Wolfgang Ferdinand Ernst Günther Stechow (5 June 1896
Kiel
Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021).
Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the Jutland ...
– 12 October 1974
Princeton, New Jersey
Princeton is a municipality with a borough form of government in Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton and Princeton Township, both of w ...
) was a German American
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
He was the son of Prussian prosecutor Waldemar Stechow and the concert singer Bertha Deutschmann. He attended the in
Göttingen
Göttingen (, , ; nds, Chöttingen) is a college town, university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the Capital (political), capital of Göttingen (district), the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. At the end of 2019, t ...
until 1913 and then volunteered in 1914. He was captured in Russia, in 1915 and spent two years in a Siberian camp.
He earned a Ph.D. in 1921, from the
University of Göttingen
The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen, (german: Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, known informally as Georgia Augusta) is a public research university in the city of Göttingen, Germany. Founded ...
. He was an assistant in the
Kaiser Friedrich Museum
The Bode-Museum (English: ''Bode Museum''), formerly called the Kaiser-Friedrich-Museum (''Emperor Frederick Museum''), is a listed building on the Museum Island in the historic centre of Berlin. It was built from 1898 to 1904 by order of Germa ...
, under
Wilhelm von Bode
Wilhelm von Bode (10 December 1845 – 1 March 1929) was a German art historian and museum curator. Born Arnold Wilhelm Bode in Calvörde, he was ennobled in 1913. He was the creator and first curator of the Kaiser Friedrich Museum, now calle ...
, from 1921 to 1922. In The Hague, he was assistant to
Cornelis Hofstede de Groot
Cornelis Hofstede de Groot (9 November 1863 – 14 April 1930), was a Dutch art collector, art historian and museum curator.
Life
He was born in Dwingeloo and spent some time in Switzerland in his youth due to weak lungs, where he learned Germ ...
, from 1922 to 1924. He then moved in 1923 to the Art History Department, University of Göttingen. There he became a lecturer in 1926, after his postdoctoral appointment of Dutch art, from 1931 to associate professor.
During these years he worked from 1927 to 1928 as a member of the
German Institute for Art History in Florence .
In Rome, he was a visiting lecturer in 1931 at the
Bibliotheca Hertziana
Bibliotheca may refer to:
* ''Bibliotheca'' (Pseudo-Apollodorus), a grand summary of traditional Greek mythology and heroic legends
* '' Bibliotheca historica'', a first century BC work of universal history by Diodorus Siculus
* ''Bibliotheca'' ...
.
After the takeover of the Nazi regime, he was forced to retire in 1936 as a citizen of evangelical faith with Jewish ancestors.
He emigrated to the United States, where he through the mediation of
Oskar Hagen
Oskar Hagen (14 October 1888, Wiesbaden, Germany – 5 October 1957, in Madison, Wisconsin, United States) was a German art historian.
While lecturing at the University of Göttingen from 1918 to 1925, Hagen helped establish the Göttingen Inte ...
, an assistant at the
University of Wisconsin in Madison
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...
.
In 1940, he went to
Oberlin College
Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio. It is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational liberal arts college in the United S ...
, where he remained until his retirement in 1963. He became a U.S. citizen in 1942.
He was Visiting Professor at the
University of Michigan
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
from 1963 to 1964, Robert Sterling Clark Professor of Art at
Williams College
Williams College is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams, a col ...
from 1966 to 1967, William Allan Neilson Chair of Research at
Smith College
Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smith (Smith College ...
in 1969, Mary Conover Mellon Professor at
Vassar College
Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States, closely follo ...
from 1969-1970, Visiting Professor at
Yale University
Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...
from 1971-1972, Distinguished Visiting Professor at Oberlin College in 1972, and Honorary Curator at the Allen Art Museum in 1973. During the summer semester, he also taught at
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, the ...
and
Middlebury College
Middlebury College is a private liberal arts college in Middlebury, Vermont. Founded in 1800 by Congregationalists, Middlebury was the first operating college or university in Vermont. The college currently enrolls 2,858 undergraduates from all ...
.
His papers are held at the
Archives of American Art
The Archives of American Art is the largest collection of primary resources documenting the history of the visual arts in the United States. More than 20 million items of original material are housed in the Archives' research centers in Washingt ...
.
Family
He married Ursula Hoff (b. 1911) on 16 December 1932; they had three children (Hans Axel, Barbara and Nicola).
Works
*"Apollo and Daphne", in: ''Studies of the Warburg Library'' Volume 23, Leipzig, 1932
*"Rembrandt's depictions of the Emmaus meal", in: ''Journal of Art History'', Vol 3, No. 6 (1934), pp.. 329-341
*''Salomon van Ruysdael: an introduction to his art: a critical catalog of the paintings'', Berlin 1938
*"Shooting at Father's Corpse", in ''
The Art Bulletin
The College Art Association of America (CAA) is the principal organization in the United States for professionals in the visual arts, from students to art historians to emeritus faculty. Founded in 1911, it "promotes these arts and their understa ...
'', vol. 24, no. 3, 1942, pp. 213–225
JSTOR the first history of the motif of
The Dead King and his Three Sons.
*''Masters of Art: Bruegel'', in: (Masters of Art Series)
*''Pieter Bruegel the Elder'', H. N. Abrams, 1969; Thames and Hudson, 1990,
*''Dutch Landscape Painting of the seventeenth Century'', London 1966; F. A. Praeger, New York, 1968
*''Rubens and the classical tradition'', Harvard University Press, 1968
*''European Paintings Before 1500'', Cleveland Museum of Art Catalogue of Paintings, 1974
*; Northwestern University Press, 1989,
*''Dürer in America: His Graphic Work'', New York 1971
References
External links
*''Tribute to Wolfgang Stechow'',
Pratt Graphics Center, 1976,
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stechow, Wolfgang
1896 births
1974 deaths
German art historians
American art historians
University of Michigan faculty
German male non-fiction writers
Scholars of Netherlandish art
Scholars of Dutch art
Oberlin College faculty