“1945” as a Turning Point in German Art History? Challenging the Paradigm of Rupture and Discontinuity

The historiographical article looks at “1945” as a turning point, inquiring whether the end of both the Second World War and National Socialism also implied a radical break for art history in Germany. In evaluating both contemporary perspectives (like Herbert von Einem’s opening lecture of the First German Art Historians Meeting in 1948) and recent historiographical studies, the paper questions the concept of “Stunde Null” or “hour zero,” and intends to challenge the established paradigm of rupture and discontinuity. Arguing for a more nuanced and holistic understanding of the transformation processes in the postwar situation, three major reasons are identified why simplistic categorizations often prevail: (1) a very narrow definition of the art historian in the history of art history, (2) the disjunction between the humanities and the larger political context, which allow the individual to imagine himself/herself untainted and uncompromised by ideology, and (3) the high degree of continuity, in particular if compared to the radical changes that took place in 1933. The article thus resumes that the idea of “turning points” deserves further differentiation, and calls for the integration of the political dimension into historiography. Essentially, the challenge remains to distinguish between factual processes, false or fraudulent labelling, and symbolic gestures.

Precedentes de la institucionalización de la Historia del Arte en España: los estudios histórico-artísticos en el siglo XIX = Precedents of the institutionalisation of Art History in Spain: Historical and artistic studies in the 19th century

Resumen: El objetivo de este artículo es ofrecer una visión general acerca de los estudios histórico-artísticos realizados y publicados en España a lo largo del siglo XIX, así como poner de manifiesto que estos trabajos dieron base y fundamento a la posterior institucionalización de la Historia del Arte en la universidad española a comienzos de la centuria siguiente. Comenzamos nuestro texto con un estado de la cuestión para subrayar la necesidad de acometer esta clase de estudios; seguidamente exponemos una amplia perspectiva diacrónica sobre las circunstancias históricas que rodearon la práctica historiográfica del siglo XIX, sus características y quiénes fueron sus artífices. Terminamos este trabajo con una breve reflexión acerca del alcance de la investigación decimonónica y sus efectos en la institucionalización de la Historia del Arte en España.Palabras clave: historiografía artística, historia de la Historia del Arte en España, Restauración borbónica, Historia del Arte y Arqueología, fuentes para la Historia del Arte.Abstract: This articles aims chiefly to provide an overview of the historical-artistic studies carried out and published in Spain throughout the 19th century and to show that these works provided the basis and foundation for the subsequent institutionalisation of Art History in Spanish universities in the early 20th century. It begins with a summary underlining the need for this kind of study, then paints a broad diachronic perspective on the historical circumstances surrounding the historiographic practice of the 19th century, its characteristics and its writers. It ends with a brief consideration of the scope of 19th century research and its effects on the institutionalisation of Art History in Spain.Key words: Art Historiography, history of Art History in Spain, Bourbon restoration, Art History and Archaeology, Sources for Art History.