Otto Benesch (art historian)

Otto Benesch (left) and his father, painted by Egon Schiele.

Otto Benesch (born June 29, 1896 in Ebenfurth , Lower Austria ; † November 16, 1964 in Vienna ) was an Austrian art historian and representative of the Vienna School of Art History . He was decisively influenced by the teaching of Max Dvořák and, along with Hans Tietze, is one of the most important successors of Dvořák in the so-called humanistic method of art history .

life and work

As the son of the art collector Heinrich Benesch , one of the first and most important sponsors of Egon Schiele , Otto Benesch was familiar with modern art from childhood . The personal acquaintance with Schiele left a lasting impression, which was reflected in numerous publications.

Benesch studied art history at the University of Vienna under Max Dvořák and received his doctorate in 1921 with a dissertation on "Rembrandt's graphic development". As early as 1920 he volunteered at the picture gallery of the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. In 1923 he became an assistant and later a curator at the Albertina Graphic Collection . Dismissed by the National Socialist regime in 1938 due to his wife's non- Aryan descent , he emigrated to the USA via France and England. From 1940 he lived in Cambridge (Massachusetts) and worked in Harvard , Princeton and New York, among others . In 1947 he was called back to Vienna, where he was director of the Albertina until 1962. In 1948 he was also appointed associate professor for art history.

His specialty was the graphic arts, but his widespread interest also extended to monument preservation, art theory and musicological issues. His research focuses on the late Gothic art of Austria and southern Germany, the drawings by Rembrandt van Rijn and Austrian modernism. The museum work at the Albertina was largely aimed at building a representative collection of modern graphics. He was buried in an honorary grave at Hietzingen cemetery .

Publications (selection)

• The Vienna Art History School, in: Österreichische Rundschau 1920
• Descriptive catalog of the drawings in the Albertina Graphic Collection, 2 volumes, Vienna 1929–33
• The painter Albrecht Altdorfer, Vienna 1939
• A short history of art in Austria (= Tagblatt library, vol. 1312/13), Vienna 1950
• Egon Schiele as a Draftsman, Vienna 1950
• The Drawings of Rembrandt. A Critical and Chronological Catalog, 6 vols., London 1954-57
• Collected Writings, 4 vols., New York 1970-73
• From an Art Historians Workshop, Lucerne, 1979

Honors

• In 1981, Otto Benesch Park was named after him in Favoriten (10th district) .
• Otto Benesch was buried in the Hietzinger Friedhof in Vienna in an honorary grave (group 4, number 7).

literature

• Otto Benesch. Directory of his writings. Bern 1961.
• 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. 32-39.

Web links

• Otto Benesch (art historian) in the Vienna History Wiki of the City of Vienna
• Entry on Otto Benesch (art historian) in the Austria Forum  (in the AEIOU Austria Lexicon )
• Literature by and about Otto Benesch in the catalog of the German National Library
• Works by and about Otto Benesch  in the German Digital Library

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Otto Benesch. Retrieved February 24, 2019 . 
2. ^ Otto Benesch grave site , Vienna, Hietzinger Friedhof, Group 4, No. 7.
3. ^ Otto-Benesch-Park in the Vienna History Wiki of the City of Vienna
4. ↑ Otto Benesch in the search for the deceased at friedhoefewien.at.