Advocate for 19th and 20th century art, professional career in Germany, 1908 to 1949. Hildebrandt was born in Staufen (Baden), Germany. He studied law at Mannheim until 1904, when he began his studies in art history until approximately 1912. In Munich and Heidelberg, his studies covered the areas of art history, wall painting, archaeology, and philosophy. In 1908, he completed his dissertation on German art history, titled Die Architektur bei Albrecht Altdorfer, under Henry Thode in Strasbourg.