Rolf Fritz

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Rolf Fritz (born April 15, 1904 in Hofgeismar ; † September 2, 1992 in Münster ) was a German art historian . His research focus was German art from the Middle Ages to the 19th century, especially on the art and cultural history of Westphalia , as well as on various genres of handicrafts .

Life

Rolf Fritz was born in Hessen to a Strasbourg family and grew up in Dortmund . After completing his training as a primary school teacher in Hilchenbach (Siegerland), he studied art history, history, classical archeology and philosophy in Berlin and Vienna and received his doctorate in 1930 under Adolph Goldschmidt in Berlin with the dissertation “The city and street scene in Dutch painting in the 17th and 18th centuries. Century ".

First he was an assistant to Cornelis Hofstede de Groot in The Hague for a year . This was followed by a job as a volunteer at various departments of the Berlin museums, including a. the Middle East Department, the Picture Gallery and the Decorative Arts Museum, which was then located in the Berlin Palace. In 1934 Fritz became custodian at the Municipal Museum in Dortmund, since 1936 its director. At his suggestion, the museum was named Museum for Art and Cultural History , which he headed until his retirement in 1966.

This time was interrupted by the military service that Fritz performed as an interpreter for French and Dutch from 1940 to 1945. After the war he was initially busy with the repatriation of the evacuated holdings of the museum, the building of which had been completely destroyed. The refuge (until 1970) was Cappenberg Castle near Lünen , which was made possible in 1946 thanks to the active help of British art protection officers. "The British military government confirmed Rolf Fritz in his office on January 22, 1946". There, also with their help, he was able to show highly acclaimed exhibitions and arrange restorations since 1948, including precious works of art from the Middle Ages from Dortmund churches. The exhibitions were praised by Carl Georg Heise in 1950 as "the miracle of Cappenberg".

In 1949 and 1950, the most precious works of medieval art from Germany were shown in unique exhibitions in the museums of Amsterdam , Brussels and Paris , which met with a great response. Most of the works of art had been relocated during the war and were mostly unable to return to their original locations after the destruction. These international exhibitions were also made possible with significant help from the British art protection officers (Monuments Men or Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives Section ). Rolf Fritz was involved with loans from Dortmund churches.

The exhibitions during the summer months at Schloss Cappenberg formed an essential part of his museum work.

  • Art treasures from destroyed churches in Westphalia , 1948.
  • Rembrandt and his contemporaries. Hand drawings from the museums of Amsterdam and Brussels , 1949.
  • Conrad von Soest and his group , 1950.
  • German culture from the late Gothic to the Rococo. Exhibition with loans from the Germanisches Nationalmuseum Nürnberg , 1951.
  • Masterpieces of Dutch painting from the Alte Pinakothek in Munich , 1952.
  • The Ruhr area a hundred years ago , 1955.
  • The picture of German industry 1800–1850 , 1958.

A complete bibliography by Rolf Fritz was published in 1979 on the occasion of his 75th birthday, including a detailed appraisal of his museum work, by the Dortmund City and State Library in 1979. It includes writings on the following areas: 1. Iconography, 2. German painting from the 14th to 19th centuries, 3. Sculpture from the 11th to 16th centuries, 4. German drawings from the 15th to 19th centuries, 5. Handicrafts from the 13th to 18th centuries, 6. Dortmund and the old art on Hellweg, 7. Ruhr area, 8. Dutch painting, 9. Museum publications and reports.

His son is the art historian Johann Michael Fritz (* 1936).

Publications (selection)

Monographs

  • The city and street scene in 17th century Dutch painting. Stuttgart 1932.
  • Dortmund churches and their art treasures. Dortmund 1933.
  • Conrad von Soest. The Dortmund Marienaltar. Bremen 1950.
  • Conrad von Soest. The Wildunger Altar. Munich 1954.
  • Dortmund art possession. Museum of Art and Cultural History. Acquisitions 1934–1958. Exhibition for the 75th anniversary of the museum. Dortmund 1958.
  • Heinrich Aldegrever as a painter. Dortmund 1959.
  • The Ruhr area a hundred years ago. Dortmund 1956. 3rd edition, 1963.
  • Dortmund. Images from four centuries. Dortmund 1956, 3rd edition 1965.
  • Museum for Art and Cultural History of the City of Dortmund. Hamburg 1964 (= museums of cultural history in Germany, volume 4)
  • Masterpieces of old art from Dortmund. Dortmund 1967, 2nd edition 1980.
  • Becker Collection. Old master paintings. Dortmund 1967.
  • Ancient art in the Unna district. Cologne-Berlin 1970, 2nd expanded edition 1977.
  • Collection August Neresheimer. Catalog. Hamburg-Altona 1974.
  • The coconut vessels in Central Europe. 1250-1800. Mainz 1983.

Articles (selection)

  • The half-figure picture in West German panel painting around 1400. In: Journal for Art History. Volume 5, 1951, pp. 161–178.
  • Aquilegia. The symbolic meaning of the Columbine. In: Wallraf-Richartz-Jahrbuch. Volume 14, 1952, pp. 99-110.
  • Conrad von Soest as a draftsman. In: Westphalia. Volume 31, 1953, p. 10.
  • The iconography of St. Gottfried von Cappenberg. In: Westphalian magazine. Volume 111, 1961, pp. 1-20.
  • The Crucifixus from Benninghausen, a picture of the 11th century. In: Westphalia. Volume 29, 1951, pp. 141-153.
  • The Crucifixus von Cappenberg, a masterpiece of French sculpture. In: Westphalia. Volume 31, 1953, pp. 204-218.
  • Dortmund goldsmiths of the baroque period . In: Peter Berghaus: Dortmunder Münzgeschichte, Dortmund 1958, pp. 53–83.
  • A late Gothic pilgrim bottle for the Aachen shrine tour. In: Aachener Kunstblätter. Volume 22, 1961, pp. 75–82.

literature

  • Preserver - discoverer - mediator. Dr. Rolf Fritz on his 75th birthday. Edited by Hans Rudi Vitt, Dortmund City and State Library, New Series, Issue 12, Dortmund 1979. In it: Otto Königsberger, Rolf Fritz on his 75th birthday , pp. 11–16; Bibliography pp. 27-43.
  • Paul Pieper : Rolf Fritz 1904 to 1992. In Westphalia. 71, 1993, pp. 275-279 (with bibliography).
  • People in Selm, Bork and Cappenberg. Published by the City of Selm Foundation, Selm 2015, p. 90 f.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Marie Roosen-Runge (Ed.): Adolph Goldschmidt 1863-1944, Memoirs. Mollwo, Berlin 1989, p. 220.
  2. ↑ a b c Rolf and Hanna Fritz: Winter at Cappenberg Castle. Letters to Sweden from October 1947 to March 1948. Edited by Johann Michael Fritz, self-published, 2004.
  3. ^ Johann Michael Fritz: A letter to the editor and its consequences. About the work of English art protection officers in Westphalia after the end of the war in 1945. Edited by Johann Michael Fritz for the “Ornamenta ecclesiae conservanda” foundation, Münster-Bielefeld 2017.
  4. ^ Brigitte Buberl: The museum during the Third Reich or "Dear Mr. Fritz, the time has come ...". In: Home Dortmund. 2/2008, p. 55.
  5. ↑ Trésors du Moyen Âge allemand. Brussels 1949.
    Uit de Schatkamers der Middeleeuwen. Amsterdam 1949.
    Des Maîtres de Cologne à Albert Durer. Paris 1950.
personal data
SURNAME Fritz, Rolf
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German art historian
DATE OF BIRTH April 15, 1904
PLACE OF BIRTH Hofgeismar
DATE OF DEATH 2nd September 1992
Place of death Muenster