Karl Schefold

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Karl Schefold-von den Steinen (1905–1999) archaeologist, grave in the Hörnli cemetery, Riehen, Basel-Stadt
Grave in the Hörnli cemetery , bronze by Alexander Zschokke

Karl Schefold (born January 26, 1905 in Heilbronn , † April 16, 1999 in Basel ) was a German-Swiss classical archaeologist . Born and educated in Germany, he emigrated in 1935 forcibly into Switzerland , which became his home. He was interested in the religious content of ancient art, which he interpreted from the spirit of a scientific tradition that was shaped by the poetic legacy of German classical music and the art conception of the poet Stefan George .

Life

After attending the Eberhard-Ludwigs-Gymnasium in Stuttgart , he began his studies in classical studies in Tübingen and Heidelberg . It was there that he met his future wife Marianne von den Steinen. He also studied in Jena and received his doctorate in 1930 from the University of Marburg on Kerch vases . As an assistant and scholarship holder, he later worked mainly at the German Archaeological Institute in Rome and Athens and participated in the excavations of Larisa on the Hermos .

Worried about developments in Germany, after his marriage on February 5, 1935, he moved to Basel in the same year, where he completed his habilitation in classical archeology in 1936 . At first he was primarily responsible for Near Eastern and early Christian archeology, then after the death of Ernst Pfuhl in 1940 he took over the representation of the entire subject area and was gradually transferred to the chair, finally in 1953. He turned down numerous foreign appointments and expanded archeology in Basel through his research and the establishment of the Antikenmuseum. He died on April 16, 1999 in Basel.

Schefold was a member of the German, Austrian and American archaeological institutes as well as the Bavarian and British Academy of Sciences . He received an honorary doctorate from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki . With Herbert A. Cahn he founded the Antikenmuseum Basel , the first museum for ancient art in Switzerland. He was also one of the founders of the Association of Friends of Ancient Art in 1956 and of the magazine Antike Kunst in 1958 .

He was married to Marianne von den Steinen, the daughter of Karl von den Steinens , a well-known ethnologist. With her he often read texts by ancient Greek poets for a wide audience. The sons Dian Schefold , Reimar Schefold and Bertram Schefold come from this marriage .

plant

Schefold became known for his work on the late Classical Attic vases, on the art of the Scythians in southern Russia and on his excavations in Larisa on Hermos and Eretria . Since his time in Basel he has maintained the connection between Europe and America even in difficult times.

After completing the five volumes "Greek Sage Pictures" (Volume 1, 1st edition, 1964, Volume 5, 1988, Volume 1, 2nd edition 1993), in the last years of his life he mainly dealt with the revision and expansion of the book on " The portraits of ancient poets, speakers and thinkers "(1943, new edition 1997), a work summarizing and revising earlier writings" The religious content of ancient art and the revelation "(1998) and with" Hugo von Hofmannsthal's picture of Stefan George "( 1998).

In his time, works on Roman wall painting , especially on Pompeii , were of great importance, but are now considered obsolete. His memoirs, published posthumously in 2003 under the title The Poetry as a Guide to Classical Art , deal more with art than with Schefold's own life and thus create “structure and a connection” between Schefold's nearly 700 publications rather than meeting expectations the entertaining value of memoirs.

Fonts

A list of publications by Karl Schefold can be found at:

  • Karl Schefold. Bibliography 1930–1990. Karl Schefold on the occasion of his 85th birthday on January 26, 1990, with summarizing comments by the author. From his colleagues and friends. Basel 1990. ISBN 3-905057-06-9 .
  • Additions: Bibliography Karl Schefold, 1990–1995 . In: Antike Kunst 38 (1995) p. 65.

Memoirs:

  • Karl Schefold: The poetry as a guide to classical art. Memories of an Archaeologist (Memoirs of Life Volume 58) . From the estate, ed. by Martha Rohde-Liegle u. a. Hamburg, Verlag Dr. Kovac, 2003. ISBN 3-8300-1017-6 (with complete list of publications).

literature

  • Karl Schefold-von den Steinen, Dr.phil., Dr.phil.hc, em. o. Professor of Classical Archeology at the University of Basel, January 26, 1905–16. April 1999. Basel 1999.
  • Henri Metzger , Jean-Marc Moret: Karl Schefold, 26 January 1905–16 April 1999. In: Revue archéologique 1999, pp. 387–390.
  • Rolf A. Stucky : Ancient Art and the Association of Friends of Ancient Art lose one of their founding fathers. On the death of Prof. Dr. Dr. hc Karl Schefold. In: Antike Kunst 42 (1999), pp. 71–72.
  • Rolf A. Stucky: Science as a message. On the death of Karl Schefold. In: Antike Welt 30 (1999), p. 417.
  • Paul Zanker : Karl Schefold, January 26, 1905– April 16, 1999. In: Yearbook of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences 1999, pp. 276–282.
  • Umberto Pappalardo: Karl Schefold in memoriam. In: Rivista di Studi Pompeiani 11 (2000), pp. 7-9.
  • Margot Schmidt : Karl Schefold. In: Gnomon 72 (2000), pp. 571-575.
  • Umberto Pappalardo: Ricordo di Karl Schefold. In: Atene e Roma 46 (2001), pp. 80–86.
  • Bernhard Ebneth:  Schefold, Karl. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 22, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 2005, ISBN 3-428-11203-2 , p. 616 f. ( Digitized version ).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Michael Philipp: In the beautiful life . In: “Süddeutsche Zeitung” from April 19, 2004.
    Review notes on The Poetry as a Guide to Classical Art at perlentaucher.de


personal data
SURNAME Schefold, Karl
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German-Swiss classical archaeologist
DATE OF BIRTH January 26, 1905
PLACE OF BIRTH Heilbronn
DATE OF DEATH April 16, 1999
Place of death Basel