author
Ludwig Kaemmerer
1862–1938
A German art historian and museum director whose books opened up the lives and work of major painters for a wide audience. Writing in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, he helped turn art history into something curious readers could enjoy as well as scholars study.
1 Audiobook
Chodowiecki
by Ludwig Kaemmerer
About the author
Born in Danzig on November 11, 1862, Ludwig Kaemmerer became a German art historian after studying in Berlin, Munich, and Leipzig, where he completed his doctorate under Anton Springer in 1886. Early in his career he gained practical museum experience in Berlin, and his scholarly interests centered on European painters and printmakers.
Kaemmerer is especially remembered for writing illustrated studies of artists such as Hans Memling, Hubert and Jan van Eyck, and Daniel Chodowiecki. His books were designed to make art and artists more accessible, combining research with a readable style that suited both general readers and serious students.
He also held important museum posts, serving as director of the Kaiser Friedrich Museum in Posen from 1903 to 1919 and later leading the art collections in Coburg from 1921 to 1931. He died in Coburg on June 12, 1938.