Christian Huelsen
Encyclopedia
Christian Karl Friedrich Hülsen (November 29, 1858 – January 19, 1935) was a German
architectural historian
of the classical era who later changed to studying the Middle Ages
and the Renaissance
.
. He studied classical philology, ancient history and archaeology with Ernst Curtius
, Johann Gustav Droysen
(1808-1884), Emil Hübner
(1834-1901), Johannes Vahlen
(1830-1911), and Theodor Mommsen
(1817-1903). His dissertation, on Ovid
, was directed by Mommsen and Hübner. Through Mommsen, he was awarded a stipend from the DAI (Deutsches Archäologisches Institut) to travel to Rome where he assisted in the compilation of the Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum
for the city of Rome. In 1904 he published his Das Forum Romanum, an important and widely translated work on the Roman Forum
. As a topographical scholar he gained equal fame with his volume on Roman topography, volume three of Topographie der Stadt Rom in Altertum, appearing in 1907. Despite these accomplishments and his service as second secretary to the DAI in Rome (1887-1909) he was twice denied the appointment of first secretary.
In disillusionment, Hülsen left the institute to live in Florence
, where he changed focus to medieval and renaissance art. In Florence he published studies on the historic drawings of Rome by Maarten van Heemskerck, Giuliano da Sangallo
, Giovanni Antonio Dosio
and other artists. In 1927 his study on the churches of medieval Rome and published Le Chiese di Roma nel Medio Evo. Like his other books in many disparate fields, it represented significant original scholarship. He remained in Florence for the remainder of his life except for five years as professor at the University of Heidelberg. He was the recipient of honorary degrees from Oxford, Erlangen, and New York. Hülsen died in Florence.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
architectural historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
of the classical era who later changed to studying the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
and the Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
.
Biography
Hülsen was born in BerlinBerlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
. He studied classical philology, ancient history and archaeology with Ernst Curtius
Ernst Curtius
You may be looking for Ernst Robert Curtius .Ernst Curtius was a German archaeologist and historian.-Biography:...
, Johann Gustav Droysen
Johann Gustav Droysen
Johann Gustav Droysen was a German historian. His history of Alexander the Great was the first work representing a new school of German historical thought that idealized power held by so-called "great" men...
(1808-1884), Emil Hübner
Emil Hübner
Emil Hübner was a German classical scholar.He was born at Düsseldorf, the son of the historical painter Julius Hübner ,...
(1834-1901), Johannes Vahlen
Johannes Vahlen
Johannes Vahlen was a German classical philologist. He was the father of mathematician Theodor Vahlen ....
(1830-1911), and Theodor Mommsen
Theodor Mommsen
Christian Matthias Theodor Mommsen was a German classical scholar, historian, jurist, journalist, politician, archaeologist, and writer generally regarded as the greatest classicist of the 19th century. His work regarding Roman history is still of fundamental importance for contemporary research...
(1817-1903). His dissertation, on Ovid
Ovid
Publius Ovidius Naso , known as Ovid in the English-speaking world, was a Roman poet who is best known as the author of the three major collections of erotic poetry: Heroides, Amores, and Ars Amatoria...
, was directed by Mommsen and Hübner. Through Mommsen, he was awarded a stipend from the DAI (Deutsches Archäologisches Institut) to travel to Rome where he assisted in the compilation of the Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum
Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum
The Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum is a comprehensive collection of ancient Latin inscriptions. It forms an authoritative source for documenting the surviving epigraphy of classical antiquity. Public and personal inscriptions throw light on all aspects of Roman life and history...
for the city of Rome. In 1904 he published his Das Forum Romanum, an important and widely translated work on the Roman Forum
Roman Forum
The Roman Forum is a rectangular forum surrounded by the ruins of several important ancient government buildings at the center of the city of Rome. Citizens of the ancient city referred to this space, originally a marketplace, as the Forum Magnum, or simply the Forum...
. As a topographical scholar he gained equal fame with his volume on Roman topography, volume three of Topographie der Stadt Rom in Altertum, appearing in 1907. Despite these accomplishments and his service as second secretary to the DAI in Rome (1887-1909) he was twice denied the appointment of first secretary.
In disillusionment, Hülsen left the institute to live in Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
, where he changed focus to medieval and renaissance art. In Florence he published studies on the historic drawings of Rome by Maarten van Heemskerck, Giuliano da Sangallo
Giuliano da Sangallo
Giuliano da Sangallo was an Italian sculptor, architect and military engineer active during the Italian Renaissance.He was born in Florence. His father Francesco Giamberti was a woodworker and architect, much employed by Cosimo de Medici, and his brother Antonio da Sangallo the Elder and nephew...
, Giovanni Antonio Dosio
Giovanni Antonio Dosio
Giovanni Antonio Dosio was an Italian architect and sculptor.He was born in San Gimignano. A student of Ammanati, with whom he realized the Villa dell'Ambrogiana, Dosio worked primarily in Rome and Florence , with some commissions that took him to Naples.During his early years in Rome, where he...
and other artists. In 1927 his study on the churches of medieval Rome and published Le Chiese di Roma nel Medio Evo. Like his other books in many disparate fields, it represented significant original scholarship. He remained in Florence for the remainder of his life except for five years as professor at the University of Heidelberg. He was the recipient of honorary degrees from Oxford, Erlangen, and New York. Hülsen died in Florence.
Works
- Varronianae doctrinae quaenam in Ovidii fastis vestigia extent. Berlin: Goetsch und Mann, 1880 (dissertation).
- with Henri JordanHenri JordanHenri Jordan was a German scholar of Roman topography in the 19th century.He worked together with Christian Huelsen and Rodolfo Lanciani and is most famous for his 2 volume study of Roman topography, Topographie der Stadt Rom im Alterthum.Jordan was born in Berlin and died in Königsberg, where he...
: Topographie der Stadt Rom im Alterthum. Volume I, part 3. Berlin: Weidmannsche BuchhandlungWeidmannsche BuchhandlungWeidmannsche Buchhandlung is a German book publisher established in 1680 that remained independent until it was acquired by Verlag Georg Olms in 1983..-History:...
, 1907. - Le chiese di Roma nel medio evo, cataloghi ed appvnti. Florence: L.S. Olschki, 1927; the bulk of it is online at LacusCurtius. Reprint Hildesheim: Olms, 1975, ISBN 3-487-05610-0.
- with Heinrich KiepertHeinrich KiepertHeinrich Kiepert , German geographer, was born at Berlin as the son of a wealthy businessman.Already in his youth he traveled with his parents and had a particular interest in the geographic circumstances, which he carefully sketched...
: Formae Urbis Romae antiquae. 1896, (English ed., The Forum and the Palatine. New York: A. Bruderhausen, 1909). - Das Forum Romanum 1904; online, complete in Italian and partial in English, at LacusCurtius
- Die Skizzenbücher des Marten van HeemskerckMarten Jacobszoon Heemskerk van VeenMaarten van Heemskerck or Marten Jacobsz Heemskerk van Veen was a Dutch portrait and religious painter, known for his depictions of the Seven Wonders of the World.-Biography:...
. Berlin: J. Bard, 1912-1916. - Römische Antikengärten des XVI. Jahrhunderts, 1917.
- edited: Das Skizzenbuch des Giovannantonio Dosio im Staatlichen Kupferstichkabinett zu Berlin. Berlin: H. Keller, 1933.
- Le monument païen et la topographie du lieu. In: Sainte Marie Antique. Rome: M. Bretschneider, 1911, pp. 61-70.
- ed., with Ernst Robert Fiechter: Römische Gebälke. Toebelmann-Stiftung der Heidelberger Akademie der Wissenschaften. Heidelberg: C. Winter, 1923.
Further reading
- Archäologenbildnisse: Porträts und Kurzbiographien von Klassichen Archäologen deutscher Sprache. Reinhard Lullies, ed. Mainz am Rhein: Verlag Philipp von Zabern, 1988: 126-127
- Encyclopedia of the History of Classical Archaeology. Nancy Thomson de Grummond, ed. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1996, vol. 1, pp. 598-600.