Wolfgang Beeh

Wolfgang Beeh (born November 28, 1925 in Stuttgart ; † July 18, 2013 in Darmstadt ) was a German art historian . From 1975 to 1990 he was director of the Hessian State Museum in Darmstadt .

Life

Wolfgang Beeh studied art history, literary history and classical archeology in Stuttgart and Bonn. In 1959 he received his doctorate on the sculptural decoration of the Rottweiler chapel tower. He completed his traineeship at the Museum Schnütgen in Cologne. Wolfgang Beeh worked for the Hessian State Museum in Darmstadt since 1961, initially as curator and chief curator. In 1975 he was appointed director. He thus succeeded Gerhard Bott , who went to Cologne in 1975.

Beeh headed the Hessisches Landesmuseum Darmstadt for over 15 years. During his time at the Hessisches Landesmuseum, many parts of the collection were re-established and the institution was transformed from a venerable educational establishment into a lively, active part of public life. Wolfgang Beeh did a great job in securing the "Beuys Block" for Darmstadt in 1986 after lengthy negotiations.

During the time of his directorate there were also discussions about the whereabouts of the Karl Ströher collection, which has been exhibited since 1970, and the withdrawal of this collection despite the construction of an extension in 1984 by the Darmstadt architect Reinhold Kargel. With the permanent loan of the “Deep Views” collection and a consistent acquisition policy, Beeh and his employees succeeded in anchoring modern art permanently in the museum.

His particular love was modern stained glass. Based on the excellent inventory of old glass painting in the museum, Wolfgang Beeh tied the internationally leading modern glass painters to the house through exhibitions and purchases and was thus able to build up an important collection of modern glass painting.

Beeh retired in 1990. He died in Darmstadt in July 2013 at the age of 87. He was married to the art historian Suzanne Beeh-Lustenberger. The marriage resulted in a daughter.

Honors

• 1991: Johann Heinrich Merck honor of the city of Darmstadt

Publications

Beeh has numerous publications. The writings on the Madonnas of Iversheim and Schiffenberg from 1962, on Carolingian wall paintings and mosaics from 1968 as well as the inventory catalogs published in 1974 on the tombstones and baptismal stones of the Hessian State Museum Darmstadt as well as the "Bildwerke um 1800 to 1970" and the inventory catalog on old German painting from 1260 to 1550 from 1990.

literature

• Hessian State Museum Darmstadt. Museum guide , Regensburg 2015.