Jacob Burckhardt
Jacob Burckhardt (Carl Jacob Christoph Burckhardt) was born on May 25th, 1818. Jacob passed away August 8th, 1897 at 79 years old. Jacob Burckhardt was born in Basel, Switzerland. Burckhardt attended the University of Basel where he received a PhD degree. He also attended the University of Bonn and the University of Berlin.
Jacob Burckhardt was a historian of culture and art and was an influential figure in the historiography of both fields.
Jacob is known as being one of the major progenitors of cultural history. He’s been described as being the great discoverer of the age of the Renaissance, first showing how a period should be treated in its entirety, with regard not just to its painting, architecture, and sculpture, but also for the social institutions of its daily life too.
Jacob was the son of a clergyman, and was born in Basel, where he studied theology with hopes of taking holy orders, but, under Wilhelm Martin Leberecht de Wette’s influence, he decided not to become a clergyman. He was a member of the patrician Burckhardt family.
Jacob made his first journey to Italy in 1838, publishing his first important article, called “Remarks about Swiss Cathedrals”.
He finished his degree in 1839 and attended the University of Berlin in order to study history, particularly art history, and then a new field. At Berlin, he went to lectures by Leopold von Ranke, the founder of history as a respectable academic discipline based off records and sources instead of personal opinions. He spent part of 1841 at the University of Bonn, studying under Franz Theodor Kugler (art historian) to whom he dedicated his very first book.
From 1843 to 1855, he taught at the University of Basel, then at the Federal Polytechnic School. He returned to Basel in 1858 to assume the professorship that he held until he retired in 1893. He began teaching only art history in 1886. Jacob had twice declined offers of professorial chairs at German universities.
The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy stemmed from Jacob Burkhardt’s understanding that the Italian Renaissance was nothing less of being the start of the modern world, a world in which flourishing individualism and the competition for fame radically transformed the arts, science, and politics.
In a landmark work, he portrays the Italian city-states of Venice, Florence, and Rome as providing all the seeds of this new form of society, and traces the rise of the creative individual, from Michelangelo to Dante.
This is a fascinating description of an era of cultural transition, and this 19th century masterpiece was to become the most influential interpretation of the Italian Renaissance, and anticipated ideas like Nietzche’s concept of the Ubermensch in its depiction of an age of genius.
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Jacob Burckhardt: F.A.Q
When was Jacob Burckhardt Born?
Jacob Burckhardt was born on May 25th, 1818.
When did Jacob Burckhardt die?
Jacob Burckhardt died on August 8th, 1897 at 79 years old.
Where was Jacob Burckhardt Born?
Jacob Burckhardt was born in Basel, Switzerland.
What was the first book Jacob Burckhardt wrote?
The first book written by Jacob Burckhardt was The State as a Work of Art, published in 1860.
What was the most recent book Jacob Burckhardt wrote?
His most recently released work was The Cicerone: Art-Guide to Painting in Italy on January 17th, 2019.
How many books has Jacob Burckhardt written?
Jacob Burckhardt has written 15 books. 13 books in the Non-Fiction Books, 2 books in the Collections.