Maria Weigert Brendel (December 18, 1902–1994) was a German expert on classical art. She studied at the University of Heidelberg, before being pulled out of the University by her father, and being forced to flee the country to avoid

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

persecution. Later in her life, she posthumously published a number of Otto Brendel's works.

Biography

Early life

Born to director of the state court Erich Weigert and the daughter of a banker, Maria Weigert was the first girl to attend a normally boys only German Gymnasium. She was childhood friends with

Dietrich Bonhoeffer Dietrich Bonhoeffer (; 4 February 1906 – 9 April 1945) was a German Lutheran pastor, theologian and anti-Nazi dissident who was a key founding member of the Confessing Church. His writings on Christianity's role in the secular world have ...

. She went on to study at the

University of Heidelberg } Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, (german: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; la, Universitas Ruperto Carola Heidelbergensis) is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, ...

, studying with Professor Ludwig Curtius. It was there that she met her future husband, Otto Brendel. When she was almost finished with her degree, while writing her dissertation on the

Ludovisi Throne The Ludovisi Throne is an ancient sculpted block of white marble hollowed at the back and carved with bas-reliefs on the three outer faces (it is not actually a throne for sitting on). Its authenticity is debated; the majority, who accept it, place ...

, her father discovered her relationship with Brendel and pulled her out of the university, ending her doctoral career.

Marriage and child

Weigert married

Otto Brendel Otto Johannes Brendel (October 10, 1901 in Erlangen, Germany – October 8, 1973 in New York City) was a German art historian and scholar of Etruscan art and archaeology. Biography In 1928, he received his Ph.D. from the Ruprecht Karl University ...

in 1929. In 1931, they moved near the University of Erlangen for Otto's new position. Their daughter, artist and painter

Cornelia Brendel Foss Cornelia (Brendel) Foss (born 1931) is an American artist and teacher. Her work is in the permanent collections of The National Portrait Gallery, The Houston Museum of Art, The Guild Hall Museum, The Brooklyn Museum, The Wichita Art Museum, The Mu ...

, was born there in 1931. Cornelia married musician and composer

Lukas Foss Lukas Foss (August 15, 1922 – February 1, 2009) was a German-American composer, pianist, and conductor. Career Born Lukas Fuchs in Berlin, Germany in 1922, Foss was soon recognized as a child prodigy. He began piano and theory lessons with J ...

Life and works

In 1932, the family moved to Rome for Otto's position as First Assistant at the German Archaeological Institute, but in 1936, Otto was dismissed from his post because he was married to Maria, a non-Aryan. Maria moved back to Berlin with Cornelia, living under a false name so nobody suspected her Jewish identity. On September 3, 1939, Maria and Cornelia left Germany and immigrated to

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

, where Otto was already living. In 1956, they moved to New York City, where both Maria and Otto were actively involved in the Archaeology Club. Other members included

Dorothy Hill Dorothy Hill, (10 September 1907 – 23 April 1997) was an Australian geologist and palaeontologist, the first female professor at an Australian university, and the first female president of the Australian Academy of Science. Education Doroth ...

, Homer and

Dorothy Thompson Dorothy Celene Thompson (July 9, 1893 – January 30, 1961) was an American journalist and radio broadcaster. She was the first American journalist to be expelled from Nazi Germany in 1934 and was one of the few women news commentators on radio ...

, Frances Follin Jones of the Princeton Art Gallery, and Evelyn Harrison. After Otto died in September 1973, Maria began to publish and distribute a number of Otto's unfinished works. She translated ''The Symbolism of the Sphere'' from German into English, and an article on "Iphigeneia in Tauris in Euripides and Goethe" from English to German. She arranged for Emeline Richardson to complete his book ''Etruscan Art,'' and later for Francesca Serra Ridgway to write the second edition. She was involved in the posthumous publication of ''Festschrift'' in his honor.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brendel, Maria German art historians American art historians Women art historians Heidelberg University alumni People from Berlin 1902 births 1994 deaths Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to the United States German women historians 20th-century German women writers American women historians 20th-century American women