Max Lehrs
Max Lehr (full name: Max Peter Lehr; * June 24, 1855 in Berlin, † November 12, 1938 in Dresden ) was a German art historian and longtime director of the Dresden Print Room.
Life and work
Lehr was born in 1855 as son of the Berlin wool merchant Philipp Lehr ( 1826-1865 ) and Margaret, born Berend ( 1834-1919 ) in Berlin. His father woke him in the early interest in art, he had a collection of engravings.
Lehr was initially from 1873 to 1880 in the book and art trade operates and 1880 briefly librarian at the Silesian Museum in Wroclaw. Since 1883 he worked for the Dresden museums. First Direktorialassistent by Karl Woermann at the Dresden Gemäldegalerie, it was 1895 (1896? ) Assistant at the city's Royal Print Room, changed from 1904-1908 as Director of the Prints and Drawings from Berlin to then until his retirement in 1923 (1924? ) Again in Dresden to act as Director of Prints and Drawings. Lehr promoted young artists and sat down early for the collection, exhibition and exploration of poster art and photography. He was awarded " privy councilor " of the title. Lehrs specialized early on graphics and edited numerous publications on this topic, eg 1887 a catalog of located in the Germanic Museum German engravings of the 15th century. Since major work, however, Bildt "history and critical catalog of the German, Dutch and French engraving in the 15th century " which was published in 9 volumes from 1908 to 1934.
With his wife Isabella ( named Bella ), born Geduly, whom he married in 1880, Lehr led a very hospitable home in Dresden. The book started in 1883, which has been preserved in its partial estate in the Bavarian State Library in Munich, bears the jocular title GRAND HOTEL Lehr. A host of prominent names from the arts and culture can be found here among the entries of the visitors, among many others, Hans Thoma, Max Klinger, Heinrich Vogeler, Koloman Moser or Käthe Kollwitz and over again Emil Orlik. Amazing are the many entries from dancers of the time, including Grete Wiesenthal and her sisters, Clotilde von Derp, Sent M'Ahesa, Gertrude Hawk or Mary Wigman.
Max Lehr died 1938 and was buried in Urnenhain Tolkewitz.
Contributions to the artistic photography
Lehr began in 1899 with the establishment of a separate department of artistic photography because he had realized that this is the most important new method for generating artistic portraits was since the development of the different printing techniques in the 16th century and thus counted in the museum's collection of an art museum. By committing the Dresden Print Room was the first public art collection in Germany, which brought photography to the collection object.
Contributions to the artistic dance
His friendship with Hugo Erfurth is directly related to Lehrs ' promotion of modern artistic dance. Lehr wrote several essays on dancers such as the Wiesenthal sisters and worked even as impresario for them. The fourth annual exhibition from October to December 1913 and the accompanying catalog he dedicated to the theme of dance and dancer.