Helmut R. Leppien
Helmut R. Leppien (born September 8, 1933 in Homburg in Saarland as Helmut Rudolf Leppien ; † October 23, 2007 in Hamburg ) was a German art historian and museum curator.
Life
After studying art history in Bonn , Munich and Tübingen and completing his doctorate on Quattrocento sculpture in Naples , Leppien began a traineeship at the Wallraf-Richartz Museum in Cologne in 1960 . His specific approach, which combined attention for current art with a special feel for older art forms that had been filtered out by contemporary tastes, was already evident with his significant participation in the anniversary exhibition for the Cologne Sonderbund exhibition in 1912.
The catalog raisonné of Max Ernst's prints is one of Leppien's most important scientific contributions .
After working at the Hamburger Kunsthalle , Leppien took over the management of the Kölner Kunsthalle , which he left in 1970 to become director of the Hanover Art Association . In both Cologne and Hanover he organized exhibitions that followed an expanded concept of art and also included music, film, performance and forms of political action.
In 1975 Leppien moved to the Hamburger Kunsthalle as deputy director and chief curator of the Gemäldegalerie. He carried out this task until his retirement in 2000.
One of his most important exhibitions was “The Broken Head” for Pablo Picasso's 100th birthday in 1981. Leppien was one of the first to open the art museum to contemporary art ( Joseph Beuys , Jannis Kounellis , Ilya Kabakov and others). But like an archaeologist, he also brought back what was forgotten, like the Freiherr JH von Schröder Foundation, an extensive collection of 19th century salon art that had been lost for decades. His museum work was based on the awareness that the way we deal with the past shapes the future.
Publications
- Now. Arts in Germany today. Exhibition catalog. Kunsthalle Cologne 1970.
- with Christos M. Joachimides: Art in political struggle. Challenge, claim, reality. Exhibition catalog. Art Association Hanover.
- Art after reality. A new realism in America and Europe. Exhibition catalog. Kunstverein Hannover 1973/1974.
- with Joachim Heusinger von Waldegg (arrangement): Richard Luksch , Elena Luksch-Makowsky . Christians, Hamburg 1979, ISBN 3-7672-0624-2 .
- A hamburger collects in London. The Freiherr-J.-H.-von-Schröder-Foundation 1910. Exhibition catalog. Hamburger Kunsthalle 1984.
- Art into life. Alfred Lichtwark's work for the Kunsthalle and Hamburg from 1886–1914. Exhibition catalog. Hamburger Kunsthalle 1987.
- with Dörte Zbikowski: Art in Ostracism - the Emmi Ruben donation in 1948. Exhibition catalog. Hamburger Kunsthalle 1998, ISBN 3-87909-597-3 .
- Karl Kluth on his 100th birthday. Paintings 1923–1970. Exhibition catalog. Hamburger Kunsthalle u. a. 1998, ISBN 3-87909-594-9 .
- Jan de Weryha-Wysoczański . Exhibition catalog. Hamburg 2000.
- In the light of Caspar David Friedrich. Early open-air painting in Denmark and Northern Germany. Exhibition catalog. Hamburger Kunsthalle u. a. 2000.
- Max Ernst - Oeuvre Catalog. Volume 1: The graphic work. Cologne 1975, ISBN 3-7701-0606-7 . Reprinted around 2004, ISBN 978-3-8321-7428-6 .
Web links
- Literature by and about Helmut R. Leppien in the catalog of the German National Library
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Leppien, Helmut R. |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Leppien, Helmut Rudolf (birth name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German art historian and museum curator |
| DATE OF BIRTH | September 8, 1933 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Homburg |
| DATE OF DEATH | October 23, 2007 |
| Place of death | Hamburg |