Gabriele von Wartensleben (April 24, 1870 – August 12, 1953) was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

psychologist who published the first academic statement on

Gestalt theory Gestalt may refer to: Psychology * Gestalt psychology, a school of psychology * Gestalt therapy, a form of psychotherapy * Bender Visual-Motor Gestalt Test, an assessment of development disorders * Gestalt Practice, a practice of self-exploration ...

. She additionally was the first woman to receive a PhD in psychology from

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world. With its long and rich hist ...

through an

honorary degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...

Personal life

Gabriele von Wartensleben was born in the Bavarian town of

Ansbach Ansbach (; ; East Franconian: ''Anschba'') is a city in the German state of Bavaria. It is the capital of the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Ansbach is southwest of Nuremberg and north of Munich, on the river Fränkische Rezat, ...

on April 24, 1870. Her family was educated: her father Ferdinand Freiherr von Andrian-Werburg worked with anthropology and ethnography; her mother Cäcilie was the daughter of opera composer Giacomo Meyerbeer; her brother

Leopold Andrian Leopold Andrian, actually Leopold Freiherr Ferdinand von Andrian zu Werburg (May 9, 1875 in Berlin − November 19, 1951 in Fribourg) was an Austrians, Austrian Austrian literature, author, dramatist and diplomat. Life and career Andrian came f ...

(1875-1951) became an

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

diplomat,

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

and

dramatist A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

. Her marriage to Dr. Konrad Graf Wartensleben resulted in a son, who died at the age of twenty years. The couple was divorced in Berlin after five years in 1895.

Education and career

Bildnis Gabriele von Wartensleben (SM 17164z)

In 1895, Gabriele von Wartensleben graduated from the

University of Zurich The University of Zürich (UZH, german: Universität Zürich) is a public research university located in the city of Zürich, Switzerland. It is the largest university in Switzerland, with its 28,000 enrolled students. It was founded in 1833 f ...

, studied

classical philology Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

and classical archeology. Her doctoral thesis on the concept of the Greek chreia and contributions to the history of its form was submitted to the

, where, on May 3, 1900, she became the first female doctoral student to received her doctorate (without having ever studied there). In 1913, while studying at the Frankfurt Academy for Social Sciences, she was in the spheres of

Max Wertheimer Max Wertheimer (April 15, 1880 – October 12, 1943) was an Austro-Hungarian psychologist who was one of the three founders of Gestalt psychology, along with Kurt Koffka and Wolfgang Köhler. He is known for his book, ''Productive Thinking'', and ...

and

Wolfgang Köhler Wolfgang Köhler (21 January 1887 – 11 June 1967) was a German psychologist and phenomenologist who, like Max Wertheimer and Kurt Koffka, contributed to the creation of Gestalt psychology. During the Nazi regime in Germany, he prote ...

, two of the founders of Gestalt theory, even recruiting them for her own psychology experiments. In that same year, she graduated from the Frankfurt Academy with a doctorate and began teaching. GraveMariaVonLindenAndGabrieleVonWartensleben-SchaanCemetery RomanDeckert03012023

GraveMariaVonLindenAndGabrieleVonWartensleben-SchaanCemetery RomanDeckert03012023

In 1914, she wrote and published a long footnote in ''The Christian personality in the ideal image'' which is the first published reference to

. By the mid-1920s, Gabriele was teaching around Germany before moving to the principality of

Liechtenstein Liechtenstein (), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein (german: link=no, Fürstentum Liechtenstein), is a German-speaking microstate located in the Alps between Austria and Switzerland. Liechtenstein is a semi-constitutional monarch ...

for eight years. From 1933 until her death in 1953 she lived in the Swiss city of Basel and continued her career as an author and teacher. She was buried at the cemetery of

Schaan Schaan () is the largest municipality of Liechtenstein by population. It is located to the north of Vaduz, the capital, in the central part of the country. it has a population of 6,039 making it the most populous administrative district in Lie ...

, Liechtenstein, in the tomb of German biologist

Maria von Linden Maria von Linden (18 July 1869 – 25 August 1936) was a German bacteriologist and zoologist. She became one of the first women in Germany to be given the academic title of “professor”. She patented a type of bandage and won a prize for he ...

(1869-1936), who was the first woman in Germany to receive the title of a professor and with whom she had a lifelong friendship.

Selected publications

* ''Concept of Greek chreia and contributions to the history of its form''. Heidelberg: Winter, 1901. * "Contributions to the psychology of translation". In: ''Zeitschrift für Psychologie'' 57, 1910, pp. 90-115. * "About the influence of the meantime on the reproduction of read letters". In: ''Zeitschrift für Psychologie'' 64, 1913, pp. 321–385. * ''The Christian personality in the ideal image. A description of sub specie psychologica''. Kempten and Munich: Kösel, 1914. * ''Truthfulness and being fulfilled''. Regensburg: Habbel, 1925.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wartensleben, Gabriele von 1870 births 1953 deaths German women psychologists German psychologists Gestalt psychologists University of Vienna alumni University of Zurich alumni