(Johann Jakob) Wilhelm Heinse (16 February 1746,

Langewiesen Langewiesen is a town and a former municipality in the Ilm-Kreis district, in Thuringia, Germany. Since July 2018, it is part of the town Ilmenau. It is situated on the river Ilm, 4 km southeast of Ilmenau Ilmenau () is a town in Thuring ...

Schwarzburg-Sondershausen Schwarzburg-Sondershausen was a small principality in Germany, in the present day state of Thuringia, with its capital at Sondershausen. History Schwarzburg-Sondershausen was a county (earldom) until 1697. In that year, it became a principal ...

– 22 June 1803), German author, was born at

(now in

Thuringia Thuringia (; officially the Free State of Thuringia, ) is one of Germany, Germany's 16 States of Germany, states. With 2.1 million people, it is 12th-largest by population, and with 16,171 square kilometers, it is 11th-largest in area. Er ...

). After attending grammar school at Schleusingen he studied law at

Jena Jena (; ) is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in Germany and the second largest city in Thuringia. Together with the nearby cities of Erfurt and Weimar, it forms the central metropolitan area of Thuringia with approximately 500,000 in ...

and

Erfurt Erfurt () is the capital (political), capital and largest city of the Central Germany (cultural area), Central German state of Thuringia, with a population of around 216,000. It lies in the wide valley of the Gera (river), River Gera, in the so ...

. In Erfurt he became acquainted with Wieland and through him with "Father" Gleim who in 1772 procured him the post of tutor in a family at

Quedlinburg Quedlinburg () is a town situated just north of the Harz mountains, in the Harz (district), district of Harz in the west of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. As an influential and prosperous trading centre during the early Middle Ages, Quedlinburg becam ...

. In 1774, he went to

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants, seventh-largest city ...

, where he assisted the poet JG Jacobi in editing the periodical ''Iris''. Here the famous picture gallery inspired him with a passion for art, to the study of which he devoted himself with so much zeal and insight that Jacobi furnished him with funds for a stay in Italy, where he remained for three years (1780–1783). He returned to Düsseldorf in 1784, and in 1786 was appointed reader to the elector Frederick Charles Joseph, archbishop of Mainz, who subsequently made him his

librarian A librarian is a person who professionally works managing information. Librarians' common activities include providing access to information, conducting research, creating and managing information systems, creating, leading, and evaluating educat ...

at Aschaffenburg, where he died. The work upon which Heinse's fame mainly rests is ''Ardinghello und die glückseligen Inseln'' (1787), a novel which forms the framework for the exposition of his views on art and life, the plot being laid in the Italy of the 16th century. This and his other novels ''Laidion, oder die eleusinischen Geheimnisse'' (1774) and ''Hildegard von Hohenthal'' (1796) combine the frank voluptuousness of Wieland with the enthusiasm of the "

Sturm und Drang (, ; usually translated as "storm and stress") was a proto-Romanticism, Romantic movement in German literature and Music of Germany, music that occurred between the late 1760s and early 1780s. Within the movement, individual subjectivity an ...

." Both as novelist and art critic, Heinse had considerable influence on the romantic school.

Works

*''Sinngedichte'' (1771) *''Die Kirschen'' (1773) *''Laidion, oder die eleusinischen Geheimnisse'' (1774) *''Ardinghello und die glückseligen Inseln'' (1787) *''Hildegard von Hohenthal'' (1796) *''Anastasia und das Schachspiel'' (1803)

Translations

*''Begebenheiten des Enkolp, aus dem Satirikon des

Petronius Gaius Petronius Arbiter"Gaius Petronius Arbiter"
Britannica.com. (; ; ; s ...

'' (1773) *'' Das befreite Jerusalem von

Torquato Tasso Torquato Tasso ( , also , ; 11 March 154425 April 1595) was an Italian poet of the 16th century, known for his 1591 poem ''Gerusalemme liberata'' (Jerusalem Delivered), in which he depicts a highly imaginative version of the combats between ...

'' (in prose, 1781) *'' Roland der Wüthende, ein Heldengedicht von Ludwig Ariost dem Göttlichen'' (in prose, 1782)

Editions

Heinse's complete works (''Sämtliche Schriften'') were published by

Heinrich Laube Heinrich Laube (18 September 1806 – 1 August 1884), German dramatist, novelist and theatre-director, was born at Szprotawa, Sprottau in Prussian Silesia. Life He studied theology at university of Halle, Halle and university of Breslau, Breslau ...

in 10 volumes (Leipzig, 1838). A newer version edited by Carl Schüddekopf is in 13 volumes (Leipzig, 1903–1925).

Literature

Heinrich Pröhle Christoph Ferdinand Heinrich Pröhle (June 4, 1822 – May 28, 1895) was a German literary historian, teacher ('' Oberlehrer''), writer and folk tale and fairy tale collector (a successor to the Brothers Grimm). Disambiguation of Heinrich The giv ...

, ''Lessing, Wieland, Heinse'' (Liebel, Berlin, 1877) *Johann Schober, ''Johann Jacob Wilhelm Heinse, sein Leben and seine Werk'' (Wilhelm Friedrich, Leipzig, 1882) *Karl Detlev Jessen, ''Heinses Stellung zur bildenden Kunst'' (Mayer & Müller, Berlin, 1903). *Manfred Dick, ''Der junge Heinse in seiner Zeit'' (Wilhelm Fink, München, 1980) *Rita Terras, "Wilhelm Heinse", in James Hardin & Christoph E Schweitzer (eds.), ''Dictionary of Literary Biography'', vol. 94: ''German Writers in the Age of Goethe: Sturm und Drang to Classicism'', , pp. 67–71 *Charis Goer
''Ungleiche Geschwister. Literatur und die Künste bei Wilhelm Heinse''
(Wilhelm Fink, München 2006).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heinse, Johann Jakob Wilhelm 1746 births 1803 deaths People from Langewiesen People from Schwarzburg-Sondershausen 18th-century German novelists Writers from Thuringia University of Jena alumni University of Erfurt alumni German male novelists 19th-century German writers 19th-century German male writers 18th-century German male writers