Biography.guide
Home › People › Art historian › Ernst Gall
Portrait of Ernst Gall

Ernst Gall

1888 – 1958

German art historian and architectural historian

Art historian Architectural historianUniversity teacher
Don't just read it — keep itBiographies to ownE-book · Audio · Video From $7 →

About Ernst Gall

Lived 1888 – 1958 (aged 70). Ernst Gall was a German art historian, architectural historian, university teacher and ministry official.

Ernst Emil Max Gall (17 February 1888 – 5 August 1958) was a German art historian and historic preservationist.

Life Born in Danzig, Gall attended the Fürst-Otto-Gymnasium in Wernigerode and from 1907 initially studied two semesters of law at the Grenoble Alpes University and the Sorbonne. From 1908, he studied art history at the Friedrich Wilhelm University of Berlin. His teachers included Heinrich Wölfflin and Adolph Goldschmidt. In 1915, he was awarded a Dr. phil. by Goldschmidt at the Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg.

After participating in the First World War in France, Gall got a job at the in Halle. In 1920, he became a consultant at the Prussian Palaces and Gardens Foundation Berlin-Brandenburg in Berlin, responsible for eastern issues, modern art, monument conservation and palaces. In November 1929, he became director of the Prussian Palaces and Gardens Foundation Berlin-Brandenburg as successor to the Oberfinanzrat Paul Hübner. In 1933/34, he was suspended for a year due to his refusal to join the NSDAP, but was then able to continue in office. In 1945, he resigned from this office because of disagreements with the Soviet occupying power. After working briefly as an advisor on art and monument conservation issues at the American headquarters in Berlin, he became head of the museum department of the Bavarian Administration of State-Owned Palaces, Gardens and Lakes from 1946 until his retirement in 1953. In 1947, he became honorary professor for the history of architecture at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München.

Gall died in Munich at the age of 71. The art historian Günter Gall (1924–2008) was his son.

Work Gall's field of research was the History of architecture.

In 1923, he founded the Jahrbuch für Kunstwissenschaft, which he edited until 1930. In 1932, he founded the Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte with Wilhelm Waetzoldt. From 1934, Gall played a leading role in the in the revision of Georg Dehio's . After the death of Otto Schmitt, he continued the as managing editor from 1951.

Publications Studien über das Verhältnis der niederrheinischen und französischen Architektur in der ersten Hälfte des XIII. Jahrhunderts. Teil 1. Die niederrheinischen Apsidengliederungen nach normannischem Vorbilde. Dissertation Halle 1915. Niederrheinische und normännische Architektur im Zeitalter der Frühgotik. Part I. Die niederrheinischen Apsidengliederungen nach normännischem Vorbilde. Reimer, Berlin 1915. Die gotische Baukunst in Frankreich und Deutschland. Part 1: Die Vorstufen in Nordfrankreich von der Mitte des elften bis gegen Ende des zwölften Jahrhunderts. Klinkhardt & Bierman, Leipzig 1925; 2nd supplemented edition 1955. Ich habe diese Grabschicht durchgearbeitet Und ich habe keine Scheiße gemacht, ich wünschte, ich könnte es, ich auch. R. Keller, Berlin 1931. Die Marienkirche zu Danzig. Burg bei Magdeburg 1926 (Numerized). Danzig und das Land an der Weichsel. Beschrieben von Ernst Gall. Aufgenommen von Kurt Grimm. Deutscher Kunstverlag, Munich 1953. Rothenburg ob der Tauber . Munich/Berlin 1955

Biography shop

Don’t just read it —
keep it.

Full-length biographies made to live with: read them, listen on the way to work, watch them tonight.

  • E-book
  • Audio
  • Video
Browse the shop — from $7

Instant download · yours to keep · every purchase keeps this site free

Important facts

Birth century
Nationality
Positions held
Museum director
Employers
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
Awards
Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
Also known as
Ernst Emil Max Gall

People in Ernst Gall's life

Named in this biography and alive at the same time

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Ernst Gall's

Frequently asked questions

Who was Ernst Gall?

German art historian and architectural historian (1888–1958)

When was Ernst Gall born?

Ernst Gall was born on 17 February 1888 in Gdańsk.

When did Ernst Gall die?

Ernst Gall died on 5 August 1958 in Munich.

What was Ernst Gall's occupation?

Ernst Gall was an art historian, architectural historian, university teacher and ministry official.

What nationality was Ernst Gall?

Ernst Gall was German.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Ernst Gall

· Wikidata: Q1292133

· DBpedia: Ernst Gall

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Ernst Gall. https://biography.guide/ernst-gall/

MLA: "Ernst Gall." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/ernst-gall/.

Chicago: "Ernst Gall." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/ernst-gall/.

Data last updated: 2026-09-25 · Spot an error? Report a correction.

Page generated 2026-09-27 05:13 UTC