- Heinrich Zimmer
Heinrich Zimmer (1890 - 1943) was an
Indologist and historian ofSouth Asia n art. He was born inGreifswald ,Germany .Zimmer began his career studying
Sanskrit andlinguistics at theUniversity of Berlin where he graduated in 1913. Between 1920-24 he lectured at theUniversity of Greifswald , moving to Heidelberg to fill the Chair of Indian Philology.In 1938 he was dismissed by the Nazis, and he emigrated to
England where between 1939-40 he taught atBalliol College ,Oxford . In 1942 he moved toNew York to accept a Visiting Lecturer position inPhilosophy atColumbia University . One of his students during this time period wasJoseph Campbell . He died there, of pneumonia, the following year (1943).Zimmer's method was to examine religious images using their sacred significance as a key to their psychic transformation. His use of (
India n) philosophy and religious history to interpret art was at odds with traditional scholarship. His vast knowledge ofHindu mythology and philosophy (particularlyPuranic and Tantric works) gave him insights into the art, insights that were appreciated byJoseph Campbell among others. Campbell edited many of Zimmer's writings after his death. The psychiatristCarl Jung also developed a long-standing relationship with Zimmer, and incidentally edited a volume of Zimmer's entitled Der Weg zum Selbst (the two men first met in 1932, after which Zimmer, along withRichard Wilhelm , became one of the few male friends of Jung). Zimmer is credited by many for the popularizing ofSouth Asia n art in the West.He married in 1929 Christiane, daughter of
Hugo von Hofmannsthal .Works
*"Kunstform und Yoga im Indischen Kultbild" ("Artistic Form and Yoga in the Sacred Images of India" [1926] ;Translated and edited by Gerald Chapple, James B. Lawson and J. Michael McKnight [1984] )
*"Maya: Der Indische Mythos". (1936)
*"Myths and Symbols in Indian Art and Civilization". Edited by Joseph Campbell. (1946)
*"Hindu Medicine."Edited by Ludwig Edelstein.(1948)
*"The King and the Corpse: Tales of the Soul's Conquest of Evil". Edited by Joseph Campbell. (1948)
*"Philosophies of India". Edited by Joseph Campbell. (1953)
*"The Art of Indian Asia, its Mythology and Transformations". Completed and edited by Joseph Campbell. (1955)
*"Heinrich Zimmer : Coming Into His Own". Edited by Margaret H Case. (1994)Quotes
*"The radio station WOB, Wisdom of the Buddha, is broadcasting all the time: all we need is a receiving set."
*"The only man who gives me a genuine inferiority complex is Ananda K. Coomaraswamy."
References
* Duke University Library
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