Richard Stettiner

Richard Stettiner (born May 12, 1865 in Berlin , † December 15, 1927 in Ebenhausen near Munich ) was a German art historian , museum employee and monument conservator of Jewish descent.

life and work

After studying art history, which he completed in Strasbourg in 1895 , Richard Stettiner started a career as a museum in Berlin under Wilhelm von Bode . In addition to scientific work on medieval picture manuscripts, he published in exhibition and museum catalogs and was co-editor of the magazine "Museum". In 1900 he became a research assistant at the Hamburg Museum for Art and Industry . He taught in the context of general lectures and at the Hamburg University and also worked for a "defense unit" against art forgery.

Stettiner was an employee of the director of the Museum of Arts and Crafts, Justus Brinckmann . Shortly after Brinckmann's death in 1915, at a memorial service, Stettiner opened the exhibition "The Hamburg Monuments Inventory" prepared by the former director. During the political debate about the city's first monument protection law in 1919, Stettiner created a memorandum. After the enactment of this law, he became the first conservationist in the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg in 1920 . He was also head of the Hamburg Senate 's monument protection authority .

Stettiner's work continued Brinckmann's system and was characterized by the establishment of a monument archive and the inventory of monuments. The use of these tools in research and public relations was important to him . When Stettiner died in 1927 after a long illness, he left the office of monument conservator as a recognized institution in Hamburg, despite limited scope for action.

He had a daughter with his wife, Eva Stettiner. He was Ludwig Geiger's brother-in-law and a member of the Society of Friends , a Jewish aid organization in Berlin.

Stettiner and photography

As an art historian, Stettiner followed the rising art photography movement with great interest , which was particularly present in Hamburg under the patronage of Alfred Lichtwarks , director of the Hamburger Kunsthalle . Stettiner describes Lichtwark as the leading authority of pictorialism in Germany: "If you want to talk about artistic photography in Germany today, you have to keep mentioning the name Lichtwark." In the Lichtwarkian sense of art education, he aimed for a "noble, flourishing place in Hamburg." Applied arts and crafts "- this project included above all training in the taste and expectations of the public for photography.

Stettiner sees photography as an indispensable tool in art history : It reproduces the art true to the work, supports the method of art history and can even help to gain a deeper understanding of the work of art through the point of view of its recording. The art historian must therefore be familiar with photography himself.

As far as art photography is concerned, Stettiner again refers to Lichtwark: "For Lichtwark, artistic photography was a class in a large system, on the way of the dilettantism of culture, ie the understanding of art and the need for art as an indispensable side of life to increase among his fellow citizens. " Art photography gives rise to the possibility of "gaining an artistic side from a thing that has hitherto been almost exclusively mechanically cultivated" and thus expressing the "latent artistic power".

Pictorialism

Stettiner's essay "J. Craig Annan", published in the 4th edition of the photographic magazine "Die Kunst in der Photographie", is a kind of written interview with the Scottish artist photographer of the same name. Stettiner summarizes the central questions as follows: "The written interviewer 'Above all, I wanted to know what kind of artistic and photographic training the Scottish artist photographer had been, in particular in what connection he had with the world-famous company: T. & R. Annan & Sons in Glasgow , which we produce the excellent reproductions of works of art in Glasgow and Edinburgh owe it. " In the text, Stettiner describes himself as an "inquisitive friend of his [Craig Annans] art" and wants to use his person to exemplify what constitutes true photographic art.

Stettiner was a great admirer of Craig Annans and describes him as a "real artist." He claims that artist photographers achieve their best when they follow their artistic instinct. Stettiner divides art photography into two main directions: one is "extremely skillful, tasteful, but a bit manicured" (England is mentioned as an example), while the other is not afraid of experiments and does not allow itself to be limited by theory - here they are Schools of Vienna and Hamburg the main representatives. This creates two "camps", two different directions and aesthetic objectives. Craig Annan manages to satisfy both of them at the same time and to gain recognition from their followers - yet another proof of his artistic ability. The profile portrait of Miss Burnett, a photograph taken in 1893 and exhibited in Berlin in 1899 , was "awarded the palm" by all without exception. Stettiner draws the conclusion that the value of "works of real content" outlasts time and that this is where the artistic content of photography lies. In the text "Thoughts of a theorist on portrait photography", Stettiner expresses himself also on professional photography as well as on artistic amateur photography. The former gives the impression of rigidity and monotony. This is less due to the photographer than to the audience, who demand such typical images. In this sense, the task of the artistic portrait photographer is an educational one: they should train the taste and demands of the audience - as Alfred Lichtwark had also emphasized. Stettiner sees the lack of public education as a brake on the creation of artistically valuable material.

The artistic portrait photography should reproduce the decisive moment and arouse interest in the viewer for what is characteristic of a figure or for the "personality as such". At the same time, a portrait should put the viewer in contact with the figure represented and captivate them: "The longer you look at it, the more intimate that contact becomes in a good picture. Threads spin back and forth, and if you finally part, it costs Trouble, almost a mechanical effort, to tear these threads apart. " Another characteristic of a photographic work of art is its "liberation from the moment to which the photographer is actually tied." In this dependence on the moment there is an important difference to the portrait art in painting, which according to Stettiner should definitely function as a model for photography, especially with regard to the aspects of abstraction and combination:

“But how do you get a characteristic image? The painter receives it through combination. After believing that he has penetrated his model psychologically, in his painting he starts from the real, from what he sees in front of him, but with the great portraitists the result of his art is almost always not the reproduction of a certain moment, but rather a contraction of a number of different moments obtained through abstraction. "

Capturing this "decisive moment" is a task that is difficult to meet with a targeted study of personality and the necessary equipment - which is why Stettiner assumes that only a few photographers will produce artistically high-quality images in the foreseeable future.

Personality and commitment. reception

Richard Stettiner was held in high esteem by important contemporary figures and by his fellow men in general. He is described as extremely competent and dedicated; his work means a lot to him and he is not afraid to sacrifice himself for its completion. He stands up for his goals, "with an endurance and perseverance that few mortals have." In addition, he is described as an optimistic idealist, characterized by humanity and justice, but at the same time technically and scientifically strict.

According to Erwin Panofsky , Stettiner made an important contribution to research with his doctoral thesis "The Illustrated Prudentius Manuscripts". In his great work on Prudentius manuscripts, he instinctively found and exposed one of the very few tangible threads that ancient art was involved in that of the Middle Ages ". It is also Panofsky who sees the Stettiner as the founder of the art history seminar at the University of Hamburg : "We are also always aware of the fact that it was he who - unselfishly as always - brought together and donated this collection of work equipment with the help of some friends, which offered the students of art history a first external and internal home and was to become the real nucleus of our art history seminar. " Stettiner is portrayed as an excellent teacher, highly valued and admired by the students, especially because he has managed to build a personal relationship of trust with them. "The students thanked him and still thank him, and we should be pleased that their heartfelt admiration has made up for something that life denied him." Wolfgang Brinckmann , son of Justus Brinckmann and Hamburg DDP politician, comments on the person of Szczecin as follows: "Whenever it was a matter of protecting our people's valuable cultural assets or promoting Hamburg's intellectual interests in our group of progressive men, he stood as Stand by our side. His versatile knowledge, his deep feeling for spiritual values ​​and, last but not least, his knowledge of Hamburg's circumstances and personalities, which is doubly admirable for a non-Hamburg citizen, made his cooperation particularly valuable to us, and it will be difficult for us to get used to it in the future miss. "

Publications

Books

• The porcelain factory in Vincennes and Sèvres. Berlin: Grote, 1893.
• The illustrated Prudentius manuscripts. Strasbourg, university, dissertation 1895.
• Exhibition of works of art from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance from private ownership in Berlin, organized by the Kunstgeschichtliche Gesellschaft 20 May to 3 July 1898 by Wilhelm Bode, edited by Richard Stettiner. Berlin 1899.
• The weave in the Manesse handwriting and its alleged original. Berlin: Spemann 1911.
• J ustus Brinckmann and the Hamburg monuments inventory. Hamburg: Hartung 1915.
• Jakob Mores' book of treasures in the Hamburg City Library. An investigation into the history of Hamburg's applied arts at the turn of the 16th century. Meissner 1916.
• As translator: Thomas J. Cobden-Sanderso: Das Idealbuch oder das Schöne Buch (The Ideal Book or Book Beautiful). A treatise on calligraphy, print and illustration, and the beautiful book as a whole. Translated into German by Richard Stettiner. Berlin: Euphorion 1921.

Magazines and articles

• Photography in art history. In: Kunstchronik 7, 1896, 555–560.
• A theorist's thoughts on portrait photography. In: The art in photography 1, 1897, 49–52.
• Introduction. In: The art in photography 4, 1900, 1–8.
• J. Craig Annan. In: The art in photography 4, 1900, 29–36.
• Motif - endpaper - papers by Wilhelm Rauch. In: German art and decoration, illustr. Monthly booklets for modern painting, sculpture, architecture, home art etc. artistic women-work , 15 (October 1904), 86–89.
• Paul Trummer and the Museum of Arts and Crafts. In: Journal of the Association for Hamburg History 20, 1915, pp. V-VIII.
• From the craft export. In: Problems of Applied Art. Published by Alfred Rohde and Hans Dorén on behalf of the Board of Directors. Annual gift 1926 from the Kunstgewerbeverein zu Hamburg. Hamburg 1926, 58 pages.
• As editor: The Museum. A guide to enjoying works of fine art , ed. by Richard Stettiner and Wilhelm Spemann, 1.1896 - 11.1911 [?]. Berlin; Stuttgart.

literature

• Stettiner, Richard , in: Joseph Walk (ed.): Short biographies on the history of the Jews 1918–1945 . KG Saur, Munich 1988, ISBN 3-598-10477-4 , p. 356.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Richard Stettiner in memory - funeral service for Richard Stettiner in the crematorium in Ohlsdorf on December 21, 1927. Hamburg: Petermann 1928, 7.
2. ↑ Stettiner, Richard: Introduction. In: Art in Photography 4 (1900), p. 5.
3. ^ Röver, Hermann: Richard Stettiner . In: Preservation of monuments and heritage protection 1928 (30th year), ed. in the Prussian Ministry of Finance, p. 14.
4. ↑ Stettiner, Richard: The photography in art history . In: Kunstchronik 1896 (7th year), 555–560.
5. ↑ ^{a b} Stettiner, Richard: Introduction. In: The Art in Photography 4, p. 6.
6. ↑ Ibid., P. 2.
7. ↑ ^{a b} Stettiner, Richard: J. Craig Annan. In: Art in Photography 4 (1900), 31.
8. ↑ The terms "artist photographer " and "artist photography " are used by Stettiner himself in several places, in the text about Craig Annan (p. 31 etc.) as well as in the text " Die Photography in der Kunstwissenschaft " (p. 1, p. 6) .
9. ↑ ^{a b c d} Stettiner, Richard: J. Craig Annan. In: Art in Photography 4 (1900), 32.
10. ↑ Stettiner, Richard: Thoughts of a theorist about portrait photography. In: Art in Photography 1 (1897), 49.
11. ↑ Stettiner: Thoughts of a theorist on portrait photography. In: Art in Photography 1 (1897), 51.
12. ^ Richard Stettiner in memory - funeral service for Richard Stettiner in the crematorium in Ohlsdorf on December 21, 1927. Hamburg: Petermann 1928.
13. ↑ Ibid., 11.
14. ↑ Ibid., 7f., 9.
15. ↑ Ibid., 9.
16. ^ Richard Stettiner in memory - funeral service for Richard Stettiner in the crematorium in Ohlsdorf on December 21, 1927 (see note 1), 9f.
17. ↑ Ibid., 13.