author
Alfred Köppen
1869–1940
A German art historian who wrote clear, accessible books about modern painting and the imagery of the devil and hell in art. His work suggests a scholar eager to make difficult visual ideas understandable to general readers.
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About the author
Alfred Köppen was a German art historian born in 1869 and deceased in 1940. Library and authority records identify him specifically as a Kunsthistoriker, and they also preserve the titles of the works for which he is best known.
Among his noted books are Die moderne Malerei in Deutschland (1902) and Der Teufel und die Hölle in der darstellenden Kunst von den Anfängen bis zum Zeitalter Dante's und Giotto's. In the preface to Die moderne Malerei in Deutschland, he explains that he wanted to present the development and character of modern painting in Germany in a concise, understandable way, using plain language rather than academic showiness.
That combination of art-historical knowledge and reader-friendly explanation gives his work much of its appeal today. He seems to have written for curious non-specialists as much as for scholars, helping readers approach both contemporary German art and older religious imagery with confidence.