Hamann, Richard

Hamann, Richard 

Born May 29, 1879, in Seehausen, Saxony; died Jan. 9, 1961, in Immenstadt, Swabia. Art historian of the German Democratic Republic (GDR). Member of the Academy of Sciences of the GDR (1949).

Hamann originally studied philosophy under W. Dilthey. He later studied art history under H. Wölfflin at the University of Berlin, from which he graduated in 1911. Hamann’s research and organizational work exerted considerable influence on the development of art history in the GDR. Hamann made sweeping analyses of entire artistic periods. At first his theories were representative of idealism, and later they were close to Marxism in method.

Hamann was awarded the National Prize of the GDR in 1949.

WORKS

Deutsche Kunst und Kultur von der Gründerzeit bis zum Expressionismus, vols. 1–5. Berlin, 1959–75. (With J. Hermand.)
Geschichte der Kunst [vols. 1–2]. Berlin, 1959.
In Russian translation:
Gaman, R. Impressionizm v iskusstve i zhizni. Moscow, 1935.
Rembrandt: Graviury. [Moscow] 1924.

REFERENCE

Lehmann, E. “Nachruf auf Richard Hamann.” In Richard Hamann im memoriam. Berlin, 1963.