Matthias Steinhart (born 17 April 1966 in

Freiburg im Breisgau Freiburg im Breisgau or simply Freiburg is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fourth-largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, Mannheim and Karlsruhe. Its built-up area has a population of abou ...

) is a German Classical archaeologist.

Life and work

After attending the humanistic Scheffel-Gymnasium in

Lahr Lahr (officially Lahr/Schwarzwald since 30 September 1978) (); ) is a city in western Baden-Württemberg, Germany, approximately 50 km north of Freiburg, Freiburg im Breisgau, 40 km southeast of Strasbourg, and 95 km southwest of Ka ...

, Matthias Steinhart studied classical archaeology, Greek

philology Philology () is the study of language in Oral tradition, oral and writing, written historical sources. It is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics with strong ties to etymology. Philology is also de ...

, and ancient history at

Bonn University The University of Bonn, officially the Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn (), is a public research university in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the () on 18 October 1818 by Frederick Will ...

and

Würzburg University Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is, after Nuremberg and Fürth, the third-largest city in Franconia located in the north of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. It spans the banks of the Main r ...

from 1985 to 1994 (from 1998 with a

scholarship A scholarship is a form of Student financial aid, financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, Multiculturalism, diversity and inclusion, athleti ...

from the

Studienstiftung The German Academic Scholarship Foundation (German: , or ''Studienstiftung'' for short) is Germany's largest and most prestigious scholarship foundation. According to its statutes, it supports "the university education of young people who, on ac ...

). In 1990 he received his masters and in 1994 he achieved a doctorate with the dissertation "Das Motiv des Auges in der griechischen Bildkunst" (The Motif of the Eye in Greek Art," supervised by

Erika Simon Erika Simon (27 June 1927 – 15 February 2019) was a German scholar of classical archaeology and professor emeritus of the University of Würzburg. She was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 2002. Simon died in February 2019 at the ...

. From the middle of 1998 until the middle of 2000, Steinhart was employed by the

Freiburg University The University of Freiburg (colloquially ), officially the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg (), is a public university, public research university located in Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The university was founded in 1 ...

ancient history department on

Hans-Joachim Gehrke Hans-Joachim Gehrke, in full ''Hans-Joachim Günter Adolf Gehrke'', (born October 28, 1945, in Salzgitter-Lebenstedt) is a German historian of ancient and classical antiquity. He was president of the German Archaeological Institute from 2008 to ...

and Eckhard Wirbelauer's research project "Antiken von Ithaka – ein imaginäres Museum" (Antiquities of

Ithaca Ithaca most commonly refers to: *Homer's Ithaca, an island featured in Homer's ''Odyssey'' *Ithaca (island), an island in Greece, possibly Homer's Ithaca *Ithaca, New York, a city, and home of Cornell University and Ithaca College Ithaca, Ithaka ...

: an imaginary museum). After this he was employed by the same institution for two more years, as a member of sub-project B 1 "Römisch-imperiale und regionale Identitäten und ihr Wechselspiel im östlichen Imperium Romanum" (Roman Imperial and Regional Identities and their Interaction in the

Eastern Roman Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

), part of special research area 541 "Identitäten und Alteritäten. Die Funktion von Alterität für die Konstitution und Konstruktion von Identität" (Identities and Otherings. The Function of Othering for the Constitution and Construction of Identity). Steinhart investigated Pausanias and the cultural identity of Greece in Roman times. During this period, he completed his

habilitation Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in Germany, France, Italy, Poland and some other European and non-English-speaking countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excelle ...

in 2001 at Freiburg University. From 2002 to 2005, Steinhart was a research assistant, from 2005 to 2006 was a member of the academic council, and since 2006, has been a

Privatdozent ''Privatdozent'' (for men) or ''Privatdozentin'' (for women), abbreviated PD, P.D. or Priv.-Doz., is an academic title conferred at some European universities, especially in German-speaking countries, to someone who holds certain formal qualifi ...

at the Archaeological Institute of Freiburg University. Since 1 January 2008, Steinhart has been conservator at the

Staatliche Antikensammlungen The Staatliche Antikensammlungen (, ''State Collections of Antiquities'') is a museum in Munich's Kunstareal holding Bavaria's collections of antiquities from Ancient Greek art, Greece, Etruscan art, Etruria and Roman art, Rome, though the sculpt ...

and

Glyptothek The Glyptothek () is a museum in Munich, Germany, which was commissioned by the Bavarian King Ludwig I of Bavaria, Ludwig I to house his collection of Ancient Greek art, Greek and Roman art, Roman sculptures (hence γλυπτο- ''glypto-'' "sculp ...

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 ...

. On 26 August 2008 he received his Umhabilitation from

Munich University The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich, LMU or LMU Munich; ) is a public university, public research university in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Originally established as the University of Ingolstadt in 1472 by Duke ...

. Since 1 December 2011, he has held the chair of Classical Archaeology at Würzburg University. In addition, he is in charge of the antiquities collection of the university's

Martin von Wagner Museum The Martin von Wagner Museum contains the art collection of the University of Würzburg and has been located in the south wing of the Würzburg Residence since 1963. It is among the largest university museums in Europe. History Franz Joseph F ...

. In 2014, he was made a member of the

Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities The Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities () is an independent public institution, located in Munich. It appoints scholars whose research has contributed considerably to the increase of knowledge within their subject. The general goal of th ...

Selected writings

* ''Das Motiv des Auges in der griechischen Bildkunst'' (The Motif of the Eye in Greek Art), von Zabern,

Mainz Mainz (; #Names and etymology, see below) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, and with around 223,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 35th-largest city. It lies in ...

1995 (= Dissertation) * ''Töpferkunst und Meisterzeichnung. Attische Wein- und Ölgefässe aus der Sammlung Zimmermann'' (Ceramic Art and Masters' art: Attic Wine and Oil amphorae in the Sammlung Zimmermann), von Zabern, Mainz 1996 * with

Friedhelm Hoffmann Friedhelm is a name of Germanic origin. It may refer to: *Friedhelm Busse (1929–2008), German national socialist politician and activist *Friedhelm Döhl (born 1936), German composer and professor of music * Friedhelm Eronat (born 1953), Geneva-b ...

, ''Tiere vom Nil'' (Animals of the

Nile The Nile (also known as the Nile River or River Nile) is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa. It has historically been considered the List of river sy ...

), Reichert, Wiesbaden 2001 (Ägyptische Terrakotten in Würzburg (Schenkung Gütte), Heft 1) * with Eckhard Wirbelauer: ''Aus der Heimat des Odysseus. Reisende, Grabungen und Funde auf Ithaka und Kephallenia bis zum ausgehenden 19. Jahrhundert'' (From the Homeland of Odysseus. Travels, Excavations, and Discoveries from Ithaka and Kephallenia to the end of the Nineteenth Century), van Zabern, Mainz 2002 ( Kulturgeschichte der antiken Welt, Vol. 87) * ''Die Kunst der Nachahmung. Darstellungen mimetischer Vorführungen in der griechischen Bildkunst archaischer und klassischer Zeit'' (The Art of Imitation. Depictions of Actors in Greek Art of the Archaic and Classical Periods), von Zabern, Mainz 2004 (= Habilitationsschrift) * ''Bilder der virtus. Tafelsilber der Kaiserzeit und die großen Vorbilder Roms: Die Lanx von Stráže'' (Images and Virtues. Table Silver of the Imperial period and the Great Models of Rome: The Lanx of Stráže). Steiner, Stuttgart 2009 (Collegium Beatus Rhenanus, Band 2)

External links

*
Biographic profile, University of Würzburg

"Das merkwürdige Wesen Mensch"
- Profile, University of Würzburg {{DEFAULTSORT:Steinhart, Matthias Living people 1966 births Staatliche Antikensammlungen Scholars of ancient Greek pottery Academic staff of the University of Freiburg Academic staff of the University of Würzburg Martin von Wagner Museum Members of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences