Various authors (Dromel, Lorenz, Petersen, Wechssler, Pinder, Drerup, Mannheim, and so on) have addressed the theme of the generations, but it is Ortega y Gasset who must be recognized for having established in his theory of generations the key to understanding the intrinsic movement of the historical process. (31) 

In: Historiological Discussions, Silo, 

Chapter 3: History and Temporality, 3.2 Horizon and Temporal Landscape

Wilhelm Pinder (1878 - 1947)

Topics

Art history of the Middle Ages and Baroque

• Pinder's research focused on European art from the Middle Ages to the Baroque, with a particular focus on German topics

• He received his doctorate in 1903 on Romanesque architecture

• and wrote fundamental works on medieval architecture.

Generation research and periodisation

• Pinder developed a generation-specific approach to the periodisation of art history in his influential essay ‘Art History by Generations’ (1926). His book, published in 1926, was referred to by sociologists as different as Ortega y Gasset and Karl Mannheim.

• He coined concepts such as the ‘contemporaneity of the un-contemporary’ - the coexistence of different generations and styles.

German studies and völkisch art history

• During the Nazi era, Pinder increasingly adopted völkisch-nationalist positions

• He sought to identify the ‘essence’ of specifically German art and its ‘special achievements’.

Interdisciplinarity and morphology

• Pinder promoted interdisciplinary exchange, for example in the journal ‘Die Gestalt’ with contributions from chemistry and botany

• He built on Goethe's morphology and theory of forms and applied them to art history.

While Pinder was initially regarded as a brilliant medieval and baroque scholar, under National Socialism he increasingly turned to völkisch theories and a nationalist art history. However, his generation-specific approach remained influential.

Major works

1. ‘Art History by Generations’ (1926)

2. This influential essay is considered Pinder's central work, in which he developed a generation-specific approach to the periodisation of art history. He coined concepts such as the ‘contemporaneity of the un-contemporaneous’ - the coexistence of different generations and styles.

1. Studies on medieval architecture

2. Pinder's 1903 doctoral thesis on Romanesque architecture in Normandy, as well as further works on medieval, particularly German, architecture, formed one research focus

1. ‘Spirit of German Castles’ (1939)

2. This work is an example of Pinder's turn towards völkisch art history and ‘Deutschtumskunde’ (the study of German cultural identity) during the Nazi era, in which he sought the ‘essence’ of specifically German art

1. book series ‘Von Wesen und Werden deutscher Formen’ (from 1935). In this series, Pinder deepened his search for national characteristics and ‘special achievements’ of German art, albeit with certain concessions to racial thinking.

Influence

Pinder trained two generations of art historians and thus had a long-lasting influence not only through his publications, but also through his intensive teaching. It was only decades after his death that his fervent support of National Socialism was seriously questioned.

Pinder's 1926 essay ‘Art History by Generations’ is considered his central work, in which he first developed a generation-specific approach to the periodisation of art history. These ideas had a lasting influence on further generational research.