Helmut Ruhemann

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

, (b. 1891 – d. 1973) was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

painting conservator and restorer, considered the pre-eminent of his profession during his lifetime.

Early life and education

He was born in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

and studied at

Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( ; ; ; South Franconian German, South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, third-largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, after its capital Stuttgart a ...

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

and Paris.

Career

He was instrumental both in the promotion and utilisation of x-rays as an art historical toolHelmut Ruhemann
. fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk. Retrieved 6 March 2016 and was progressive in his efforts to clean old master paintings in a faithful manner that did not impede on original brushstrokes or outlines. He contributed to the progression of both art history and conservation through his making available his detailed notes and photographs. One of his most celebrated restorations is that of

Rogier van der Weyden Rogier van der Weyden (; 1399 or 140018 June 1464), initially known as Roger de le Pasture (), was an Early Netherlandish painting, early Netherlandish painter whose surviving works consist mainly of religious triptychs, altarpieces, and commis ...

's '' Saint Luke Drawing the Virgin'', a task he undertook with extreme caution, as it pitted him against Max J. Friedlander, whom he faced down in his approach but who, in the end, was complimentary towards him.Hand; Spronk, 53 He left Germany for England in 1933, following a depreciating political climate in the

Third Reich Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictat ...

which led to his being sacked from his post at the Kaiser Fredrich Museum because he was Jewish. He worked as Art Restorer for the

National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of more than 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current di ...

, London from 1934, and spent part of the war in Wales and at the

Tate Gallery Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the UK ...

from 1939. Ruhemann is especially noted for the copious notes, detailed letters exchanged with other art historians and the many photographs he kept of his restorative undertakings, all of which greatly broaden our understanding of art historical thinking in the early to mid 20th. century. His workshop in

Golden Square Golden Square, in Soho, the City of Westminster, London, is a mainly hardscaped garden square planted with a few mature trees and raised borders in Central London flanked by classical office buildings. Its four approach ways are north and so ...

Soho SoHo, short for "South of Houston Street, Houston Street", is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Since the 1970s, the neighborhood has been the location of many artists' lofts and art galleries, art installations such as The Wall ...

is the site of the first London

Stolperstein A (; plural ) is a concrete cube bearing a brass plate inscribed with the name and life dates of victims of Nazi extermination or persecution. Literal translation, Literally, it means 'stumbling stone' and metaphorically 'stumbling block'. ...

stone, marking the workplace of

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

victim Ada von Dantzig who studied restoration with Ruhemann.

Notes

Sources

* Hand, John Oliver; Metzger, Catherine; Spronk, Ron. ''Prayers and Portraits: Unfolding the Netherlandish Diptych''. National Gallery of Art (U.S.), Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten (Belgium), 2006. CT: Yale University Press. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ruhemann, Helmut 1891 births 1973 deaths Conservator-restorers German art historians People from Berlin Emigrants from Nazi Germany to the United Kingdom People associated with the National Gallery, London Commanders_of_the_Order_of_the_British_Empire