Lilli Fischel

Lilli Fischel (actually Luise Fischel, born January 14, 1891 in Bruchsal , † December 28, 1978 in Karlsruhe ) was a German art historian. She appeared as a profound connoisseur of the visual arts of the Middle Ages.

Life

Luise (Lilli) Fischel grew up in Bruchsal. Her father Ottmar came from a Jewish family, her mother Eugenie, née Theis, was Protestant and raised Luise and her three siblings accordingly. Luise attended high school in Karlsruhe until her Abitur in 1909 and then studied philosophy, art history and classical archeology in Frankfurt am Main and Freiburg (Breisgau). 1923 Luise Fischel was at the Art History Institute of the University of Frankfurt am Main at Rudolf Kautzsch with a thesis on the topic "Mittelrheinische sculpture of the 14th century" in Frankfurt Dr. phil. PhD.

Since 1929 she was active in the art trade. From 1925 to 1933 the art historian worked at the Badische Kunsthalle in Karlsruhe, initially as a research assistant, and from 1928 as a curator . From 1927 she was acting director of the art gallery. During her tenure, she showed, among other things, an exhibition with paintings by Vincent van Gogh and acquired works from Impressionism and New Objectivity for the museum . It supplemented the Karlsruhe collection with significant examples of medieval panel painting , but was also open to contemporary trends.

In February 1933 she was given leave of absence due to her commitment to modern art, and in March 1933 she was dismissed because of her father's Jewish origins. In 1939 she went to Paris , but returned to Germany in 1939 due to her financial situation and the threat of internment in France. In Germany she was again working as an art dealer and presumably lived anonymously for a while. After 1945 she continued to work in the Federal Republic as an art dealer and author of art history texts. From 1952 to 1956 she worked again at the Karlsruhe Kunsthalle as chief curator and head of the graphics department. She succeeded in acquiring the panel "The Disguise of Christ" from the master of the Karlsruhe Passion . Lilli Fischel published on art history topics until the 1970s.

The 87-year-old died as a result of a traffic accident in Karlsruhe.

Publications (selection)

• Middle Rhine sculpture of the 14th century. (= Compendia on German Art 1). Verlag der Wissenschaften, Munich (= dissertation).

literature

• Joseph Walk (ed.): Short biographies on the history of the Jews 1918–1945. Edited by the Leo Baeck Institute, Jerusalem. Saur, Munich 1988, ISBN 3-598-10477-4 , pp.?.
• Claus-Dieter Krohn a . a. (Ed.): Handbook of German-speaking Emigration 1933-1945. Primus-Verlag, Darmstadt 1998, Vol. 2, pp.?.
• Fischel, Lilli , in: 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. 144-147.
• Fischel, Luise (Lilli) , 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. 298

Web links

• History of the Kunsthalle Karlsruhe with a portrait photo of L. Fischel
• Publications by Lilli Fischel in the Opac der Regesta Imperii