Christoph Luitpold Frommel, Renaissance architecture scholar, dies at 92
Christoph Luitpold Frommel, a distinguished German architectural historian, passed away at the age of 92 on February 11 in Rome. He was born in Heidelberg in 1933 and would have celebrated his 93rd birthday on September 25. After obtaining his doctorate in Munich, Frommel worked at the Bibliotheca Hertziana in Rome. His pivotal 1973 publication, 'Römischer Palastbau der Hochrenaissance,' is considered a fundamental text. He served as a professor at the University of Bonn from 1968 to 1980 and led the Bibliotheca Hertziana from 1981 to 2001. With over 300 publications, he explored topics such as Villa Farnesina and Palazzo della Cancelleria. In 2001, he received an honorary chair from Sapienza University and was granted honorary citizenship by Rome in 2019.
Key facts
- Christoph Luitpold Frommel died on February 11 in Rome at age 92.
- He was born in Heidelberg in 1933 and would have turned 93 on September 25.
- He earned his doctorate in Munich under Hans Sedlmayr.
- His 1973 book 'Römischer Palastbau der Hochrenaissance' is a foundational text.
- He taught at the University of Bonn (1968–1980) and was visiting professor at Berkeley and Princeton's Institute for Advanced Study.
- He directed the Bibliotheca Hertziana in Rome from 1981 to 2001.
- He authored over 300 writings on the Italian Renaissance.
- He discovered the early Christian basilica of San Lorenzo in Damaso while researching Palazzo della Cancelleria.
- He compiled a corpus of about 2,000 drawings by Antonio da Sangallo the Younger.
- He received honorary citizenship from Rome in 2019 and an honorary chair from Sapienza in 2001.
Entities
Artists
- Christoph Luitpold Frommel
- Hans Sedlmayr
- Baldassarre Peruzzi
- Antonio da Sangallo the Younger
- Caravaggio
- Cardinal Del Monte
- Borromini
- Bernini
- Poussin
- Raphael
- Giulio Romano
- Wolfgang Lotz
- Tristan Weddigen
Institutions
- Bibliotheca Hertziana
- University of Bonn
- University of California, Berkeley
- Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton
- Max Planck Society
- Palazzo Zuccari
- Sapienza University
- Accademia di San Luca
- Accademia dei Lincei
- British Academy
- Istituto di Studi Romani
Locations
- Heidelberg
- Germany
- Rome
- Italy
- Munich
- Bonn
- Berkeley
- California
- Princeton
- New Jersey
- Tiber River
- Palazzo della Cancelleria
- San Lorenzo in Damaso
- Villa Farnesina