Theodor Schreiber

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Portrait of Schreiber from 1876 and his signature

Georg Theodor Schreiber (born March 13, 1848 in Strehla ; † March 13, 1912 in Leipzig ) was a German classical archaeologist , art historian and monument protector .

Life

Theodor Schreiber was the son of a printer from Leipzig. He first attended the community school , later the Thomas-Gymnasium and, after graduating from high school , began studying archeology, history and philosophy at the University of Leipzig in 1868 . He studied classical philology with Friedrich Ritschl and Alfred Schöne , and Johannes Overbeck became a teacher and influential figure in his major in archeology . In 1872 Schreiber received his doctorate from Overbeck with the work Quaestionum de artificum aetatibus in Plinii naturalis historiae libris relatis specimen on the problems of the sources of the art history books by Pliny the Elder . In 1874 he got together with Leopold Julius , Carl Robert and Rudolf Because the travel grant of the German Archaeological Institute and was able to travel to Italy. Schreiber stayed in Rome for a year and took part in the work of the Rome Department of the Archaeological Institute of the German Empire , headed by Wilhelm Henzen and Wolfgang Helbig . For a short time he was then a tutor in Palermo . Furthermore, in 1876 he was able to explore Greece and especially Athens on a short visit. He then stayed in Rome for some time on behalf of the Archaeological Institute, where he cataloged the Ludovisi collection .

At the end of 1877 Schreiber returned to Leipzig. Two years later, he completed his habilitation with a thesis on Apollon Pythoktonos. A contribution to the history of religion and art in Greece . Schreiber then became a private lecturer in Leipzig, and in 1885 he was appointed associate professor . From 1886 he was also director of the Municipal Art Museum in Leipzig and curator of the Leipzig Art Association . He retained all three positions until his death, although his main field of activity was the preservation of monuments , while his scientific work was primarily archaeological. Travels took him to England, France and the Orient . The famous expedition to Egypt, which began in the autumn of 1898, under the direction of Ernst von Sieglin , was initiated by Schreiber. In Alexandria he found support from Johannes Schiess . Between 1898 and 1902 he led the excavations with interruptions. The high burdens of the dual office were partly responsible for the early death of Schreiber at the age of 64 years. He was a member of the Saxon Academy of Sciences and the German Archaeological Institute. He was also a Privy Councilor and Knight First Class of the Ducal Saxon Ernestine House Order .

At first Schreiber had problems because he only had one academic teacher in archeology in Overbeck and was therefore only trained on one side. Only the trip to Italy was able to significantly expand the young scientist's still limited horizons. Since he was in positions of responsibility in the mid-1880s, he has had a lasting influence on the fortunes of monument preservation in particular . For example, he was responsible for saving the murals in the old cloister of Leipzig University. Ever since he cataloged the Lodovisi Collection, his work on archeology has been particularly relevant to sculpture. In one study he successfully devoted himself to the Athena Parthenos and her replicas , his attempts at reconstructing the wall paintings of Polygnot , in which Carl Robert's studies are considered more successful , are considered less successful .

Schreiber's lasting importance, however, stems from his preoccupation with the Hellenistic monuments, which during this time became known in large numbers , especially from Pergamon, thanks to the excavations by Carl Humann and Alexander Conze . In his studies, however, he did not start from the archaeological finds, but from the philological sources. “In an ingenious anticipation of the results of philological research” ( Ulrich Hausmann ) he tried to highlight the special share of Ptolemaic - Alexandrian art in Hellenistic art and culture. He was often criticized for his conclusions that go too far, on the other hand, according to more recent findings and research, many of his theories have turned out to be correct. Schreiber was the first to establish, for example, that the Cairene Gauls head was a work of Ptolemaic art despite references to the “ Pergamene Baroque ”. The partly negative features of an obituary written by Franz Studniczka are considered exaggerated today and many of Schreiber's works are viewed much more positively today than during his lifetime.

Fonts (selection)

  • Quaestionum de artificum aetatibus in Plinii naturalis historiae libris relatis specimen , Dissertation Leipzig 1872 digitized .
  • The ancient sculptures of the Villa Ludovisi in Rome , Leipzig 1880 digitized .
  • The Athena Parthenos of Phidias and her replicas. A contribution to art history , Leipzig 1883.
  • Unedited Roman find reports from Italian archives and libraries , Breitkopf & Härtel, Leipzig 1885.
  • Antiquity , Leipzig 1885 (Kulturhistorischer Bilderatlas, Vol. 1).
  • The Vienna fountain reliefs from the Palazzo Grimani. A study of the Hellenistic relief image with studies of the fine arts in Alexandria , Seemann, Leipzig 1888.
  • The Alexandrian Toreutic. Investigations into the Greek goldsmith's art in the Ptolomean Empire , Leipzig 1894.
  • The murals of Polygnotus in the Knidier Hall at Delphi , Leipzig 1897.
  • The murals of the cloister of the old Leipzig University after tracing over the originals on behalf of the Academic Senate of the University of Leipzig and with the permission of the Royal Saxon Ministry of Culture and Public Education , Meisenbach Riffarth & Co., Leipzig 1909
  • Greek satyr play reliefs , Teubner, Leipzig 1909 (Treatises of the Philological-Historical Class of the Royal Saxon Society of Sciences, Vol. 27, No. 22)

literature

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Schreiber, Theodor
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Schreiber, Georg Theodor
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German classical archaeologist, art historian and monument protector
DATE OF BIRTH March 13, 1848
PLACE OF BIRTH Strehla
DATE OF DEATH March 13, 1912
Place of death Leipzig