Rudolf Eitelberger

Rudolf Eitelberger, full name Rudolf Eitelberger von Edelberg (17 April 1817 in Olomouc, Moravia – 18 April 1885 in Vienna) was an art historian and the first Ordinarius (full professor) for art history at the University of Vienna. He is considered as the founder of the Vienna School of Art History.

Eitelberger, the son of a military officer, studied law and the Romance languages at University of Olomouc. From 1839 through 1848 he was a lecturer in philology at the University of Vienna. In the meantime he educated himself in the history of art, mounting an exhibit of old master paintings in 1846 and serving as a Privatdozent (private lecturer) in art history.

Eitelberger was a committed reformist throughout the Vormärz, and during the events of 1848 served as the editor of the Wiener Zeitung, a pro-revolutionary literary journal. He was particularly concerned with the role of art history in the education of artists; also in 1848 he published a polemic against the pedagogical methods of Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller, at that time director of the Academy of Fine Arts. After the failure of the revolution, in 1850, Eitelberger delivered a series of lectures on art history, the first of which was entitled "Die Bildungsanstalten für Künstler und ihre historische Entwicklung" ("Institutions for the education of artists and their historical development").

Eitelberger's activities attracted the attention of the Austrian Minister for Religion and Education, Count Leopold Thun-Hohenstein, who attempted to secure him a position as professor of art history at the University. However, Eitelberger's theories and political activity remained controversial, and his appointment was initially vetoed by Emperor Franz Joseph. Thun resumbitted his petition, and on 5 November 1852 Eitelberger was named Professor für Kunstgeschichte und Kunstarchäologie (Professor of the History of Archhaeology of Art) at the University of Vienna. He thus became one of the first professors of art history in Europe. Gustav Friedrich Waagen had been appointed to a similar chair at the Humboldt University of Berlin in 1844, and the appointment of Eitelberger may have represented a Habsburg attempt to keep pace with the cultural policies of Prussia.

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