Hermann Theodor Hettner

Hermann Julius Theodor Hettner (March 12, 1821 – May 29, 1882), was a German literary historian and museum director. Biography He was born at Leisersdorf (Uniejowice), near Goldberg (Złotoryja), in Silesia. At the universities of Berlin, Halle and Heidelberg he concentrated on the study of philosophy, but in 1843 turned his attention to aesthetics, art and literature. In order to progress with these studies, he spent three years in Italy, and, on his return, published a Vorschule zur bildenden Kunst der Alten (1848) and an essay on Die neapolitanischen Malerschulen. He became Privatdozent for aesthetics and the history of art at Heidelberg in 1847 where he associated he became acquainted with the philosopher Ludwig Feuerbach , the Dutch scientist Jacob Moleschott and the Swiss poet Gottfried Keller. While at Heidelberg, Hettner married Marie von Stockmar, daughter of statesman Christian Friedrich, Baron Stockmar. From this marriage, three children emerged, including the German archaeologist . After the publication of his volume Die romantische Schule in ihrem Zusammenhang mit Goethe und Schiller (1850), Hettner accepted a call as professor to the University of Jena where he lectured on the history of both art and literature. There he produced the book Das moderne Drama (1852). This work, which was shaped by correspondence with Keller, was greatly influential on major 19th-century Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen who read it shortly after its publication during a trip to Copenhagen and Dresden. Hettner's argument for the psychological treatment of character being most important as a model for contemporary plays was one of the formative experiences in Ibsen's career.