Ludwig Bachhofer

Ludwig Bachhofer (born June 30, 1894 in Munich ; † March 1976 in Carmel-by-the-Sea ) was a German art historian and professor in Munich and at the University of Chicago .

Life

Ludwig Bachhofer began studying art history , classical archeology , ethnology and philosophy at the University of Munich in 1916 , but had to interrupt this due to the First World War . In 1918 he resumed his studies and received his doctorate in 1921 with a dissertation on the art of Japanese woodcut masters.

In 1921/22 Bachhofer completed a scientific traineeship at the Museum of Ethnology in Munich under Lucian Scherman . From 1922 an intensive research activity followed, which in 1926 led to the establishment of the department for Japanese art of the Völkerkundemuseum in Munich. In 1926 he completed his habilitation in art history and Asian archeology in Munich and worked as a private lecturer at the University of Munich. He gave courses on Chinese, Japanese and Indian art history. On November 24, 1926, he married Hilda Nelson, with whom he had a daughter, Else.

In July 1933 he was appointed associate professor, but the responsible ministry contradicted the appointment due to the "non-Aryan descent" of Bachhofer's wife. As Bachhofer refused to divorce his wife of Jewish origin and threatened to be fired, the family emigrated to the United States at the end of 1934 .

From 1935 Bachhofer worked as a professor for East Asian art history at the University of Chicago, from 1941 as a full professor. From 1941 to 1945 he was also co-editor of Art Bulletin . In 1965 he retired.

Research priorities

Bachhofer's research interests included East Asian art with a focus on the art history of Central Asia and the connection with India, Iran and China. In Germany he was one of the most important experts in the then still new discipline of Asian art history. His work on early Indian sculpture has long been considered a standard work.

Publications (selection)

Chinese art . Wroclaw 1923
The early Indian sculpture . 2 volumes, Munich / Florence 1929
A Short History of Chinese Art . Pantheon, New York 1946

literature

Harrie Vanderstappen: Ludwig Bachhofer (1894–1976) . In: Archives of Asian Art 31, 1977/78, pp. 110-112.
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. KG Saur, Munich 1999, ISBN 3-598-11339-0 , pp. 18-20.

Web links

Short biography , University of Chicago
Dictionary of Art Historians
Estate , ME Grenander Department of Special Collections & Archives, University of Albany

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Ulrike Wendland: Biographical manual of German-speaking art historians in exile. Life and work of the scientists persecuted and expelled under National Socialism. Part 1: A – K. KG Saur, Munich 1999, ISBN 3-598-11339-0 , pp. 18-20
↑ Bachhofer Ludwig Papers , ME Grenander Department of Special Collections & Archives, University of Albany.
↑ Patrick Olivelle (Ed.): Between the Empires: Society in India 300 BCE to 400 CE . Oxford University Press, Oxford / New York 2006, p. 56 f. Note 7.

personal data
SURNAME	Bachhofer, Ludwig
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Bachhofer, Ludwig F.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	German art historian
DATE OF BIRTH	June 30, 1894
PLACE OF BIRTH	Munich
DATE OF DEATH	March 1976
Place of death	Carmel-by-the-Sea

[Wendland-1] Ulrike Wendland: Biographical manual of German-speaking art historians in exile. Life and work of the scientists persecuted and expelled under National Socialism. Part 1: A – K. KG Saur, Munich 1999, ISBN 3-598-11339-0 , pp. 18-20

[2] Bachhofer Ludwig Papers , ME Grenander Department of Special Collections & Archives, University of Albany.

[3] Patrick Olivelle (Ed.): Between the Empires: Society in India 300 BCE to 400 CE . Oxford University Press, Oxford / New York 2006, p. 56 f. Note 7.