Prof. Dr. Joachim Poeschke
Director of the Institute for History of Art
Münster University (Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster)

The art historical investigation will be combined with the planned studies of the polychromy of the sculptures and the research of the section of building archaeology. The results of these three projects will establish a new and more reliable basis to deal with those art historical problems surrounding Naumburg Cathedral which have been discussed controversially up to the present day.
These problems concern the function and the interpretation of the sculptural ensemble as well as its position within the context of Europe’s cultural history and the history of art. One can divide them into three groups: the artistic profile of the Naumburg Master and his workshop, the statues of the founders, and the west rood screen and its reliefs. A fourth issue, which in recent research has been only touched upon marginally, is the investigation of the sculptures’ polychromy. At the beginning, and in addition to dealing with these issues, it is necessary to look into the current state of research and to review critically the bibliography, especially focussing on the increasingly ideological view of the Naumburg Master and his works between 1914 and 1945.
Two PhD projects are planned within the history of art section. The first dissertation will focus on the statues of the founders and their position within medieval sculpture. The second will investigate the west rood screen. The results of the study of the Naumburg masterpieces must be interpreted and evaluated not only in a regional art historical and historical context, but, due to their importance, within a wider European art historical and cultural context. Within this, the project also plans to contribute to the research of the transfer of art and culture from France to Germany in the 13th century.