Wilhelm Fraenger (5 June 1890 – 19 February 1964) 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 ...

art historian. Fraenger was born in

Erlangen Erlangen (; East Franconian German, East Franconian: ''Erlang'', Bavarian language, Bavarian: ''Erlanga'') is a Middle Franconian city in Bavaria, Germany. It is the seat of the administrative district Erlangen-Höchstadt (former administrative d ...

. He was a specialist in the epoch of the

German Peasants' War The German Peasants' War, Great Peasants' War or Great Peasants' Revolt (german: Deutscher Bauernkrieg) was a widespread popular revolt in some German-speaking areas in Central Europe from 1524 to 1525. It failed because of intense oppositio ...

and of the mysticism of the Late Middle Ages. He wrote important studies of

Jerg Ratgeb Jerg Ratgeb, also Jörg Ratgeb ( 1480–1526), was a German painter during the Renaissance, and a contemporary of Albrecht Dürer. Life and works Ratgeb was born in Schwäbisch Gmünd. Around the turn of the 15th to 16th century, he appears ...

Matthias Grünewald Matthias Grünewald ( – 31 August 1528) was a German Renaissance painter of religious works who ignored Renaissance classicism to continue the style of late medieval Central European art into the 16th century. His first name is also given ...

and

Hieronymus Bosch Hieronymus Bosch (, ; born Jheronimus van Aken ; – 9 August 1516) was a Dutch/Netherlandish painter from Brabant. He is one of the most notable representatives of the Early Netherlandish painting school. His work, generally oil on oa ...

. His work on Bosch was very influential in its day and considered Bosch under the aspect of

occultism The occult, in the broadest sense, is a category of esoteric supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving otherworldly agency, such as magic and mysticism an ...

, seeing Bosch as an artist guided by an esoteric mysticism. He maintained friendships with numerous artists and intellectuals, some stretching decades."Weggefährten"
Wilhelm-Fraenger-Gesellschaft e.V. Retrieved January 20, 2012 He died in

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and, with around 183,000 inhabitants, largest city of the German state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...

, aged 73.

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* German art historians 1890 births 1964 deaths German male non-fiction writers Members of the German Academy of Sciences at Berlin {{Germany-art-historian-stub