Josef Strzygowski
From Free net encyclopedia
Josef Strzygowski (1862 - 1941) was an influential and controversial art historian.
He is well known for his theories on the importance of Eastern influence in European architecture. His Orient oder Rom (Orient or Rome) argued that Medieval European architecture drew heavily from Middle Eastern traditions. This went against the prevailing contemporary wisdom that Christian art had primarily Classical origins.
Strzygowski's work on the architecture of Armenia has been particularly influential. His Die Baukunst der Armenier und Europa (The Architecture of Armenia and Europe) was the first systematic attempt to study the origins and influence of Armenian architecture. It traced the development of an "Aryan" architectural form from largely Eastern and indigenous influences.
The quality of Strzygowski's scholarship has been widely criticized, but even more controversial were the racial and political overtones of his work. He was unabashedly anti-semitic, and his work foreshadowed the ideas later espoused by Nazism.
External link
- Duke University Art Library - biography
References
- Christina Maranci, Medieval Armenian Architecture: Constructions of Race and Nationde:Josef Strzygowski