A portrait book is not a neutral compilation but a selection. It puts certain people into a group and excludes others from it. The selection only follows the individual criteria of the publishers on a superficial level. After all, contemporary ideas of belonging matter as well. This shows itself particularly momentously in the time of […]
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With the advent of photography in the second half of the 19th century new pictorial motifs were created. In addition to studio shots, there was a steady increase of scholars being depicted in private environments. Compositions of couples were a particularly popular motif. The images transport a contemporary gender relationship, that assigns men and women
The doctorate of Dorothea von Schlözer caused upheaval far beyond Göttingen. Many of her contemporaries saw it as a transgression of current gender roles. This included former Göttingen student Wilhelm Friedrich August Mackensen (1768-1798) who recalled dismissively: Schlözer would lose her femininity over her learnedness. He was particularly offended by the fact that even during
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In the course of the 19th century, the images of scientists started to diverge from their ancient models, where the ruler was typically shown in profile—his individuality less important than his representation of power. The medal dedicated to the French chemist Michel-Eugène Chevreul (1786-1889) from 1886 shows him on the front also in profile, his
On the occasion of their 50th anniversary of service, a medal was donated to the jurist Georg Ludwig Böhmer (1715-1797) and the teacher of constitutional law Johann Stephan Pütter (1725-1807). On the double portrait of the medal, it shows the relationship between conformity and individuality, typical for the representation of professors in the 18th century.
Since antiquity, the moulding of the face of a deceased individual has been part of a culture of remembrance. The direct contact with the body, of which the mask is an image, gives the whole process a special authenticity. Sometimes even the hair of the deceased is preserved in the plaster: the border between the
While there was general agreement that the new library hall, which had been renovated in 1812, should contain busts of “Göttingen’s Heroes” serving as role-models and inspiration for the students, the question of who should be included was not so straightforward. On-going discussions erupted, when in 1814, students bequeathed the bust of the lawyer Christian
The colossal bust of Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz’ (1646-1716) served as a counterpart to an equally oversized Gauss bust in the historical hall of the University. Göttingen received this donation in 1792, after it had presumably been used as a model for a marble bust. Around the turn of the 19th century, when the interest for
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When in 1812, the Pauliner Church was reconstructed and turned into a library hall, it was done so with far-reaching plans to set up portrait busts of scholars. In addition to selected plaster castings reminiscent of antique sculptures, the “Göttingen Pantheon” would be dedicated to the famous scholars of Göttingen. Thus, in 1814, busts of
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Works of art, especially representative portraits, are also used during social conflict. In June 2009 during the “nationwide education strike”, the institution of the university at large was put in the pillory: tuition fees, the Bologna process, the Excellence Initiative and inadequate democracy. On the 18th of June, a group of demonstrators entered the auditorium
