Hermann von Trenkwald

Hermann von Trenkwald (born May 24, 1866 in Vienna , † June 11, 1942 in Perchtoldsdorf ) was an Austrian art historian .

Photo by Ludwig Schwab (1930)

Life

Hermann von Trenkwald, son of the painter Josef Mathias von Trenkwald , attended the Theresianum up to the Matura in 1886. He first studied law, 1886/87 in Jena , from 1887 to 1890 in Vienna . From 1890 he studied art history, classical archeology and history at the University of Vienna, where he received his doctorate in 1894 . He then worked as a volunteer at the Berlin museums , from 1895 to 1897 as curator of the Kaiser Franz Josef Museum for Art and Industry in Opava and from 1897 to early 1918 as director of the Kunstgewerbemuseum in Frankfurt am Main , interrupted by military service 1915. In September 1918 he became vice director of the Austrian Museum for Art and Industry in Vienna, in 1925 its director. He retired early in 1927 due to objections in a court report. In addition to his museum work, he was artistic director of the Viennese tapestry manufactory from 1921 . In his “retirement” he opened an “artistic consultancy” in Vienna and worked in the art trade.

Thematically, he dealt mainly with textiles ( carpets , tapestries ), ceramics and glass.

From 1932 he was a member of the NSDAP , from 1938 a member of the art commission of the property traffic office , the central "Aryanization authority" in occupied Austria. Between 1937 and 1941 he negotiated the ultimately unsuccessful transfer of Martin Luther's will from Budapest to Germany.

Publications (selection)

Exhibition of old goldsmiths' works from Frankfurt private collections and church treasures. Kunstgewerbemuseum Frankfurt a. M. June - September 1914 . Frankfurt 1914.
Late period glasses (around 1790–1850) . A. Schroll & Co., Vienna 1923.
with Friedrich Sarre : ancient oriental carpets. 2 volumes. Published by the Austrian Museum for Art and Industry. A. Schroll & Co., Vienna 1926–1928.

literature

Kathrin Pokorny-Nagel : Trenkwald, Hermann von. In: Austrian Biographical Lexicon 1815–1950 (ÖBL). Volume 14, Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Vienna 2012–, ISBN 978-3-7001-7312-0 , p. 450 f. (Direct links on p. 450 , p. 451 ).

Remarks

↑ In this function, he wrote a memorandum in mid-1939 entitled “Utilization of Art and Cultural Property in Non-Aryan Property”, which states: “The art and cultural property in their possession is what their race creates for the Jews was never involved, to withdraw and bring into Aryan hands. The transfer to Aryan ownership takes place via the art trade. ”Quoted by Theodor Brückler (Ed.): Art theft, art salvage and restitution in Austria 1938 until today . Böhlau, Vienna - Cologne - Weimar 1999, p. 190.
^ Tibor Fabiny : Martin Luther's last will. The Reformer's Testament and its History . Corvina Kiadó, Budapest 1983, pp. 53-61; Luther's Testament and its History .

personal data
SURNAME	Trenkwald, Hermann von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Trenkwald, Hermann
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Austrian art historian
DATE OF BIRTH	May 24, 1866
PLACE OF BIRTH	Vienna
DATE OF DEATH	June 11, 1942
Place of death	Perchtoldsdorf

[1] In this function, he wrote a memorandum in mid-1939 entitled “Utilization of Art and Cultural Property in Non-Aryan Property”, which states: “The art and cultural property in their possession is what their race creates for the Jews was never involved, to withdraw and bring into Aryan hands. The transfer to Aryan ownership takes place via the art trade. ”Quoted by Theodor Brückler (Ed.): Art theft, art salvage and restitution in Austria 1938 until today . Böhlau, Vienna - Cologne - Weimar 1999, p. 190.

[2] Tibor Fabiny : Martin Luther's last will. The Reformer's Testament and its History . Corvina Kiadó, Budapest 1983, pp. 53-61; Luther's Testament and its History .