Dr Hans Hones

Biography

Hans is a historian of 18th and 19th-century art and historiography, with a particular interest in themes such as the history of classical receptions, the search for the ‘origins’ of art, and art and climatology.

He studied art history at the universities of Würzburg and Munich, where he completed his doctorate in 2013, with a thesis on 18th-century antiquarianism and the search for the origins of art. Prior to joining Aberdeen in 2020, he worked as a lecturer at the Courtauld Institute and has held teaching and research positions at The Warburg Institute and UCL, among others.

He has published extensively on the history of antiquarianism (Kunst am Ursprung. Das Nachleben der Bilder und die Souveränität des Antiquars (Bielefeld: transcript, 2014)), late 19th-century German art historiography (Wölfflins Bild-Körper. Ideal und Scheitern kunsthistorischer Anschauung (Zurich/Berlin: diaphanes, 2011; Aby Warburg. Fragmente zur Ausdruckskunde, co-ed. (Berlin/Boston: de Gruyter, 2015)), and art history and migration (Migrating Histories of Art. Self-Translations of a Discipline, co-ed. (Berlin/Boston: de Gruyter, 2019).

Prizes and Awards

Paul Mellon Centre Research Collections Fellowship 2021/22

Current Research

Hans' current research focuses on the role of environmental discourses for Neoclassical and Romantic art and art theory. Hans is particularly interested in the reception of Johann Joachim Winckelmann’s climate theory in 18th and 19th-century art and archaeology, and its consequences for neoclassical geographies of art, culture, and the “Greek ideal”. He also maintains an active interest art historiography, particularly the work of Aby Warburg. In 2021/22, he holds the Paul Mellon Centre's "Research Collection Fellowship", with a project on art historiography in 20th century Britain.

Among his most recent and forthcoming publications are an edited collection, Modern Lives - Modern Legends. Artist Anecdotes since the 18th century (with Anna Frasca-Rath) – published as a special section of the Journal of Art Historiography (December 2020), as well as essays on Art Historiography in 19th-century Britain (for Zeitschrift fur Kunstgeschichte), and on catastrophism and climaology in architectural theory (for Architectural History).

He is currently pursuing two monographic book projects:

— A new biography of Aby Warburg (under contract with Reaktion Books)

— A book on climatology, landscape, and catastrophism in early 19^th century European art