Johann Friedrich Christ

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Johann Friedrich Christ, engraving by Johann Christoph Sysang (1751) after a lost painting by Elias Gottlob Haußmann

Johann Friedrich Christ (also: Johann Heinrich Christ ; born April 26, 1701 in Coburg ; † September 3, 1756 in Leipzig ) was a German classical archaeologist and art scholar .

Life

Christ began his training in 1720 at the University of Jena , where he studied philosophy and law. In 1726 he moved to the University of Halle and, although he did not yet have a doctorate, was given permission to hold lectures. In Halle he decided to pursue the professorship for history at the Leipzig University . He obtained his doctorate in Baccalaureus Philosophiae and Bonorum Artium Magister on February 12, 1728.

The following year he moved to the University of Leipzig, where he completed his habilitation on June 8th and from August 26th 1730 taught extra ordinem pro loco , a kind of substitute professorship. Through his writing De Nicolao Machiavello libri tres (“The three books of Niccolò Machiavelli ”), Christ gained the interest of his sovereign Augustus the Strong , who provided him with an extraordinary position from the Meißen procurator. Christ gave his inaugural lecture on April 11, 1731, on the role of historian. His further promotion was initially delayed due to his youth: Christ was passed over when the chairs (ordinariate) for history ( Historiarum ), metaphysics ( Metaphysices ) and politics ( Moralium ac Politices ) were filled , although the King of Saxony stood up for him by rescript . Finally, in 1739, due to his public reputation, he received the professorship for poetry ( Poeseos ) at the Leipzig University, whose holder took over the chair for physics. Although Christ gave his inaugural speech on ancient poetry, his program speech dealt with art monuments - an unheard-of innovation at the time. In the following semesters, archeology continued alongside the history of literature through Christ's lectures.

At his place of work in Leipzig, Christ took on numerous university duties, as executor, examiner, claviger, several times dean, chancellor and in the summer semesters 1744, 1748, 1752 and 1756 rector of the Alma Mater . During his fourth rectorate he died of a lung disease.

Christ is considered to be the founder of academic archeology classes in Germany, in which he had the students critically evaluate evidence of ancient art from his own possession. He did not leave behind a more extensive literary work, but through his numerous students he had a noticeable influence on the development of classical studies in the 18th century. These included not only famous philologists such as Johann Karl Zeune and Friedrich Wolfgang Reiz , but also writers such as Gotthold Ephraim Lessing and Christian Fürchtegott Gellert .

literature

Web links

Commons : Johann Friedrich Christ  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ After Wilhelm Kosch, Bruno Berger, Heinz Rupp: Deutsches Literatur-Lexikon: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Handbuch. 1968 p. 600 Deviating in other literature 1700.
  2. ↑ See NDB; according to ADB August 3, 1756, according to Herrmann (1988) September 2, the tradition is in the night of September 2 to 3
  3. ↑ a b c Herrmann (1988) 3.
personal data
SURNAME Christ, Johann Friedrich
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Christ, Johann Heinrich
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German archaeologist and art scholar
DATE OF BIRTH on April 26, 1701
PLACE OF BIRTH Coburg
DATE OF DEATH September 3, 1756
Place of death Leipzig