Victor H. Elbern

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Victor Heinrich Elbern (born June 9, 1918 in Düren ; † June 10, 2016 in Berlin ) was a German art historian and author of numerous monographs and essays on the description and interpretation of sacred works of art in their historical context.

Life

Victor H. Elbern attended the humanistic collegiate grammar school in Düren, then he studied Catholic theology, philosophy and Christian art in Bonn in 1937/38 and at the Pontificia Università Gregoriana in Rome from 1938 to 1940 (graduated bachelor's degree ); in Rome he lived in the Pontificium Collegium Germanicum . From 1940 to 1946 he did military service or was a prisoner of war as an interpreter for American and English agencies. He then studied in Bonn in 1946/47 and in Zurich from 1947 to 1950Art history. He received his doctorate in Zurich in 1950, after which he was a research assistant at the University of Bonn from 1950 to 1954. In 1954 he became general secretary for the exhibitions in the Villa Hügel in Essen ; from 1957 to 1958 he was responsible for the exhibition Ir Christi in the pavilion of the Vatican at the world exhibition in Brussels . From 1958 to 1960 he received a scholarship from the research group of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia in Düsseldorf.

From 1960 he worked at the Early Christian Byzantine Department of the State Museums in Berlin in Berlin-Dahlem; In 1967 he became the head of the collection. In addition, he taught from 1970 to 1998 as an honorary professor at the Free University of Berlin . He was visiting professor at Tel Aviv University (1979), Zurich University (1983) and Jerusalem University (1983).

Elbern had been married to Theresia born in 1952. Schager; The marriage had three children, including the ancient historian Stephan Elbern .

Act

His main research area was the art of the early Middle Ages, as well as the art of late antiquity and Byzantium. His publications in various art book publishers met with a wide audience. He was significantly involved in the Runological Colloquium Brunsvik (1998), as well as in various exhibitions. From 1982 to 1993 he was chairman of the art history section of the Görres Society and a member of the board of directors of the Jerusalem Institute of the Görres Society from 1987 to 1993.

Victor H. Elbern was involved in numerous social projects in the Holy Land and was a member of the German Association of the Holy Land . In 1977 he was appointed Knight of the Order of Knights of the Holy Sepulcher by Cardinal Grand Master Maximilien de Fürstenberg and invested in Berlin on May 14, 1977 by Franz Hengsbach , Grand Prior of the Papal Order in Germany. Most recently he was a Grand Officer of the Order.

honors and awards

Publications (selection)

  • The Carolingian gold altar of Milan . Bonn 1952 (dissertation).
  • The minster treasure of Essen. Cooling, Mönchengladbach 1959.
  • (Ed.): The first millennium. Art and culture in the emerging West on the Rhine and Ruhr . 3 volumes, Düsseldorfn 1962–1964
  • The Eucharistic chalice in the early Middle Ages . German Association for Art History, Berlin 1964.
  • The churches in Werden. Essen-Werden 1964.
  • with Hans Reuther : St. Godehard zu Hildesheim. Building and treasury. Hildesheim 1969.
  • The Icon Cabinet of the Early Christian Byzantine Collection . Gebr. Mann, Berlin 1979.
  • Cathedral and cathedral treasure in Hildesheim . Langewiesche, Königstein i. T. 1979; 2nd improved edition 1991.
  • Goldsmithing in the Early Middle Ages . WBG, Darmstadt 1988, ISBN 3-534-03142-3 .
  • Fructus operis. Schnell and Steiner, Regensburg [collected small writings, each with a list of writings]
    • Volume 1: Art history essays from five decades. 1998.
    • Volume 2: Contributions to the liturgical art of the early Middle Ages. 2003.
    • Volume 3: Selected art historical writings from the years 1961-2007. 2008.
    • Volume 4: This particular one person. Autobiography of an art historian . On the author's 95th birthday with a reprint of the dissertation "The Carolingian gold altar of Milan", 2013.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Obituary notice Victor H. Elbern , accessed on September 5, 2016
personal data
SURNAME Elbern, Victor H.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Elbern, Victor Heinrich; Elbern, Viktor H.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German art historian
DATE OF BIRTH June 9, 1918
PLACE OF BIRTH Düren
DATE OF DEATH June 10, 2016
Place of death Berlin