Wilhelm Worringer facts for kids

Wilhelm Robert Worringer (born January 13, 1881, in Aachen; died March 29, 1965, in Munich) was an important German art historian. He is famous for his ideas about abstract art and how it connected to new art movements like German Expressionism. His thoughts also influenced early British modernism, especially a style called Vorticism, through an art critic named T. E. Hulme.

Biography

Wilhelm Worringer studied art history in cities like Freiburg, Berlin, and Munich. He then moved to Bern, Switzerland, where he earned his Ph.D. in 1907. His main paper, which became his most famous work, was published a year later. It was called Abstraction and Empathy: Essay in the Psychology of Style.

From 1909 to 1914, he taught at Bern University. During this time, he met artists from the Blue Rider group. He also worked with his sister, Emmy Worringer, to organize talks and art shows at an art club called the Gereonsklub. In 1907, he married Marta Schmitz. She was a friend of his sister and later became a well-known Expressionist artist herself, using her married name, Marta Worringer.

After serving in World War I, Worringer taught at Bonn University for several years. He became a professor there in 1920. One of his students was Heinrich Lützeler. Around this time, he became less interested in new, experimental art and more interested in German philosophy. Later, he taught at the universities of Königsberg (from 1928 to 1944) and Halle (from 1946 to 1950). In 1950, he moved to Munich and lived there for the rest of his life.

Works and Ideas

Worringer's first book, Abstraction and Empathy, was very popular and influential. In this book, he divided art into two main types:

• Abstract art: This type of art was often seen in older, more "primitive" cultures.
• Empathy art: This type was linked to realism, which means art that tries to show things as they really look. This style was very common in European art after the Renaissance.

Worringer strongly believed that abstract art was just as good as realistic art. He said it deserved respect on its own. He followed the ideas of another art historian, Alois Riegl. Worringer argued that the "urge to abstraction" (the desire to create abstract art) didn't come from artists not knowing how to draw realistically. Instead, he said it came from a "psychological need." This need was to show objects in a more spiritual or deeper way. This idea helped many artists in the early 1900s feel good about using more abstract styles.

He also thought there was a direct link between how people saw art and how they felt inside. He wrote, "we sense ourselves in the forms of a work of art." This meant that when we look at art, we can feel a part of ourselves in it. He also said that if we like realistic art because it feels natural, we might like abstract art because it shows something more perfect and unchanging, like crystals or strict patterns.

Abstraction and Empathy was discussed a lot. It especially influenced German artists in the Die Brücke group. It also helped people become more interested in art from Africa and Southeast Asia. The philosopher Gilles Deleuze even said that Worringer was the first person to see abstraction as "the very beginning of art" or the first sign of an artistic desire.

His second book, Form in the Gothic (published in 1911), built on ideas from his first book. It focused on Gothic art and architecture. He pointed out clear differences between Gothic styles in northern Europe and southern Europe. He wrote several more books, but none became as famous as his first two. He always preferred northern, especially German, art styles over those from the Mediterranean region. Like another art historian, Heinrich Wölfflin, Worringer believed there was a unique German art style that showed the country's character. Some of his ideas were later used by the Nazis to support their views on art, even though the Nazis rejected the German Expressionist art that Worringer liked, calling it 'degenerate art'.

Family

In 1907, Wilhelm Worringer married Marta Schmitz, who was a friend of his sister Emmy. Marta became a well-known artist under her married name, Marta Worringer. They had three daughters together.

See also

In Spanish: Wilhelm Worringer para niños