Willibald Sauerländer (29 February 1924 in Bad Waldsee,

Württemberg Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart. Together with Baden and Province of Hohenzollern, Hohenzollern, two other histo ...

, Germany – 18 April 2018 in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

, Germany) was a German

art historian Art history is the study of artistic works made throughout human history. Among other topics, it studies art’s formal qualities, its impact on societies and cultures, and how artistic styles have changed throughout history. Traditionally, the ...

specializing in Medieval French sculpture. From 1970 to 1989, he was director of the prestigious Zentralinstitut für Kunstgeschichte, Munich.

Life and work

The son of a late-Impressionist painter who disliked art historians, Sauerländer grew up in a house with works of old and modern art. Notwithstanding, he began studying art history in 1946, at a time when Munich was in ruins, the intellectual situation extremely truncated, and the center of everything the study of medieval art, in a curious kind of secular, "aesthetic mystical" spiritualism, which he did not like. He had his main focus on medieval sculpture and architecture with a strong focus on France,

Nicolas Poussin Nicolas Poussin (, , ; June 1594 – 19 November 1665) was a French painter who was a leading painter of the classical French Baroque style, although he spent most of his working life in Rome. Most of his works were on religious and mythologic ...

, and the French 18th century, but at the same time he opposed Hans Sedlmayr for his reactionary fundamentalist views. He received his Ph.D. in art history at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Munich in 1953 under Hans Jantzen. After leaving university, he went to Paris for five years. During their early Paris years Sauerländer and his wife guided tourists and they worked in the

Bibliothèque Nationale A library is a collection of books, and possibly other materials and media, that is accessible for use by its members and members of allied institutions. Libraries provide physical (hard copies) or digital (soft copies) materials, and may be a p ...

and at the ''Institut de l'Histoire de l'Art'' in order to gain their life. He also taught German at a French lycée. Early on, the personal friendship and scholarship of Louis Grodecki was formative to his art historical methodology.Dictionary of Art Historians: Sauerländer, Willibald
/ref> From 1959 to 1961, he taught art history in Paris, and in 1961 in Princeton, NJ at the

Institute for Advanced Study The Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) is an independent center for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry located in Princeton, New Jersey. It has served as the academic home of internationally preeminent scholars, including Albert Ein ...

. During this first phase in the United States, he met Meyer Schapiro and became a friend of the German émigrés

Erwin Panofsky Erwin Panofsky (March 30, 1892 – March 14, 1968) was a German-Jewish art historian whose work represents a high point in the modern academic study of iconography, including his hugely influential ''Renaissance and Renascences in Western Art ...

, Walter Friedländer and Richard Krautheimer. From 1961 to 1962 he lectured as an assistant professor at the

University of Marburg The Philipps University of Marburg () is a public research university located in Marburg, Germany. It was founded in 1527 by Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse, which makes it one of Germany's oldest universities and the oldest still operating Prote ...

and from 1962 to 1970 he was professor of art history at the

University of Freiburg The University of Freiburg (colloquially ), officially the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg (), is a public university, public research university located in Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The university was founded in 1 ...

, where he utilized the photographic collection of its great medievalist, Wilhelm Vöge. From 1963 to 1965 and 1969 to 1970 he was also a visiting professor at the Institute of Fine Arts,

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

. There he developed an interest in Pop Art, particularly in the works of

Robert Rauschenberg Milton Ernest "Robert" or "Bob" Rauschenberg (October 22, 1925 – May 12, 2008) was an American painter and graphic artist whose early works anticipated the Pop art movement. Rauschenberg is well known for his Combine painting, Combines (1954� ...

Claes Oldenburg Claes Oldenburg (January 28, 1929 – July 18, 2022) was a Swedish-born American sculptor best known for his public art installations, typically featuring large replicas of everyday objects. Another theme in his work is soft sculpture versions ...

and

Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (;''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''"Warhol" born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director and producer. A leading figure in the pop art movement, Warhol ...

. In 1970, after having published his best known book on ''Gothic Sculpture in France'' (English edition, 1971), he was appointed director at the Zentralinstitut für Kunstgeschichte, Munich. In 1973 he was elected member of the

Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities The Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities () is an independent public institution, located in Munich. It appoints scholars whose research has contributed considerably to the increase of knowledge within their subject. The general goal of th ...

. In the 1970s he read

Marc Bloch Marc Léopold Benjamin Bloch ( ; ; 6 July 1886 – 16 June 1944) was a French historian. He was a founding member of the Annales School of French social history. Bloch specialised in medieval history and published widely on France in the Middle ...

and had contacts with

Georges Duby Georges Duby (; 7 October 1919 – 3 December 1996) was a French historian who specialised in the social and economic history of the Middle Ages. He ranks among the most influential medieval historians of the twentieth century and was one of Fra ...

and closure with

Jacques Le Goff Jacques Le Goff (; 1 January 1924 – 1 April 2014) was a French historian and prolific author specializing in the Middle Ages, particularly the 12th and 13th centuries. Le Goff championed the Annales School movement, which emphasizes long-term ...

, which essentially changed his work. In the 1980s he held several visiting appointments in France and the US, including the

College de France A college (Latin: ''collegium'') may be a tertiary education, tertiary educational institution (sometimes awarding academic degree, degrees), part of a collegiate university, an institution offering vocational education, a further educatio ...

, Paris;

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

, Madison;

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

; and the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

. In 1989 he retired from the Zentralinstitut für Kunstgeschichte. In 1991 he presented the A. W. Mellon Lectures in the Fine Arts at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC. He is a friend of Thomas W. Gaehtgens, Director of the

Getty Research Institute The Getty Research Institute (GRI), located at the Getty Center in Los Angeles, California, is "dedicated to furthering knowledge and advancing understanding of the visual arts".

. He was a reviewer for the doctoral dissertation of E. Wayne Craven. Sauerländer is known for having rewritten the history of early French Gothic Sculpture. In his historiographic writing, he characterized post-World War II art history in Munich as "would-be Positivism," citing a shift toward empiricism and positivism. He also thinks that photography seems to be more interesting than other fields of modern art and has a special interest in the photographic work of

August Sander August Sander (17 November 1876 – 20 April 1964) was a German portrait photography, portrait and Documentary photography, documentary photographer. His first book ''Face of our Time'' (German: ''Antlitz der Zeit'') was published in 1929. Sande ...

, Thomas Struth, Thomas Demand and

Andreas Gursky Andreas Gursky (born 15 January 1955) is a German photographer and professor at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, Germany. He is known for his Large format (photography), large format architecture and Landscape photography, landscape colour photog ...

. Photographs by Willibald Sauerländer are held at the Conway Library in the Courtauld, London, and are being digitised.

Awards

*Honorary degree of the

University of Strasbourg The University of Strasbourg (, Unistra) is a public research university located in Strasbourg, France, with over 52,000 students and 3,300 researchers. Founded in the 16th century by Johannes Sturm, it was a center of intellectual life during ...

*Perfezionato d'Honore Scuola, Pisa *1994 Correspondent étranger de l'

Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres The () is a French learned society devoted to history, founded in February 1663 as one of the five academies of the . The academy's scope was the study of ancient inscriptions (epigraphy) and historical literature (see Belles-lettres). History ...

*1995 Bavarian Maximilian Order for Science and Art *2007 Grand Prix de la Société française d'archéologieAcadémie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres: SAUERLÄNDER Willibald, Paul, Walter
/ref>

Publications

*''Das gotische Figurenportal in Frankreich: Studien zur Geschichte der französischen Portalskulptur von Chartres West bis zum Reimser Josephsmeister''. PhD dissertation. University of Munich, 1953. *''Die Kathedrale von Chartres''. Stuttgart: Günther, 1954. *"Beiträge zur Geschichte der "frühgotischen" Skulptur". ''Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte'', vol. 19, 1956, pp. 1–34. *"Die Jahreszeiten: Ein Beitrag zur allegorischen Landschaft beim späten Poussin". ''Münchner Jahrbuch der bildenden Kunst'', vol. 7, 1956, pp. 169–184. *"Die Marienkrönungsportale von Senlis und Mantes." ''Wallraf-Richartz Jahrbuch'', vol. 20, 1958, pp. 115–162. *"Die kunstgeschichtliche Stellung der Westportale von Notre Dame in Paris." ''Marburger Jahrbuch für Kunstwissenschaft'', vol. 17, 1959, pp. 1–56. *"Les modèles de la Renaissance macédonnienne dans la sculpture de Paris et d'Amiens au début du XIII. siècle". In ''Actes du XIXe Congrès international d'histoire de l'art'', Paris, 1959, pp. 125–133. *"Sens and York: An Inquiry into the Sculptures from St. Mary's Abbey in the Yorkshire Museum". ''The Journal of the British Archaeological Association'', vol. 22, 1959, pp. 53–69. *"Skulpturen des 12. Jahrhunderts in Chalons-sur-Marne". ''Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte'', vol. 25, 1962, pp. 97–124. *"Cathédrales". ''Art de France'', vol. 3, 1963, pp. 210–219. *''Die Bronzetür von Nowgorod''. Munich: Piper, 1963. *''Jean-Antoine Houdon: Voltaire''. Stuttgart: Reclam, 1963. *''Die Skulptur des Mittelalters''. Frankfurt am Main: Ullstein, 1963. *"Tombeaux chartrains du premier quart du XIIIe siècle". ''L'Information d'histoire de l'art'', vol. 9, 1964, pp. 47–60. *"Die Kathedrale von Chartres". In Erich Steingräber, ed., ''Meilensteine europäischer Kunst''. Munich, 1965, pp. 131–170. *(with Georg Kauffmann, eds.), ''

Walter Friedlaender Walter may refer to: People and fictional characters * Walter (name), including a list of people and fictional and mythical characters with the given name or surname * Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–1 ...

zum 90. Geburtstag: Eine Festgabe seiner europäischen Schüler, Freunde und Verehrer''. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 1965. *''Von Sens bis Strassburg: Ein Beitrag Zur Kunstgeschichtlichen Stellung der Strassburger Querhausskulpturen''. Berlin: Walter De Gruyter, 1966. *"Über die Komposition des Weltgerichtstympanons in Autun". ''Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte'', vol. 29, 1966, pp. 261–294. *"Das Stiftergrabmal des Grafen Eberhard in der Klosterkirche zu Murbach". In Kurt Badt and Martin Gosebruch, eds., ''Amici amico: Festschrift für Werner Gross zu seinem 65. Geburtstag am 25. 11. 1966''. Munich: Fink, 1968, pp. 59–77. *"Über die ursprüngliche Reihenfolge von Fragonards 'Amours des Bergers' ". ''Münchner Jahrbuch der bildenden Kunst'', vol. 19, 1968, pp. 127–156. *''Gotische Skulptur in Frankreich: 1140 – 1270''. Munich: Hirmer, 1970. *"Sculpture on Early Gothic Churches: The State of Research and Open Questions". ''Gesta'', vol. 9, no. 2, 1970, pp. 32–48. *"Die kunstgeschichtliche Stellung der Figurenportale des 13. Jahrhunderts in Westfalen". ''Westfalen'', vol. 49, 1971, pp. 1–76. *''Gothic Sculpture in France: 1140–1270''. New York: Abrams, 1971. *"Löwen in Lyon". In Artur Rosenauer and Gerold Weber, eds., ''Kunsthistorische Forschungen''. Salzburg, 1972, pp. 215–224. *"Cluny und Speyer". In Josef Fleckenstein, ed., ''Investiturstreit und Reichsverfassung''. Sigmaringen, 1973, pp. 9–32. *"Zu dem romanischen Kruzifix von Moissac". In Peter Bloch and Tilmann Buddensieg, eds., ''Intuition und Kunstwissenschaft''. Berlin, 1973, pp. 303–317. *''Peter Paul Rubens''. Zurich: Kindler, 1974. *"Erweiterung des Denkmalbegriffs?" ''Denkmalpflege'', 1975, pp. 187–201. *"Reims und Bamberg: Zu Art und Umfang der Übernahmen". ''Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte'', vol. 39, 1976, pp. 167–192. *"Spätstaufische Skulpturen in Sachsen und Thüringen: Überlegungen zum Stand der Forschung". ''Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte'', vol. 41, 1978, pp. 181–216. *"Die Naumburger Stifterfiguren". In Reiner Haussherr and Christian Väterlein, eds., ''Die Zeit der Staufer, 5. Supplement: Vorträge und Forschungen''. Stuttgart, 1979, pp. 169–245. *"Architecture and the Figurative Arts: The North". In Robert L. Benson and Giles Constable, eds., ''Renaissance and Renewal in the Twelfth Century''. Oxford, 1982, pp. 671–710. *"From 'Stilus' to Style: Reflection on the Fate of a Notion". ''Art History'', vol. 6, 1983, 253–270. *"Davids 'Morat à son dernier soupir' oder Malerei und Terreur". ''Idea'', vol. 2, 1983, pp. 49–88. *''Das Königsportal in Chartres: Heilsgeschichte und Lebenswirklichkeit''. Frankfurt am Main: Fischer Taschenbuch, 1984. *"Stiftergedenken und Stifterfiguren in Naumburg". In Karl Schmid and Joachim Wollasch, eds., ''Memoria''. Munich, 1984, pp. 354–383. *(ed.), ''Studien zur mittelalterlichen Kunst 800–1250: Festschrift für Florentine Mütherich zum 70. Geburtstag''. Munich: Prestel, 1985. *"Der Kunsthistoriker angesichts des entlaufenen Kunstbegriffs: Zerfällt das Paradigma einer Disziplin?" ''Jahrbuch des Zentralinstituts für Kunstgeschichte'', vol. 1, 1985, pp. 375–399. *"La cultura figurativa emiliana in età romanica". In ''Nicholaus e l'arte del suo tempo'', vol. 1, 1985, pp. 51–92. *"Die gotische Kathedralfassade". In Werner Busch, ed., ''Kunst''. Weinheim, 1987, pp. 54–79. *"Style or Transition? The Fallacies of Classification Discussed in the Light of German Architecture 1190 – 1260". ''Architectural History'', vol. 30, 1987, pp. 1–29. *"Medieval Paris, Center of European Taste: Fame and Realities". In George Mauner, ed., ''Paris''. Abington, 1988, pp. 12–45. *"La cathédrale et la révolution". ''Conférences plénières'', 1990, pp. 67–106. *''Das Jahrhundert der großen Kathedralen: 1140 – 1260''. Munich: Beck, 1990. *"Gothic Art Reconsidered: New Aspects and Open Questions". In Elizabeth C. Parker, ed., ''The Cloisters''. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1992, pp. 26–40. *"Romanesque Sculpture in its Architectural Context". In Deborah Kahn, ed., ''The Romanesque Frieze and its Spectator''. London, 1992, pp. 17–44. *''Von den "Sonderleistungen Deutscher Kunst" zur "Ars Sacra": Kunstgeschichte in Deutschland 1945–1950''. Frankfurt am Main: Fischer, 1992. *"Erweiterung des Denkmalbegriffs?" In Wilfried Lipp, ed., ''Denkmal, Werte, Gesellschaft''. Frankfurt am Main, 1993, pp. 120–149. *"Dal gotico europeo in Italia al gotico italiano in Europa". In Valentino Pace and Martina Bagnoli, eds., ''Il Gotico europeo in Italia''. Napoli, 1994, pp. 8–21. *''Initialen : Ein Versuch über das verwirrte Verhältnis von Schrift und Bild im Mittelalter''. Wolfenbüttel, 1994. *"Gedanken über das Nachleben des gotischen Kirchenraums im Spiegel der Malerei". ''Münchner Jahrbuch der bildenden Kunst'', vol. 45, 1994, pp. 165–182. *"Integration: a closed or open proposal?" In Virginia Chieffo Raguin and Kathryn Brush, eds., ''Artistic Integration in Gothic Buildings''. Toronto, 1995, pp. 1–18. *"Benedetto Antelami: Per un bilancio critico". In Albert Dietl and Chiara Frugoni, eds., ''Benedetto Antelami e il Battistero di Parma''. Torino, 1995, pp. 3–69. *"Struggling with a deconstructed Panofsky". In Irving Lavin, ed., ''Meaning in the Visual Arts''. Princeton, NJ, 1995, pp. 385–396. *''Das Königsportal in Chartres: Heilsgeschichte und Lebenswirklichkeit''. Frankfurt am Main: Fischer-Taschenbuch, 1996. *''Kunsthistoriker/Kunsthistorikerin'' (Blätter zur Berufskunde). Bielefeld: Bertelsmann, 1998. *"Zur Stiftertumba für Heinrich den Löwen und Herzogin Mathilde in St. Blasius in Braunschweig". In Joachim Ehlers and Dietrich Kötzsche, eds., ''Der Welfenschatz und sein Umkreis''. Mainz, 1998, pp. 439–483. *''Cathedrals and Sculpture''. 2 volumes. London: Pindar Press, 1999–2000. *''Die Luft auf der Spitze des Pinsels: Kritische Spaziergänge durch Bildersäle''. Munich: Hanser, 2002. *''Ein Versuch über die Gesichter Houdons: Thomas W. Gaehtgens zum 24. Juni 2000''. Munich:

Deutscher Kunstverlag The Deutscher Kunstverlag (DKV) is an educational publishing house with offices in Berlin and Munich. The publisher specializes in books about art, cultural history, architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and bu ...

, 2002. *"Antiqui et moderni at Reims". ''Gesta'', vol. 42, no. 1, 2003, pp. 19–37. *"Centre et périphérie: Le cas du portail de Lausanne". In Peter Kurmann and Martin Rohde, eds., ''Die Kathedrale von Lausanne und ihr Marienportal im Kontext der europäischen Gotik''. Berlin, 2004, pp. 203–217. *''Romanesque Art: Problems and Monuments''. London: Pindar Press, 2004. *"Strasbourg, cathédrale: Le bras sud du transept, architecture et sculpture". In ''Session, Congrès Archéologique de France''. Société Française d'Archéologie, Paris, vol. 162, 2004, pp. 171–184. *''Essai sur les visages des bustes de Houdon''. Paris, 2005. *"Noch einmal Poussins Landschaften: Ein Versuch über Möglichkeiten und Grenzen der ikonologischen Interpretation". ''Münchner Jahrbuch der bildenden Kunst'', vol. 56, 2005, pp. 107–137. *"The Fate of the Face in Medieval Art". In Charles T. Little, ed., ''Set in Stone''. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 2006, pp. 3–17. *"Herkules in der politischen Ikonographie: Zum Herkulesteppich in der Bayerischen Akademie der Wissenschaften". In Sabine Heym, ''Herkules besiegt die Lernäische Hydra''. Munich, 2006, pp. 21–94. *"Architecture gothique et mise en scène des reliques : l'exemple de la Sainte-Chapelle". In Christine Hediger, ed., ''La Sainte-Chapelle de Paris''. Turnhout, 2007, pp. 113–136. *"Kunstgeschichte und Bildwissenschaft". In Josef Früchtl and Maria Moog-Grünewald, eds., ''Ästhetik in metaphysikkritischen Zeiten''. ''Zeitschrift für Ästhetik und allgemeine Kunstwissenschaft'', special issue, Hamburg, 2007, pp. 93–108. *"Paysage de Poussin: Les limites de l'interprétation iconologique". ''Studiolo'', vol. 6, 2008, pp. 191–232. *"Romanesque Art 2000: A Worn Out Notion?" In Colum Hourihane, ed., ''Romanesque Art and Thought in the Twelfth Century''. Princeton, NJ, 2008, pp. 40–56. *"Von Stilus zu Stil: Reflexionen über das Schicksal eines Begriffs". In Caecilie Weissert, ed., ''Stil in der Kunstgeschichte''. Darmstadt, 2009, pp. 102–122. *"Transzendenz nach dem Tode Gottes? Barnett Newmans 'Stations of the Cross' und Mark Rothkos 'Chapel' ". In Markus Kleinert, ed., ''Kunst und Religion'', Mainz, 2010, pp. 79–108. *''Der katholische Rubens. Von den Heiligen und Märtyrern''. Munich: C. H. Beck, 2011. *''Kunststadt München? Unterbrochene Lebenswege''. Munich, 2012. *''Manet malt Monet: Ein Sommer in Argenteuil''. Munich: Beck, 2012. *''Reims – die Königin der Kathedralen: Himmelsstadt und Erinnerungsort''. Berlin and Munich, 2013. *''Meister von Meßkirch, Der Wildensteiner Altar, Staatsgalerie Stuttgart – Meister von Meßkirch, Der Heilige Martin mit Bettler und dem Stifter Gottfried Werner von Zimmern''. Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe, 2014.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sauerlander, Willibald 1924 births 2018 deaths People from Bad Waldsee People from the Free People's State of Württemberg German art historians German male non-fiction writers Corresponding Fellows of the Medieval Academy of America Corresponding fellows of the British Academy

Life and work

Awards

Publications

References

Further reading

External links