Artist Lexicon

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An artist lexicon is a biographical reference work on visual artists .

On the history of the artists' encyclopedias

In 1908, Hans Vollmer wrote a contribution to the history of artists' encyclopedias. In his opinion, the first work to contain a lexicon of this kind was the Encyclopédie ou Dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers published in 1751 by Jean-Baptiste le Rond d'Alembert and Denis Diderot . He mentions the work of Johann Rudolf Füssli as the first independent form , who published a general encyclopedia of fine artists between 1763 and 1777 , which was continued by his son, Hans Heinrich Füssli from 1806 to 1824 and supplemented by a supplementary volume. During this time, between 1819 and 1822, the Enciclopedia metodico critico-ragionata delle belle arti by Pietro Zani appeared in Italy in 28 volumes, but it was more like a list of names with short entries. In 1835 it was Georg Kaspar Nagler who, with his New General Artist Lexicon , which appeared in 22 volumes by 1852, brought out an extensive, albeit, as Vollmer said, “often unreliable and almost universally obsolete” work, the artist the years 1750 to 1840 recorded. In France, the six-volume Abecedario de PJ Mariette was published from 1851 to 1860, edited by Charles-Philippe de Chennevières and Anatole de Courde de Montaigion and based on the notes of Pierre-Jean Mariette . This was followed by a complete revision of Nagler's lexicon with the involvement of a number of specialist scholars from home and abroad by Julius Meyer , but only three volumes appeared which, due to the length of the articles, only came to print slowly, so that it was ultimately never completed. Other works also appeared, but they either dealt with restricted branches of art or were limited to individual areas or periods of art history. As a result, there was still no universal artist lexicon that united visual artists from all times and countries. For this reason, Ulrich Thieme and Felix Becker began with the intention of completing the project started by Meyer with a complete revision, with the publication of a new general dictionary of artists . In addition, it should be continued and supplemented to the present. After a good ten years of preparatory work, the first volume of the series, initially calculated to be 20 volumes, appeared in autumn 1907. Overly extensive work information and overly detailed biographies were deliberately avoided. In addition, there was a new area dedicated to East Asian art. In addition, numerous scholars who dealt with artists from abroad were called in. Care was taken to ensure that all branches of handicrafts were covered. Since a name lexicon is characterized by the fact that it is structured alphabetically, the entries first had to be collected, sorted and provided with the relevant literature references. This alone extends the preparatory work to years. Another problem was the often different spelling of names of the individual artists or the classification in the system, if they were only named after the first name or the place of their work. For such a comprehensive lexicon, the collaboration was distributed among numerous specialists and local researchers at home and abroad. The editorial team was ultimately responsible for sorting through the submitted manuscripts and approving them for printing. From 1967 the revision of this lexicon was under the new title General Artist Lexicon . The visual artists of all times and peoples began and continued.

Universal artists' dictionaries

Füssli

In 1763, Johann Rudolf Füssli published his one-volume general artist lexicon ,

  • General Artist = Lexicon, or: Brief message about the life and works of the Mahler, sculptor, builder, copper engraver, art caster, steel cutter, [et] c. [et] c., together with an attached list of the portraits of the artists contained in this lexicon, described in alphabetical order . Heidegger and Compagnie, Zurich 1763 ( digitized version )

which was followed by a one-volume continuation by his son Hans Heinrich Füssli in 1779 :

  • General artist lexicon, or: Brief message about the life and works of the painters, sculptors, builders, copper engravers, art foundries, steel cutters, [et] c. [Etc. Along with attached lists of teachers and students; also of the portraits of the artists contained in this lexicon . Orell, Geßner, Füeßlin and Compagnie, Zurich 1779 ( digitized version ).

This work was supplemented by Hans Heinrich Füssli from 1806 to 1821:

  • General artist lexicon, or: Brief message about the life and works of the painters, sculptors, builders, copper engravers, art foundries, steel cutters, [et] c. [Etc.  : In addition to the attached lists of teachers and students; also of the portraits of the artists contained in this lexicon.
  • First part , new, completely unchanged edition. First department: A - M , Orell, Füeßli and Compagnie, Zurich 1810 ( digitized ).
  • First part , new, completely unchanged edition. Second section: N - Z , Orell, Füeßli and Compagnie, Zurich 1840 ( digitized ).
  • Second part, which contains the continuation and addition of the first. First section: A - C , Orell, Füeßli and Compagnie, Zurich 1806 ( digitized version ).
  • Second part, which contains the continuation and addition of the first. Second section: D - F , Orell, Füeßli and Compagnie, Zurich 1806 ( digitized version ).
  • Second part, which contains the continuation and addition of the first. Third section: G - K , Orell, Füeßli and Compagnie, Zurich 1808 ( digitized version ).
  • Second part, which contains the continuation and addition of the first. Fourth section: L - M , Orell, Füeßli and Compagnie, Zurich 1809 ( digitized ).
  • Second part, which contains the continuation and addition of the first. Fifth section: N - Q , Orell, Füeßli und Compagnie, Zurich 1810 ( digitized version ).
  • Second part, which contains the continuation and addition of the first. Sixth section: R , Orell, Füeßli and Compagnie, Zurich 1812 ( digitized version ).
  • Second part, which contains the continuation and addition of the first. Seventh section: Sa - Sc , Orell, Füeßli and Compagnie, Zurich 1813 ( digitized version ).
  • Second part, which contains the continuation and addition of the first. Appendix to the seventh section, which includes the life of Raphael Sanzio and the literature of his works , Orell, Füeßli and Compagnie, Zurich 1814 ( digitized version ).
  • Second part, which contains the continuation and addition of the first. Ninth section: T , Orell, Füeßli und Compagnie, Zurich 1814 ( digitized version ).
  • Second part, which contains the continuation and addition of the first. Section 10, first half: Va - Vicentino , Orell, Füeßli and Compagnie, Zurich 1818 ( digitized version ).
  • Second part, which contains the continuation and addition of the first. Eleventh section: W , Orell, Füeßli and Compagnie, Zurich 1820 ( digitized version ).
  • Second part, which contains the continuation and addition of the first. Twelfth section: XY Z , Orell, Füeßli and Compagnie, Zurich 1821 ( digitized ).

Kilian

The engraver and publisher Georg Christoph Kilian (1709–1781) published a four-volume artist lexicon in Augsburg in 1797:

  • General artist encyclopedia, or biographies of 223 famous artists, painters, and engravers [et] c. [Etc. and display of their works [et] c. [Etc. Engraved with their well-drawn portraits in Contorni . 4 volumes, Veith, Augsburg 1797 (digitized volume 1 ; volume 2 ; volume 3 ; volume 4 ).

Nailer

From 1835 to 1852, the Nuremberg antiquarian Georg Kaspar Nagler (1801–1866), using Füssli's work as a basis, wrote what was originally planned to be eight volumes and eventually 22 volumes

  • Neues Allgemeine Künstler Lexicon or news of the life and works of painters, sculptors, builders, copper engravers, form cutters, lithographers, draftsmen, medalists, ivory workers, etc. 22 volumes, Verlag EA Fleischmann, Munich 1832–1852 ( digitized version ).

From 1858, Nagler added five more volumes to this work with the monogrammists .

  • The monogrammists and those known and unknown artists of all schools who use a figurative sign, the initials of the name, the abbreviation of the same to designate their works, & c. have served. Taking into account letterpress marks, the stamp of art collectors, the stamp of the old gold and silversmiths, the majolica factories, porcelain manufacturers, etc. News about painters, draftsmen, sculptors, architects, engravers, shape cutters, letter painters, lithographers, stamp cutters, enamellers, goldsmiths, Niello, metal and ivory workers, engravers, armourers, etc. With the rational lists of the works of anonymous masters, whose marks are given, and the reference to the products of well-known artists labeled with monograms or initials ... also an addition ... to the new general artist- Lexicons and supplements to the well-known works by A. Bartsch, Robert-Dumesnil, C. le Blanc, F. Brulliot, J. Heller, etc. 5 volumes, Georg Franz, Munich 1858–1879, plus General Index G. Hirth, Munich 1920 ( digitized version ).

Müller / Klunzinger / Seubert

From 1857 to 1870 the Ebner & Seubert publishing house in Stuttgart published a four-volume artist lexicon, begun by the Stuttgart art historian Friedrich Müller († 1858), followed by Karl Klunzinger (1799–1861) and Adolf Seubert after his death .

The artists of all times and peoples: or the lives and works of the most famous builders, sculptors, painters, copper engravers, form cutters, lithographers etc. from the earliest art epochs to the present day. Edited from the best sources . Ebner & Seubert, Stuttgart

  • Volume 1: A – E , edited by Friedrich Müller. 1857 ( digitized ).
  • Volume 2: F – L , started by Friedrich Müller, continued by Karl Klunziger. 1860 ( digitized ).
  • Volume 3: M – Z , started by Friedrich Müller, continued by Karl Klunzinger and Adolf Seubert. 1864 ( digitized ).
  • Volume 4 supplements since 1857 . Edited by Adolf Seubert. 1870 ( digitized ).

2nd Edition:

  • General artist lexicon, or life and works of the most famous visual artists . 2nd edition, revised and supplemented by Adolf Seubert, 3 volumes, Ebner & Seubert, Stuttgart 1878–1879, again Rütten & Loening, Frankfurt a. M. 1882.

Meyer

In 1867, the Leipzig publisher Wilhelm Engelmann took over the rights to Nagler's Lexicon from the publishing house Tendler (J. Grosser) and a revision, called General Artists' Lexicon , was directed by Julius Meyer (1830-1893). From 1872 to 1885, however, only the first three of the 12 to 15 volume encyclopedia were published by Verlag Wilhelm Engelmann in Leipzig.

Thieme-Becker followed up on this work , which was initially published by the same publisher.

Thieme-Becker

The art historians Ulrich Thieme and Felix Becker began in Leipzig in 1898 with preparatory work on their artist lexicon under the title General Lexicon of Fine Artists from Antiquity to the Present . Volume 1 was published by Wilhelm Engelmann in October 1907. With Volume 4 (1910) Felix Becker resigned as editor due to illness. In 1911 the publishing house EA Seemann took over the publication. From volume 5 (1911) to volume 13 (1920), Thieme is the sole editor. In 1923 the publishing house handed over the publication to Hans Vollmer , who had already worked in the editorial department since 1907. After overcoming numerous financial and logistical problems, he completed the work in 37 volumes by 1950.

The Thieme-Becker was created by Hans Vollmer's General Lexicon of Fine Artists of the XX. Century , which was also published in six volumes from 1953 to 1962 by EA Seemann in Leipzig.

Müller / Singer

There were also other approaches to an artist lexicon in German-speaking countries. In 1888, the Bremen teacher Hermann Alexander Müller published a one-volume biographical artist lexicon. The most famous contemporaries in the field of fine arts of all countries with details of their works .

  • Biographical artist lexicon. The most famous contemporaries in the field of fine arts of all countries with details of their works . Bibliographisches Institut, Leipzig 1882 ( digitized version ); 2nd edition, corrected and supplemented by supplements, 1884.

This work was published from 1895 to 1901 by the Dresden art historian Hans Wolfgang Singer as a general artist lexicon. The lives and works of the most famous visual artists expanded in 5 volumes.

  • General artist lexicon. Lives and works of the most famous visual artists , revised and updated editions, prepared by Hermann Alexander Müller. Edited by Hans Wolfgang Singer. Rütten & Loening, Frankfurt a. M. 1895-1901.

Bénézit

The art dealer Emmanuel Bénézit (1854–1920) founded the French-language artist lexicon Dictionnaire critique et documentaire des peintres, sculpteurs, dessinateurs et graveurs de tous les temps et de tous les pays in 1911, inspired by Thieme-Becker . Under the name Bénézit , the work became the standard work, especially in French-speaking countries. It received three further French-language editions, each of which became more extensive. However, the articles are much shorter and less scientific than those in Thieme-Becker .

Bénézit edition 1999

The Dictionnaire Bénézit was reprinted and expanded several times, all editions were published by the Gründ publishing house in Paris.

  • First edition (1911–1923), 3 volumes
  • Second edition (1948–1955), 8 volumes
  • Third edition (1976), 10 volumes
  • Fourth edition (1999), 14 volumes
  • Fifth edition of Dictionary of Artists (2006), 14 volumes, in English with over 170,000 entries on around 20,000 pages.

The Bénézit will be maintained as an Internet database by Oxford University Press at oxfordartonline.com .

General Artist Lexicon (AKL)

A small part of the general dictionary of artists

In 1967, the Thieme-Becker was completely revised and expanded under the title General Artist Lexicon. The visual artists of all times and peoples (AKL) initiated by the publishing house EA Seemann in Leipzig and set up an editorial office on January 1, 1969 under the direction of Günter Meißner as editor-in-chief. Due to the inadequate technical equipment and the limited use of libraries outside the GDR, the publication of the first volume lasted until 1983, and two more volumes followed until reunification . Thereafter, KG Saur Verlag took over the general dictionary of artists on April 1, 1991 . KG Saur Verlag reprinted the first three volumes in four volumes in 1992 and continued the company. KG Saur Verlag has been part of Walter de Gruyter Verlag since 2006 , which continues the lexicon. To date (2018) 101 volumes have been published.

The general artist lexicon and the entire Thieme-Becker-Vollmer, supplemented by other information only contained in the database, are also accessible in an internet database.

Internet directories

Today two list-like artist directories are freely available on the Internet:

Regional artist encyclopedias

This section lists local, regional and national artist collection biographies sorted by geographic term.

Belgium

  • Philippe Roberts-Jones: Le dictionnaire des peintres belges du XIVe siècle à nos jours depuis les premiers maîtres des anciens Pays-Bas méridionaux et de la Principauté de Liège jusqu'aux artistes contemporains . 3 volumes, La Renaissance du livre, Brussels 1995, ISBN 2-8041-2012-0 .

Bohemia

  • Gottfried Johann Dlabacž: General historical artist encyclopedia for Bohemia and partly also for Moravia and Silesia. 3 volumes, Haase, Prague 1815.
  • Franz Joseph von Sternberg-Manderscheid: Contributions and corrections to Dlabacž Lexicon of Bohemian Artists. Berwald, Prague 1913.

Denmark

Weilbach's Artist Lexicon( Weilbach's Kunstnerleksikon ) is the standard lexicon of Danish artists. It was founded by the art historian Philip Weilbach (1834–1900). In the current edition there are around 10,000 entries from artists from Denmark and those who worked there.

  • 1st edition: Dansk konstnerlexikon ( Danish artist lexicon ). 1 volume, 1877/78 ( digitized version ).
  • 2nd edition: Nyt dansk kunstnerlexikon ( New Danish Artist Lexicon ). 2 volumes, 1895/96 ( digitized ).
  • 3rd edition: Weilbach's Kunstnerleksikon ( Weilbach's artist's dictionary ). 3 volumes, 1947–1952 ( digitized version ).
  • 4th edition: Weilbach - Dansk Kunstnerleksikon ( Weilbach - Danish artist lexicon ). 8 volumes, 1994–2004 ( digital edition ).

Germany

Dressier

Willy Oskar Dressler was 1906-1913 Dresslers Art Yearbook and its continuation from 1920 to 1934 Dressler's Art Guide (abbreviated to "the Dressler") out. It contains brief information on visual artists from Germany and was intended more as an address book than a lexicon.

  • Dressler's Art Yearbook. A reference book for German fine and applied arts . Dressler, Rostock 1, 1906-5, 1910; 6, 1911/12 - 7, 1913 ( digital copy, year 1907 ).
    • Art yearbook, handbook of German art care (including German Austria and German Switzerland) and ranking list of German visual artists, art scholars and art writers . Anniversary edition for the reign of Sr. Majesty Kaiser Wilhelm II., Verlag von Dressler's Art Yearbook, Rostock 1913.
  • Dressler's art manual. First volume. Image, art and sound art. The book of public art maintenance in Germany, Austria, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and Spain. Wasmuth, Berlin, later bookstore of the orphanage, Halle (Saale) 8, 1923-10, 1934.
  • Dressler's art manual. Second volume. The book of the living German artists, archeologists, art scholars and art writers. Visual arts. Wasmuth, Berlin, later Curtius, Berlin 8, 1921-9, 1930.

France

  • Émile Bellier de La Chavignerie, continued by Louis Auvray: Dictionnaire général des artistes de l'École française depuis l'origine des arts du dessin jusqu'à nos jours: architectes, peintres, sculpteurs, graveurs et lithographes . 3 volumes, Librairie Renouard, Paris 1882–1885 (digitized volume 1 ; volume 2 , supplément ).
  • Stanislas Lami : Dictionnaire des sculpteurs de l'École française . 4 parts in 8 volumes, H. Champion, Paris 1898–1921.
    • Dictionnaire des sculpteurs de l'École française du Moyen Âge au règne de Louis XIV . Paris 1898 ( digitized ).
    • Dictionnaire des sculpteurs de l'École française sous le règne de Louis XIV . Paris 1906 ( digitized ).
    • Dictionnaire des sculpteurs de l'École française au XVIIIe siècle . 2 volumes, Paris 1910–1911 (digitized volume 1 ; volume 2 ).
    • Dictionnaire des sculpteurs de l'École française au XIXe siècle (Paris, 1914–1921, 4 vol.)
  • Rene Edouard-Joseph: Dictionnaire biographique des artistes contemporains 1910–1930 . 4 volumes, Art et édition, Paris 1930–1936.

Hamburg

Japan

  • Yutaka Tazaw (Ed.): Biographical dictionary of Japanese art . Kodansha international. International society for educational information, New York 1981, ISBN 0-87011-488-3 .

Munich

  • Horst Ludwig u. a .: Bruckmann's Lexicon of Munich Art . 6 volumes, Bruckmann, Munich 1981–1994.
    • Volume 1: Munich painters of the 19th century . Adam, Albrecht - Gaupp, Gustav. 1981.
    • Volume 2: Munich painters of the 19th century . Gebhard, Ignatz - Küstner, Karl. 1982.
    • Volume 3: Munich painters of the 19th century . Lacher, Georg - Ruprecht, Otto. 1982.
    • Volume 4: Munich painters of the 19th century . Saffer, Hans - Zwengauer, Anton. 1983.
    • Volume 5: Munich painters of the 19th / 20th centuries Century . Achmann, Josef - Kursell, Otto. 1993.
    • Volume 6: Munich painters of the 19th and 20th centuries Century . Landschreiber, Max-Zintl, August. 1994.

Netherlands

  • Alfred von Wurzbach : Dutch artist lexicon. With more than 3000 monograms. 3 volumes, Halm and Goldmann, Vienna and Leipzig 1906–1911.
    • Volume 1: A - K . 1906 ( digitized ).
    • Volume 2: L - Z . 1910 ( digitized ).
    • Volume 3: Supplements and list of monograms . 1911 ( digitized ).

Norway

Nuremberg

Austria

Styria

  • Josef Wastler: Styrian Artist Lexicon . Leykam, Graz 1883.

Tyrol

  • Joseph von Lemmen: Tyrolean artist = lexicon or brief biography of those artists who were born Tyroleans or who stayed in Tyrol for a longer period of time . Felician Rauch, Innsbruck 1830 ( digitized version ).

Vorarlberg

Romania

  • Octavian Barbosa: Dicționarul artiștilor români contemporani. Editura Meridiane, Bucharest 1976.

Russia

  • John Milner: A dictionary of Russian and Soviet artists 1420–1970 . Antique collectors' club, Woodbridge 1993, ISBN 1-85149-182-1 .

Swabia

Switzerland

South Africa

  • Grania Ogilvie: The dictionary of South African painters and sculptors, including Namibia . Read, Johannesburg 1988, ISBN 0-620-12663-9 .
  • Esmé Berman: Art & artists of South Africa. An illustrated biographical dictionary and historical survey of painters, sculptors & graphic artists since 1875 . New updated & enlarged edition., 3rd Edition, Southern Book Publ., Halfway House 1993, ISBN 1-86812-345-6 .

Chronologically arranged artist encyclopedias

Thematic artists' dictionaries

Architects

  • Bernard Oudin: Dictionnaire des architectes . Nouvelle édition revue et augmentée. Seghers, Paris 1983, ISBN 2-221-01090-6 .
  • Randall J. Van Vynckt (Ed.): International dictionary of architects and architecture . St. James Press, Detroit 1993, Volume 1: Architects . ISBN 1-55862-087-7 . Volume 2: Architecture . ISBN 1-55862-088-5 .

Bookplate artist

Illustrators

Miniature painter

  • Leo Schidlof : The miniature in Europe in the 16th, 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. 4 volumes, Akademische Druck- und Verlagsanstalt, Graz 1964 (English edition) = La miniature en Europe aux 16e, 17e, 18e et 19e siècles. 4 volumes, Akademische Druck- und Verlagsanstalt, Graz 1964 (French edition).

Naive artist

  • Oto Bihalji-Mérin, Nebojša-Bato Tomašević: L'art naif . Jugoslovenska Revija / Edita, Belgrade / Lausanne 1984, ISBN 2-88001-181-7 .

Porcelain painter

  • Waltraud Neuwirth : Porzellanmaler-Lexikon 1840-1914. 2 volumes, Klinkhardt & Biermann, Braunschweig 1977.
  • Pierre Sanchez: Dictionnaire des céramistes, peintres sur porcelaine, verre et émail, verriers et émailleurs exposant dans les salons, expositions universelles, industrielles, d'art décoratif et des manufactures nationales 1700–1920 . 3 volumes, L'Échelle de Jacob, Dijon 2005, ISBN 2-913224-59-8 .

Female artist

  • Delia Gaze (Ed.): Dictionary of women artists . 2 volumes, Fitzroy Dearborn, London / Chicago 1997, ISBN 1-884964-21-4 .
  • Jochen Schmidt-Liebich: Lexicon of women artists 1700–1900. Germany, Austria, Switzerland . KG Saur, Munich 2005, ISBN 3-598-11694-2 .
  • Béatrice Didier, Antoinette Fouque, Mireille Calle-Gruber (eds.): Le dictionnaire universel des créatrices . 3 volumes, Des femmes, DL, Paris 2013; ISBN 978-2-7210-0631-8 .

literature

  • Hans Vollmer : How is an artist lexicon created? In: The art. Monthly magazine for fine and applied arts . tape 19 , 1908, pp. 66–74 ( Textarchiv - Internet Archive ).
  • Heinz Ladendorf : The general lexicon of the visual artists Thieme-Becker-Vollmer. In: Magdalena George (Ed.): Festschrift Hans Vollmer. On the occasion of his fifty years of activity as an employee and editor of the Thieme-Becker General Lexicon of Visual Artists from Antiquity to the Present. EA Seemann, Leipzig 1957, pp. 1-16 ( digitized version ).
  • Ulrich Schütte (Ed.): Large artist encyclopedias from the 16th to the early 19th century . Microfiche output. KG Saur, Munich 2002–2003, ISBN 3-598-34991-2 , ISBN 3-598-34990-4 .
    • Part 1: Italy . 2002.
    • Part 2: Germany and the Netherlands . 2002.
    • Part 3: France, Spain, England and Ireland . 2002.
    • Supplement: Bohemia, Moravia and Switzerland . 2003.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Hans Vollmer: How is an artist lexicon created? In: The art. Monthly magazine for fine and applied arts . tape 19 , 1908, pp. 66–74 ( Textarchiv - Internet Archive ).
  2. ↑ Philippe de Chennevières, Anatole de Courde de Montaigion (ed.): Abecedario de PJ Mariette: et autres notes inédites de cet amateur sur les arts et les artistes . Dumoulin, Paris.