Ernst Gombrich facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Ernst Gombrich
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| Born | 30 March 1909 Vienna, Austria-Hungary
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| Died | 3 November 2001 (aged 92) London, England
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| Alma mater | University of Vienna (PhD, 1933) |
| Occupation | Art historian |
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Notable work
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The Story of Art |
Sir Ernst Hans Josef Gombrich (born March 30, 1909 – died November 3, 2001) was a famous art historian. An art historian studies the history of art, looking at how art has changed over time and what it means.
Ernst Gombrich was born in Austria. He moved to England in 1936 and became a British citizen in 1947. He spent most of his life working in the United Kingdom. He wrote many important books about art and culture. His most famous books are The Story of Art and Art and Illusion. The Story of Art is known as one of the best ways to learn about art history. Art and Illusion explores how we see and understand pictures.
Contents
About Ernst Gombrich
Early Life and Family
Ernst Gombrich was born in Vienna, Austria-Hungary. His family was well-educated and loved music. His father, Karl Gombrich, was a lawyer. His mother, Leonie Hock, was a talented pianist. She even studied with famous composers like Anton Bruckner.
Music was a big part of the Gombrich family. Many famous musicians visited their home. Ernst himself loved classical music and played the cello. He often played music with his wife and sister.
Education and Early Career
Gombrich studied art history at the University of Vienna. He earned his PhD in 1933. His studies focused on the architecture of Giulio Romano. After finishing his studies, he worked with Ernst Kris on the art of caricature.
In 1936, he married Ilse Heller, who was also a skilled pianist. Their son, Richard Gombrich, was born in 1937. Richard later became a well-known expert in Indian studies.
Moving to Britain
In 1936, Gombrich published his first book, A Little History of the World. He wrote this book for children and teenagers. It became very popular, but the Nazis banned it because it promoted peace. Because of the political situation in Austria, Gombrich moved to Britain that same year. He started working at the Warburg Institute in London.
World War II and Later Career
During World War II, Gombrich worked for the BBC World Service. He listened to German radio broadcasts. In 1945, he famously predicted Adolf Hitler's death. He heard a special piece of music on the radio that was usually played for important deaths. He quickly told Winston Churchill the news.
After the war, Gombrich returned to the Warburg Institute. He became a professor and later the director of the institute. He received many honors for his work. These included being knighted in 1972 and becoming a member of the Order of Merit in 1988. He continued working until shortly before his death in 2001.
Gombrich was also good friends with other Austrian thinkers who had fled to the West. One of his closest friends was the philosopher Karl Popper.
His Important Books
Ernst Gombrich wrote for two different groups of people. Scholars knew him for his deep studies of the Renaissance and how we see things. But a wider audience knew him for his clear and easy-to-understand writing about art.
A Little History of the World
His first book, Eine kurze Weltgeschichte für junge Leser (A Short History of the World for Young Readers), was published in German in 1936. It was a big success and was translated into many languages. However, it wasn't available in English until 2005. Gombrich himself worked on the English translation before he passed away.
The Story of Art
The Story of Art was first published in 1950. It is now in its 16th edition. This book is seen as one of the best introductions to the history of visual arts. It was originally written for young readers. Millions of copies have been sold, and it has been translated into over 30 languages.
Art and Illusion
Another very important book is Art and Illusion (1960). Many critics believe this was his most influential work. It explores how our minds perceive and understand images. He also wrote many essays collected in books like Meditations on a Hobby Horse (1963) and The Image and the Eye (1981).
Gombrich's Ideas
How We See Art
When Gombrich came to England, art history often focused on identifying artists. But Gombrich was interested in bigger questions. He wanted to understand how science and art are connected. He explored this in books like The Sense of Order (1979) and Art and Illusion (1960).
In Art and Illusion, he introduced ideas like 'schemata' and 'making and matching'. Imagine an artist drawing something. They start with a basic idea or 'schema' of what they want to draw. Then, they compare their drawing to what they are actually seeing. They keep making small changes and corrections until the drawing looks right. This is like a "trial and error" process. Artists don't start from nothing. They use ideas and techniques from artists who came before them.
Gombrich believed that understanding how artists "see" and build on past traditions was key to understanding art history.
Renaissance Art
Gombrich also made big contributions to the study of Renaissance art. His doctoral work looked at a style called mannerism. He argued that artists like Giulio Romano were not just creating strange art. They were responding to new demands from their patrons.
His four-volume series, Studies in the Art of the Renaissance, explored the meaning of symbols in Renaissance art. He greatly admired Leonardo da Vinci and wrote a lot about him.
His Impact
Ernst Gombrich has been called "the best known art historian in Britain, perhaps in the world." He is also seen as "one of the most influential scholars and thinkers of the 20th century." His clear writing helped many people understand and appreciate art history.
Some Criticisms
Gombrich sometimes faced criticism. Some people thought he didn't like modern art. He explained that he was writing about art history as it happened. He also faced criticism for focusing mostly on Western art and not including many female artists. He explained that historically, women artists were not as widely recognized in the West before the 20th century. However, he admired modern female artists like Bridget Riley, and her work was added to later editions of The Story of Art.
Honors and Awards
Gombrich received many awards and honors throughout his life:
- Commander of the Order of the British Empire (1966)
- Knight Bachelor (1972)
- Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art, 1st class (1975)
- Pour le Mérite for Sciences and Arts (1977)
- Order of Merit (1988)
- Balzan Prize for History of Art of the West (1985)
- Goethe Prize (1994)
- Honorary doctorate from the University of Vienna (1999)
Selected Books
- The Preference for the Primitive. Episodes in the History of Western Taste and Art. London: Phaidon 2002
- The Uses of Images. Studies in the Social Function of Art and Visual Communication. London: Phaidon 1999
- Topics of Our Time. Twentieth-Century Issues in Learning and in Art. London: Phaidon 1991
- Reflections on the History of Art. Views and Reviews. Oxford: Phaidon 1987
- Tributes. Interpreters of our Cultural Tradition. Oxford: Phaidon 1984
- Ideals & Idols. Essays on Values in History and Art. Oxford: Phaidon 1979
- The Sense of Order. a Study in the Psychology of Decorative Art. Oxford: Phaidon 1979
- Aby Warburg, an Intellectual Biography. London: The Warburg Institute 1970
- The Image and the Eye: Further Studies in the Psychology of Pictorial Representation. Oxford: Phaidon 1982
- Studies in the Art of the Renaissance. London: Phaidon 1967–1986
- 1: Norm and Form. 1967
- 2: Symbolic Images. 1972
- 3: The Heritage of Apelles. 1976
- 4: New Light on Old Masters. 1986
- Meditations on a Hobbyhorse and other Essays on the Theory of Art. London: Phaidon 1963
- Art and Illusion. A Study in the Psychology of Pictorial Representation London: Phaidon 1960
- The Story of Art. London: Phaidon 1950
- Weltgeschichte von der Urzeit bis zur Gegenwart. Wenen: s.n. 1935 (English translation: A Little History of the World.)
See also
