Gustav Friedrich Waagen (11 February 1794 – 15 July 1868) was a German art historian. His opinions were greatly respected in England, where he was invited to give evidence before the royal commission inquiring into the condition and future of the National Gallery,[1] for which he was a leading candidate to become director. He died on a visit to Copenhagen in 1868.
"Portrait of Gustav Friedrich Waagen"; Ludwig Knaus (1855)
Biographyedit
Waagen was born in Hamburg, the son of a painter and a nephew and lover of the poet Ludwig Tieck. Having passed through the college of Hirschberg, Silesia (modern Jelenia Góra), he volunteered for service in the Napoleonic campaign of 1813–14, and on his return attended the lectures at Breslau University.[2] He devoted himself to the study of art, which he pursued in the great European galleries, first in Germany, then in the Netherlands and Italy.[3]
A pamphlet on the brothers Van Eyck led in 1832 to his appointment to the directorship of the newly founded Berlin Museum (now vastly expanded as the Berlin State Museums), although his main interest was the paintings in what is now the Gemäldegalerie, Berlin. The result of a journey to London and Paris was an important publication in three volumes, Kunstwerke und Künstler in England und Paris (Berlin, 1837–39), which became the basis for his more important The Treasures of Art in Great Britain, translated by Elizabeth Eastlake, (4 vols, London, 1854 and 1857).[1] This remains a significant source for the provenance of paintings then in English collections. Although Waagen has been criticised for his "amateurish and erratic expertise" by modern standards, his work was regarded as highly authoritative for the following half-century.[4]
In 1844, he was appointed professor of art history at Berlin University, and in 1861 he was called to St Petersburg as adviser in the arranging and naming of the pictures in the imperial collection. On his return, he published a book on the Hermitage collection (Munich, 1864). Among his other publications are some essays on Rubens, Mantegna and Signorelli; Kunstwerke und Künstler in Deutschland; and Die vornehmsten Kunstdenkmäler in Wien.[1]
^Reitlinger, Gerald; The Economics of Taste, Vol I: The Rise and Fall of Picture Prices 1760-1960, p. 110, Barrie and Rockliffe, London, 1961
^. Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on 8 June 2020.
Attribution:
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Waagen, Gustav Friedrich". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 28 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 223–224.
External linksedit
Wikiquote has quotations related to Gustav Friedrich Waagen.
Online Text Treasures of Art in Great Britain: Being an Account of the Chief Collections of Paintings, Drawings, Sculptures, Illuminated Mss., &c., &c, By Gustav Friedrich Waagen, Elizabeth Rigby Eastlake, Algernon Graves. Translated by Elizabeth Rigby Eastlake, published by J. Murray, 1854, (Original from the New York Public Library)
gustav, friedrich, waagen, february, 1794, july, 1868, german, historian, opinions, were, greatly, respected, england, where, invited, give, evidence, before, royal, commission, inquiring, into, condition, future, national, gallery, which, leading, candidate, . Gustav Friedrich Waagen 11 February 1794 15 July 1868 was a German art historian His opinions were greatly respected in England where he was invited to give evidence before the royal commission inquiring into the condition and future of the National Gallery 1 for which he was a leading candidate to become director He died on a visit to Copenhagen in 1868 Portrait of Gustav Friedrich Waagen Ludwig Knaus 1855 Biography editWaagen was born in Hamburg the son of a painter and a nephew and lover of the poet Ludwig Tieck Having passed through the college of Hirschberg Silesia modern Jelenia Gora he volunteered for service in the Napoleonic campaign of 1813 14 and on his return attended the lectures at Breslau University 2 He devoted himself to the study of art which he pursued in the great European galleries first in Germany then in the Netherlands and Italy 3 A pamphlet on the brothers Van Eyck led in 1832 to his appointment to the directorship of the newly founded Berlin Museum now vastly expanded as the Berlin State Museums although his main interest was the paintings in what is now the Gemaldegalerie Berlin The result of a journey to London and Paris was an important publication in three volumes Kunstwerke und Kunstler in England und Paris Berlin 1837 39 which became the basis for his more important The Treasures of Art in Great Britain translated by Elizabeth Eastlake 4 vols London 1854 and 1857 1 This remains a significant source for the provenance of paintings then in English collections Although Waagen has been criticised for his amateurish and erratic expertise by modern standards his work was regarded as highly authoritative for the following half century 4 In 1844 he was appointed professor of art history at Berlin University and in 1861 he was called to St Petersburg as adviser in the arranging and naming of the pictures in the imperial collection On his return he published a book on the Hermitage collection Munich 1864 Among his other publications are some essays on Rubens Mantegna and Signorelli Kunstwerke und Kunstler in Deutschland and Die vornehmsten Kunstdenkmaler in Wien 1 In 1849 Waagen became a corresponding member living abroad of the Royal Institute of the Netherlands 5 References edit a b c Chisholm 1911 p 224 Waagen Gustav Friedrich Dictionary of Art Historians Retrieved 8 August 2016 Chisholm 1911 pp 223 224 Reitlinger Gerald The Economics of Taste Vol I The Rise and Fall of Picture Prices 1760 1960 p 110 Barrie and Rockliffe London 1961 Gustav Friedrich Waagen 1794 1868 Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences Archived from the original on 8 June 2020 Attribution nbsp This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain Chisholm Hugh ed 1911 Waagen Gustav Friedrich Encyclopaedia Britannica Vol 28 11th ed Cambridge University Press pp 223 224 External links edit nbsp Wikiquote has quotations related to Gustav Friedrich Waagen Online Text Treasures of Art in Great Britain Being an Account of the Chief Collections of Paintings Drawings Sculptures Illuminated Mss amp c amp c By Gustav Friedrich Waagen Elizabeth Rigby Eastlake Algernon Graves Translated by Elizabeth Rigby Eastlake published by J Murray 1854 Original from the New York Public Library Art as Existence Gabriele Guercio The MIT Press 2006 Gustav Waagen in the Dictionary of Art Historians Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Gustav Friedrich Waagen amp oldid 1122958672, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
