer Maria Rilke , Bertel Thorvaldsen , August von Platen and Thomas Mann . He dealt intensively with Winckelmann in particular. Sichtermann is one of the most well-traveled archaeologists in the world. He traveled to large parts of the world for studies and lectures. The viewer, who is considered to be fine-minded and multifaceted, had a large circle of friends and acquaintances, including the archaeologists Christoph Clairmont , Friedrich Rakob , Peter Heinrich von Blanckenhagen and Tobias Dohrn , among the art historians Jørgen Birkedal Hartmann , among the writers Stefan Andres , Ingeborg Bachmann , Hans von Hülsen , Marie Luise Kaschnitz and Luise Rinser and also Karl Kerényi belonged. His love for the city of Naples resulted in a collection of paintings with images of the city. In 1989 Sichtermann was awarded the Winckelmann Medal from the city of Stendal . He was a full member of the DAI.

Fonts (selection)

  • Ganymede. Myth and Shape in Ancient Art. Mann, Berlin 1953.
  • The Greek vase. Shape, meaning and work of art. Hessling, Berlin 1963.
  • Greek vases in southern Italy. From the Jatta collection in Ruvo (= picture books of the German Archaeological Institute Rome. Booklet 3/4). Wasmuth, Tübingen 1966.
  • Late Endymion sarcophagi. Methodical for interpretation (= German contributions to classical studies. Volume 19). Grimm, Baden-Baden 1966.
  • with Guntram Koch : Greek myths on Roman sarcophagi (= picture books of the Archaeological Institute Rome. Issues 5 and 6). Wasmuth, Tübingen 1975, ISBN 3-8030-1453-0 .
  • Finds in Spain (= great moments of archeology. Volume 10). Musterschmidt, Göttingen / Zurich / Frankfurt 1977, ISBN 3-7881-1510-6 .
  • Four letters from August von Platen to Eduard Gerhard (= The German Archaeological Institute. Volume 4). von Zabern, Mainz 1979, ISBN 3-8053-0397-1 .
  • with Guntram Koch: Römische Sarcophagi ( Handbook of Archeology ). Beck, Munich 1982, ISBN 3-406-08709-4 .
  • Winckelmann in the twentieth century (= Akzidenzen. Volume 1). Winckelmann Society, Stendal 1991.
  • Cultural history of classical archeology. Beck, Munich 1996, ISBN 3-406-40392-1 .

literature

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personal data
SURNAME Sightman, Hellmut
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German classical archaeologist
DATE OF BIRTH November 21, 1915
PLACE OF BIRTH Bartschin
DATE OF DEATH January 2, 2002
Place of death Freiburg in Breisgau