Weiler, Clemens

Art historian

Born: 18.09.1909 in Tübingen

died: 01.08.1982 in Stuttgart

Weiler studied art history, modern history and German studies in Munich, Paris, Vienna, Frankfurt am Main and Marburg and completed his doctorate under Richard Hamann on the Baroque master builder Franz Ignaz Michael von Neumann.

In 1936, he joined the Wiesbaden Museum as a trainee, after which he worked at museums in Montabaur, Herborn, Königstein and Diez. After his return from captivity as a prisoner of war, he was in charge of the exhibitions at the Central Collecting Point in Wiesbaden. He put together the museum's first post-war exhibition from his own collections in February 1950. The following exhibitions, among others, bear witness to his lively exhibition activities: "Ludwig Knaus" (1951), "Kunst am Rhein" (1953), "Mensch und Ding im Bild" (1954), "Couleur vivante - lebendige Farben" (1957) and "Kunst und Altertum" (1958).

Weiler's main interest in art history was the painter Alexej von Jawlensky and the establishment of a collection of the artist's works. Weiler published the first catalog of Jawlensky's works and wrote numerous publications on the artist. He also expanded the department of 19th century painting as a further focal point. He ensured that all directions of modern painting were represented in exemplary fashion. In addition, he equipped the Picture Gallery with one of the most important German Tachist collections, but also devoted himself to local art and cultural history.

After his retirement in 1975, he moved to Stuttgart.