Josef M. (Josef Maria) Ritz

Born on January 2, 1892, in Drosendorf near Bamberg, Josef Maria Ritz studied art history in Würzburg, Munich, and Fribourg, and earned his doctorate in 1917. He went on to work in museums and monument preservation, building a career that linked scholarship with the practical work of caring for historic buildings and artworks.

Ritz became especially known as a specialist in folk art, regional material culture, and religious art. He later served as director of the Bavarian State Office for Monument Preservation, and his writing reflects both deep historical knowledge and a clear interest in the lives of ordinary people as expressed through furniture, devotional objects, and traditional craftsmanship.

He died on June 25, 1960, in Hohenaschau. Today he is remembered not only as an art historian, but also as a careful interpreter of vernacular culture whose books help preserve the texture of older rural and ecclesiastical life.