Herbert von Einem


Herbert von Einem was a German art historian.

Life and work

Von Einem studied art history at the University of Göttingen, the Humboldt-Universität Berlin and the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich. In 1928, he completed his PhD, entitled Die Plastik der Lüneburger Goldenen Tafel under Georg Vitzthum von Eckstädt, director of the art history seminar in Göttingen. In 1935 he wrote his Habilitationsschrift at the Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg on Carl Ludwig Fernow. In 1937 he was assistant of Vitzthum in Göttingen, and in 1938 lecturer in art history. During the Nazi era, he promoted a nationalist-defined art history. From 1943 to 1945 he taught art history at the University of Greifswald.
In 1947, Von Einem was appointed professor of art history at the University of Bonn and launched there, together with Heinrich Lützeler, the Institute of the History of Art, which he increased in the following years. Until 1971, with Lützeler, Von Einem was also editor of the Bonner Beiträge zur Kunstwissenschaft. He retired in 1970. His book on Michelangelo was translated into five languages.

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