Horst Gerson

Horst Karl Gerson (born March 2, 1907 in Berlin ; † June 10, 1978 in Groningen ) was a German- Dutch art historian .

His parents were the medical officer Karl Gerson and Gertrud Lilienfeld, who died in 1943 in the Theresienstadt ghetto . Her younger brother was the art historian and dealer Karl Lilienfeld (1885–1966).

Horst Gerson first studied art history in Vienna and Berlin and in 1928 became a student and assistant to Cornelis Hofstede de Groot . In 1932 he received his doctorate in Göttingen under Georg Vitzthum von Eckstädt on the subject of Philips Koninck . A contribution to the study of Dutch painting of the XVII. Century . After emigrating, he worked for Hofstede de Groot in the Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie in The Hague from 1934 , of which he was director from 1954 to 1965. In 1940 he became a Dutch citizen. From 1965 he was a professor at the University of Groningen .

The focus of his research was on the painting of the 17th century , especially the Dutch and Flemish.

Fonts (selection)

• Philips Koninck. A contribution to the study of Dutch painting of the XVII. Century. Dissertation, Berlin 1936, reprint Berlin 1980.
• Spread and aftermath of 17th century Dutch painting . Haarlem 1942. Reprinted by Israël, Amsterdam 1983.
• Huizinga and the history of art . In: Bijdragen en mededelingen concerning de geschiedenis der Nederlanden 88, 2, 1973, pp. 348–362.
• Hollandse portretschilders van de zeventiende eeuw: afscheidscollege gehouden of vrijdag 14 february 1975 aan de Rijksuniversiteit te Groningen . Schwartz, Maarssen 1975.
• Rembrandt painting. Complete works . Vollmer, Wiesbaden 1975.
• De Nederlandse sign art . Three volumes. Uitgeverij Contact, Amsterdam 1950–1961.

literature

• Ulrike Wendland: Biographical handbook of German-speaking art historians in exile. Life and work of the scientists persecuted and expelled under National Socialism. Part 1: A – K. Saur, Munich 1999, ISBN 3-598-11339-0 , pp. 190-194.
• Gerson, Horst K. , in: Werner Röder; Herbert A. Strauss (Ed.): International Biographical Dictionary of Central European Emigrés 1933-1945 . Volume 2.1. Munich: Saur, 1983 ISBN 3-598-10089-2 , p. 369
• Edward Grasman: Gerson in Groningen. Een portret van Horst Gerson, art connoisseur en hoogleraar kunstgeschiedenis (1907-1978) . 2007, ISBN 978-906-550-998-7 .

Web links

• Literature by and about Horst Gerson in the catalog of the German National Library
• Entry in the Dictionary of Art Historians