Full Name: Meer, Frits, van der
Other Names:
- Frederik Gerben van der Meer
Gender: male
Date Born: 1904
Date Died: 1994
Place Born: Bolsward, Friesland, Netherlands
Place Died: Lent, Gelderland, Netherlands
Home Country/ies: Netherlands
Career(s): clergy
Overview
Professor of Art History, catholic priest. Frits van der Meer attended the Gymnasium in Sneek (The Netherlands). In 1919, he decided to become a priest, and continued high school at the Aartsbischoppelijk Kleinseminarie in Culemborg. Between 1924 and 1928 he studied Theology at the Grootseminarie Rijsenburg near Driebergen. He was ordained priest in 1928. In 1932, after a trip to the Balkan, Istanbul, Greece and Italy, he began studying Christian archeology at the Instituto di Archeologia Cristiana in Rome. In 1934, he received his doctorate with a dissertation on the theme of the Maiestas Domini in representations of the Apocalypse. It was published in 1938: Maiestas Domini. Théophanies de l’Apocalypse dans l’art chrétien. Etude sur les origines d’une iconographie spéciale du Christ. While in Rome, he visited the Near East and Jerusalem. In1939, after a three-year period of pastoral service as chaplain in Hilversum, he was appointed lecturer of Christian Archeology and Liturgy at the Catholic University of Nijmegen. His inaugural lecture, entitled: Iets over de oorspronkelijkheid der oud-Christelijke kunst (On the originality of Early Christian Art), became the subject of a later publication in 1949: Christus’ oudste gewaad: over de oorspronkelijkheid der oud-christelijke kunst. In this book Van der Meer explored the rich thoughts and visions of early Christianity that shaped a new, transcendent art form. In 1940, Van der Meer already had written the much acclaimed Geschiedenis eener kathedraal (History of a Cathedral). One of his sources of inspiration had been the famous study on Religious Art in France of the Thirteenth Century by the French art historian Émile Mâle, first published in 1898. From 1946 onwards, Van der Meer was extraordinarius Professor of Christian Archeology and Liturgy as well as of Early Christian and Mediaeval Art. In the latter position he succeeded Professor Gerard Brom (1882-1959), while another part of Brom’s field was given to J. J. Tikkanen who, in 1947, became extraordinarius Professor of Aesthetics and Art History of the New Era. In 1955, Van der Meer eventually obtained a full professorship. He was an inspired teacher, overwhelming his students with his somewhat extravagant enthusiasm (C. Peeters, 1998). He however did not participate in the broader administration of the faculty and university, disliking meetings and public events. He neither used to attend international symposia, nor maintained professional contacts with colleagues art historians. His many publications, written with eloquence and poetical inspiration, attest to his scholarly dedication as well as to his profound religiosity. In addition to the early Christian era, he had a special interest in the arts and ideas that flourished and developed in twelfth-century France and in his view were the expression of new awakenings of western civilization. In Keerpunt der Middeleeuwen. Tussen Cluny en Sens (Turning-point in the Middle-Ages. Between Cluny and Sens), published in 1951, he considered this specific era as an age of renewal, preceding the Italian Renaissance. In this he followed the earlier study by Charles Homer Haskins (1870-1937): The Renaissance of the Twelfth Century. In 1951, Van der Meer published his famous Atlas van de Westerse beschaving(Atlas of Western Civilization). Another well known atlas followed in 1958: Atlas van de Oudchristelijke wereld (Atlas of the Early Christian World). Both works were translated into French, English, and German. These convenient large-scale books, illustrated with several maps, are still today consulted by students and scholars all over the world. As a theologian he became internationally known for his famous monograph on Saint Augustine: Augustinus de zielzorger. Een studie over de praktijk van een kerkvader. It was published in 1947, and translated in German, French, English (translated as Augustine the Bishop. The Life and Work of a Father of the Church) and Spanish. The book deals with the daily pastoral practice of this great Church Father. In 1950, Van der Meer was invited to become a member of the Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen, and in 1964, he was granted the national P.C. Hooft Award for literature. In 1963-64 he wrote the script for the television show Reise in die früchristliche Welt, a European co-production which was broadcast in the Netherlands in 1968. After his retirement, in 1974, he carried on his scholarly work. In 1978, his richly illustrated Apocalypse appeared simultaneously in Dutch, German, French and English. In 1980, the city of Nijmegen granted him the Karel de Grote (Charlemagne) Award.
Selected Bibliography
[of art-historical works:] Maiestas Domini: théophanies de l’apocalypse dans l’art chrétien: étude sur les orgines d’une iconographie spéciale du Christ. Studi di antichità Cristiana 13. Roma: PIAC, 1938; Iets over de oorspronkelijkheid der oud-Christelijke kunst. (Openbare les Nijmegen, 23 januari 1939) Nijmegen: Dekker & van de Vegt, 1939; Geschiedenis eener kathedraal. Utrecht: Het Spectrum, 1940. Fourth revised edition: 1961; Christus’ oudste gewaad: over de oorspronkelijkheid der oud-christelijke kunst. Utrecht: Het Spectrum, 1949. Second edition: (Bronnen van de Europese cultuur, 1) Baarn: Ambo, 1989; Edelsmid: eerste der ambachten. Amsterdam: Witteman, 1950; (Uitg. n.a.v. een tentoonstelling van werken van Nico Witteman te Amsterdam); Rome: een keur uit haar kunstwerken, 300 v.C.-1800. Ars mundi 1. Amsterdam: Contact, 1950; Keerpunt der Middeleeuwen: tussen Cluny en Sens. Utrecht: Het Spectrum, 1950. Second edition: 1962 (Aula-boeken, 82); Atlas van de Westerse beschaving. Amsterdam: Elsevier 1951. Fourth revised edition: 1963 (Elseviers internationale uitgaven). Chartres. Amsterdam: Contact, 1951; and Schwartz M.A. Beknopte atlas van de westerse beschaving. Amsterdam: Elsevier1952; Atlas de la civilisation occidentale. Paris: Elsevier, 1952; Atlas of Western Civilization. Translated by T.A. Birrell. Amsterdam: Elsevier – London: Cleaver-Hume, 1954. Second revised edition: Princeton, N.J.: Van Nostrand, 1960; Het devotiebeeld der Moeder Gods Carmel 7 (1954); Uit het oude Europa: twintig herinneringen. Amsterdam: Elsevier 1957; And Mohrmann Christine Atlas van de oudchristelijke wereld. Amsterdam: Elsevier 1958. Second edition: 1961; and Mohrmann Christine Atlas of the Early Christian World. Translated and edited by Mary F. Hedlund and H. H. Rowley. London: Nelson, 1958; Oudchristelijke kunst. (Phoenix pocket, 16) Zeist: De Haan – Antwerpen: Standaard Boekhandel, 1959. Second edition: (De Haan paperbacks voor geschiedenis, kunst en cultuur) Bussum: De Haan, 1972; and Mohrmann Christine Bildatlas der frühchristlichen Welt. Translated by Heinrich Kraft. Gütersloh: Mohn, 1959; Paasmorgen: bij het altaarluik van Rogier van der Weyden in het museum te Berlijn en de feestikoon genaamd Anástasis. Utrecht: Het Spectrum, 1959; Altchristliche Kunst. Translated from the Dutch by Auguste Schorn. Köln: Bachem, 1960; and Mohrmann Christine Atlas de l’antiquité chrétienne. Translated by Denise van Weelderen-Bakelants and Pierre Golliet. Paris: éd. Sequoia, 1960; Bildatlas der abendländischen Kultur. Gütersloh: Gerd Mohn 1962; Zeven ware legenden. Utrecht: Het Spectrum 1962; and Lemmens, G. Kleine atlas van de Westerse beschaving. (Kleine atlassen) Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1964; Atlas de l’Ordre cistercien. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1965; Atlas de l’ordre cistercien. Paris: Editions-Sequoia, 1965; and Lemmens, G. Shorter Atlas of Western Civilization. Translated from the Dutch by Marian Powell. London: Nelson, 1967; Early Christian Art. Translated [from the revised German ed.] by Peter and Friedl Brown. London: Faber and Faber, 1967; Onbekende kathedralen in Frankrijk. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1967; Van den heiligen Johannes den Damascener de derde verhandeling tegen hen die de heilige ikonen smaden. Translated by F. van der Meer and G. Bartelink. Utrecht: Het Spectrum, 1968; De kleine stad lang geleden. Bolsward: Osinga, 1977; Apocalypse.Visioenen uit het Boek der Openbaring in de kunst. Antwerpen: Mercatorfonds, 1978. Simultaneously edited in German, French and English; Imago Christi: Christusbeeltenissen in de sculptuur benoorden Alpen en Pyreneeën. Antwerpen: Mercatorfonds, 1980; Het toneel is in de hemel: bloemlezing uit het werk van F. van der Meer. Edited and introduced by Kees Fens. Baarn: Ambo: 1981; De kerstikoon, genaamd Hè Gennèsis Tijdschrift voor liturgie 65, 6 (1981); Rome en Chartres: een stad – een kathedraal. Antwerpen: De Nederlandsche boekhandel, 1982; Die Ursprünge christlicher Kunst. Translated from the Dutch by Frans Stoks. Freiburg: Herder, 1982; Feestelijke gedachtenis: beschouwingen over het kerkelijk jaar. Chosen and introduced by Wouter Kusters en Gerard Lemmens. Nijmegen: Sun, 1995. With a complete bibliography: 173-190.
Sources
Fens, Kees De leerstoel van Lent: in memoriam F.G. van der Meer. [Nijmegen]: Verzameld Werk, [1994] (Also published in De Volkskrant, 20-7-1994; Van Schaik, Ton in HN Magazine, 30-7-1994; Van Laarhoven, Jan in De Bazuin. Opinieweekblad voor kerk en samenleving, 5-8-1994; Peeters, C. in Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen. Levensberichten en herdenkingen 1995: 71-76; idem, Frits van der Meer in Corman, Hennie (ed.) Nijmeegse gezichten. Vijfenzeventig jaar Katholieke Universiteit. Nijmegen, 1998: 86-95; Van Schaik, A.H.M. in Bosmans, J. a.o (eds.) Biografisch Woordenboek van Nederland 5. The Hague: Instituut voor Nederlandse Geschiedenis, 2001: 330-332; Evert Frans van der Grinten e.o. (eds.) Feestbundel F. van der Meer: opstellen aangeboden aan Prof. Dr. F.G. L. van der Meer ter gelegenheid van zijn zestigste verjaardag op 16 november 1964. Amsterdam: Elsevier [1966] With bibliography F. van der Meer.
Contributors: Monique Daniels