Full Name: Toelken, Ernst Heinrich
Other Names:
- Tölken, Ernst Heinrich
Gender: male
Date Born: 24 January 1798
Date Died: 26 January 1878
Place Born: Bremen, Germany
Career(s): art historians
Overview
Art historian, classicist and archaeologist; one of three early art historians to earn doctoral degrees and to hold university positions for teaching the history of art in Germany; second faculty to teach art history in Göttingen.
Toelken was the son of Heinrich Toelken, a Bremen businessman. The eldest of brothers, the sons were schooled at home. After his father died, Toelken was raised by his grandfather, the businessman Ernst Trüper. Toelken attended schools in his home town, entering the Pädagogium in 1794, graduating in 1802 with honors. He studied French, English and Italian privately and taught himself ancient Greek.
Though admitted to the theological department of Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, casually known as Georgia Augusta, his interest changed to art. He travelled through Germany and Switzerland, making his notes in Latin. At Georgia Augusta his faculty included the mathematician Bernhard Thibaut ( 1775-1832) and the philosopher and aesthetician Johann Herbart (1776-1841), but not apparently the art historian there, Johann Dominik Fiorillo. Toelken’s dissertation–his first–was in art history and granted in 1811. Toelken taught courses in both Göttingen and Berlin beginning the same year. His 1814 habilitation, outlines of lectures on ancient mythology, and a manuscript history of religion of the Olympian Zeus, was granted. He left Göttingen in 1814, unable to find a permanent position there. He gained an appointment teaching art history at the Friedrich-Wilhelms University (modern Humboldt University) in Berlin in 1825 (Garberson says 1823), with University’s first art historian, Aloys Hirt. Some alternate slots in his course semesters were taught by the philosopher Georg F. W. Hegel (though not art history). He also taught at the Akademie der Künste for art students and beginning in 1832 (likely for income as lower professors were paid poorly. He was appointed vice-director of the Antiquarium, or Antiquities Collection at the Berlin Museum in 1832. Toelken made his reputation the same year when he doubted the authenticity of impressions of ancient gems owned by King of Prussia. He was the first to doubt that the original gems were ancient, publishing on it. In 1836, its director, Panofka returned after an extended leave.
By 1844 the department had exceeded the number of art historians at the University when newer scholars were applying for appointments. Toelken was one of two ordinary professors, the other being Gerhard, and three extraordinary professors, Panofka, Hotho, and Gustav Waagen. He taught at a time of developing distinctions between art history and archaeology along with his contemporaries, Guhl and Kugler. He taught extensively from the objects in the Antiquarium, i.e., from the object itself. Like his colleagues Hotho and Waagen, he focused little on training scholars (Garberson)
His students included Gerhard
‘’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’
Toelken’s subsequent research focused increasingly more to art history and less on classical studies (Garberson). As a scholar he gained notoriety when he concluded that casts of gem settings in the royal collection were not, as was claimed by the owner of the originals, ancient.
Selected Bibliography
- [dissertation:] Ankündigung und plan wissenschaflicher vorträge über die mythologie besonders der Griechen [etc.]. Göttingen: H. Dieterich, 1827
- De phidiae jove olympio observationes. [published] Gottingae: Röwer, 1812;
- edited, Rede bei der Gedächtnißfeier Rafaels, welche zu Berlin den 18ten April 1820 von den Akademien der Künste und des Gesanges und dem Künstlerverein begangen wurde. Berlin: Stettin In der Fr. Nicolaischen Buchhandlung, 1820;
- and Milin, Aubin Louis A. L. and Schade, August Wilhelm. Millin’s Mythologische Gallerie Eine Sammlung von mehr als 750 antiken Denkmälern, Statuen, geschnittenen Steinen, Muenzen und Gemaelden, zur Erlaeuterung der Mythologie, der Symbolik und Kunstgeschichte der Alten;
Berlin: Stettin Nicolai Berlin Schade, 1820; - and Minutoli, Heinrich, Freiherr von. Reise zum Tempel des jupiter Ammon:
in der Libyschen Wüste, und nach Ober-Aegypten in den Jahren 1820 und 1821. Berlin: A. Rucker, 1824 - [contributor] Berliner Kunst-Blatt. Berlin, 1828-1829;
- Erklärendes Verzeichniss der antiken vertieft geschnittenen Steine der Königlich Preussischen Gemmensammlung. Berlin: Gedruckt in der Druckerei der Koniglichen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 1835;
- Verzeichniss der antiken Denkmäler im Antiquarium des Königlichen Museums zu Berlin. Abth. [2], Erklärendes Verzeichniss der antiken vertieft geschnittenen Steine der Königlich Preussischen Gemmensammlung. Berlin : Königliche Akad. der Wiss., 1835;
- and Boeckh, August. Über die Antigone des Sophokles und ihre Darstellung auf dem Kgl. Schloßtheater im neuen Palais bei Sanssouci: drei Abhandlungen.
Berlin: Schroeder, 1842; - Königliche Museen: Leitfaden für die Sammlung antiker Metall-Arbeiten. Berlin: Moeser und Kühn, 1850
Sources
Garberson, Eric. “Art history in the university Toelken, Hotho, Kugler.” Journal of Art Historiography 5 (2011): 1-89, http://arthistoriography.files.wordpress.com/2011/12/garberson-toelken-kugler1.pdf