Georg Humann (8 December 1847, in Rellinghausen (now a suburb of

Essen Essen (; Latin: ''Assindia'') is the central and, after Dortmund, second-largest city of the Ruhr, the largest urban area in Germany. Its population of makes it the fourth-largest city of North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne, Düsseldorf and D ...

) – 18 January 1932, in

Aachen Aachen ( ; ; Aachen dialect: ''Oche'' ; French and traditional English: Aix-la-Chapelle; or ''Aquisgranum''; nl, Aken ; Polish: Akwizgran) is, with around 249,000 inhabitants, the 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, and the 28th- ...

) was a German

art historian Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today ...

Life

Humann belong to a long-established Essen family, his father was steward of the estates of Schloss Schellenberg. Humann studied architecture, like his better known cousin

Carl Humann Carl Humann (first name also ''Karl''; 4 January 1839 – 12 April 1896) was a German engineer, architect and archaeologist. He discovered the Pergamon Altar. Biography Early Years Humann was born in Steele, part of today's Essen - German ...

, the discoverer of the

Pergamon altar The Pergamon Altar () was a monumental construction built during the reign of the Ancient Greek King Eumenes II in the first half of the 2nd century BC on one of the terraces of the acropolis of Pergamon in Anatolia, Asia Minor. The structure wa ...

. He attended the Polytechnische Schule Hannover from 1873 to 1876. After completing his studies, he returned to Essen, where he dwelt in his maternal family home. For health reasons he was unable to work as an architect. Humann dedicated himself to the

Essen Cathedral Treasury The Essen Cathedral Treasury (German: Essener Domschatz) is one of the most significant collections of religious artworks in Germany. A great number of items of treasure are accessible to the public in the treasury chamber of Essen Minster. The ...

and Minster, stimulated by the gothicization of the Minster from 1880. Humann represented an alternative perspective to that of the architect in charge, Peter Zindel, whose plans foresaw the gothicization of the

westwerk A westwork (german: Westwerk), forepart, avant-corps or avancorpo is the monumental, often west-facing entrance section of a Carolingian, Ottonian, or Romanesque church. The exterior consists of multiple stories between two towers. The interior ...

. Humann prevailed over him when he called in the Prussian conservator Heinrich von Dehn-Rotfelser. Humann's books derive from his work on the Minster and its treasury and were highly valued by his contemporaries, such that

Georg Dehio Georg Gottfried Julius Dehio (22 November 1850 in Reval (now Tallinn), Governorate of Estonia, Russian Empire – 21 March 1932 in Tübingen), was a Baltic German art historian. In 1900, Dehio started the "''Handbuch der deutschen Kunstgesch ...

used Humann's line drawings for his section on Essen Minster in his Handbuch der deutschen Kunstdenkmäler (Handbook of German Artistic Monuments). Humann received an

honorary doctorate 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 ...

from the Royal Theological and Philosophical Academy of Münster for his research in 1908, as well as Honorary membership of the Essen Historical Society. After his house in Essen had to be sold in 1897 because of an inheritance dispute, Humann settled in Aachen, where he lived in the Vinzenzstift from 1900 and died in 1932. His private library, with around 300 individual volumes on art history as well as his own work was donated by Humann to the Stadtbibliothek Aachen after his death.Catalogue of the historical library collections of Germany, Austria and Europe

Legacy

Many of Georg Humann's art historical conclusions have been superseded by newer research, but his works are still used today, because Humann's observations, descriptions and drawings are very precise. Therefore, his work enables in many cases a comparison of present conditions with those before the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. In 1890 Humann proposed an early date for the Essen Westwerk on stylistic grounds, which was not accepted but has lately been taken up once more. Humann's intervention to protect the Ottonian style of Essen's Westwerk saved it from being converted into a neo-Gothic building. Furthermore, during the preparation of his book about the Cathedral Treasury, he discovered that the wooden interior of the Golden Madonna was full of

woodworm A woodworm is the wood-eating larva of many species of beetle. It is also a generic description given to the infestation of a wooden item (normally part of a dwelling or the furniture in it) by these larvae. Types of woodworm Woodboring beetle ...

, prompting restoration work without which the figure would probably not have survived.

Selected works

* ''Die Restauration kirchlicher Bauwerke'' (The Restoration of Church Buildings). Essen 1880. * ''Der Westbau des Münsters zu Essen'' (The Westwerk of Essen Minster). Essen 1890
Digitised
. * ''Die ältesten Bautheile des Münsters zu Essen.'' (The Oldest Built Elements of Essen Minster). Bonn 1892. * ''Die ehemaligen Abteigebäude zu Essen.'' (The Former Abbey Buildings at Essen). Essen 1894. * "Zur Beurteilung mittelalterlicher Kunstwerke in Bezug auf ihre zeitliche und örtliche Entstehung." (On the Assessment of Medieval Artworks in Connection with their Temporal and Geographical Origins) In: ''Repertorium für Kunstwissenschaft'' 25, 1902, pp. 9–40. * ''Die Kunstwerke der Münsterkirche zu Essen'' (The Artworks of Essen Minster). Düsseldorf 1904. * ''Die Beziehungen der Handschriftornamentik zur romanischen Baukunst.'' (The Relationship of Manuscript Decorations with Romanesque Architecture) Heitz, Straßburg 1907. * ''Zur Geschichte der karolingischen Baukunst.'' (On the History of

Carolingian The Carolingian dynasty (; known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family named after Charlemagne, grandson of mayor Charles Martel and a descendant of the Arnulfing and Pippin ...

Architecture). Part I. Heitz, Straßburg 1909. Part II. Heitz, Straßburg 1911. * ''Die Baukunst unter Bischof Meinwerk von Paderborn.'' (Architecture under Bishop

Meinwerk Meinwerk (c. 975 – 5 June 1036) was the Bishop of Paderborn from 1009 until his death. He was a member of the aristocratic Immedinger family and was granted his see on the understanding that his property would pass to the diocese on his death ...

von Paderborn). Aachen 1918
Digitised
. * ''Karolingisch-frühromanische Baukunst in Essen.'' (Carolingian & Early Romanesque Architecture in Essen). Aachen 1924. * ''Stützenwechsel in der romanischen Baukunst insbesondere bei Kreuzgängen und Zwerggalerien.'' (Changes to Support Structures in Romanesque Architecture, particularly in Cloisters and Dwarf Galleries. Heitz, Straßburg 1925.

References

Bibliography

* Joseph Buchkremer: "Dr. Georg Humann." In: ''

Zentralblatt der Bauverwaltung zbMATH Open, formerly Zentralblatt MATH, is a major reviewing service providing reviews and abstracts for articles in pure and applied mathematics, produced by the Berlin office of FIZ Karlsruhe – Leibniz Institute for Information Infrastructur ...

'', 46. Jahrgang 1926, No. 48, pp. 544–545.
PDF; 2,5 MB
* Karl Mews: "Georg Humann †." In: ''Beiträge zur Geschichte von Stadt und Stift Essen'', 50, 1932, pp. 1–5 (with image). * Karl Mews: "Georg Humann, der Entdecker des Essener Münsters." In: ''Münster am Hellweg, Mitteilungsblatt des Vereins für die Erhaltung des Essener Münsters'', 2, 1949, pp. 6–7.

External links

*

in the database ''Architekten und Künstler mit direktem Bezug zu Conrad Wilhelm Hase (1818–1902)'', accessed 20 September 2014 {{DEFAULTSORT:Humann, Georg German art historians Essen Minster University of Münster 1847 births 1932 deaths