Dr. Paul Mellenthin
Assistant Professor
Room 09 (Entry on the right side of building)
+49 (0)7071 29-78783
paul.mellenthinspam prevention@uni-tuebingen.de
Office hours will be announced later
Curriculum vitae
- Since July 2023: Postdoctoral Associate at the Department of Art History, University of Tübingen.
- 2023: Lecturer at the Universität der Künste, Berlin, and at the Kunsthochschule Weißensee, Berlin.
- 2022–2023: Postdoctoral Research Position in the art historical research project “Images of History in Contemporary Art" and Lecturer at the University of Potsdam.
- July 2022: Ph.D. in Art History from the University of Basel, awarded the Science Prize by the Society for Interdisciplinary Image Studies (GiB) in the category of dissertations.
- 2021: Fellowship, Academic Society (FAG), Basel.
- 2021: Research Fellowship, German Center for Art History, Paris.
- 2020: Lecturer at the University of Basel.
- 2018–2020: Head of Collection, Jacques Herzog und Pierre de Meuron Kabinett, Basel.
- 2018–2020: Associate Curator, Kunstmuseum Basel.
- 2016–2018: Ph.D. Scholarship, eikones – Center for the Theory and History of the Image, Basel.
- 2016: Library Research Grant, Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles.
- 2016: Research Assistant, Bibliotheca Hertziana – Max Planck Institute for Art History, Rome.
- 2015–2017: Assistant Curator, Photography Collection, Münchner Stadtmuseum.
- 2009–2015: Studies in Art History in Leipzig, Berlin, Paris, and Rome.
Research Interests
- Theory and history of photography
- Artistic historiography
- Media archaeology and history
Publications
Edited Volumes
- "Kritik der Autorschaft. Die soziale Ordnung der Fotografie" ("Critique of Authorship. Towards a Social Order of Photography"), special issue of Fotogeschichte (no. 167), Vienna: Jonas Verlag 2023. With contributions from Svetlana Alpers, Nadya Bair, Megan Luke, Douglas R. Nickel and Steffen Siegel.
- "Exposure Time: Photographs from the Collection Ruth and Peter Herzog", ed. with Olga Osadtschy, Basel: Christoph Merian Verlag 2020. With contributions from Katja Petrowskaja, Peter Geimer, Eva Ehninger, Steve Edwards, Kelley Wilder, Vanessa R. Schwartz, Jan von Brevern, Martina Baleva, Valentin Groebner, Katja Müller-Helle and Michael Hagner.
DE: "Belichtungszeit. Fotografien der Sammlung Ruth und Peter Herzog." Basel: Christoph Merian Verlag 2020. - "Adolphe Braun. Ein europäisches Photographieunternehmen und die Bildkünste im 19. Jahrhundert" ("Adolphe Braun. A Photographic Enterprise and the Arts in the Nineteenth Century"), ed. with Ulrich Pohlmann, Munich: Schirmer/Mosel 2017. With contributions from Bernd Stiegler, Christian Kempf, Jan von Brevern, Marie Robert, Aziza Gril-Mariotte and Dorothea Peters.
FR: Adolphe Braun. Une entreprise photographique européenne au 19e siècle. Munich: Schirmer/Mosel 2018.
Articles
- „Gefangen im Augenblick. Fotografie und historische Repräsentation“ ("Caught in the Moment: Photography and Historical Representation"). In: 1870/71. Der Deutsch Französische Krieg in transnationaler, regionaler und interdisziplinärer Perspektive, edited by Alma Hennig, Christian Meierhofer, and Georg Mölich, Bonn 2024, 243-271.
- "Paris in Ruinen" ("Paris in Ruins"). In: Lost Cities, ed. by Martin Zimmermann, Munich: De Gruyter 2023, 199–216.
- "The Dilemma of Photography. Photojournalism, History, and the Paris Commune." In: Documentary Genealogies. Photography 1848–1917, ed. by Jorge Ribalta, Madrid 2022, 209–217.
- "Besser als das Original: Die Revolution der photographie au charbon" ("Better than the Original: The Revolution of the photographie au charbon"). In: Faktizität und Gebrauch früher Fotografie, ed. by Tatjana Bartsch, Ralf Bockmann, Paul Pasieka and Johannes Röll, Wiesbaden 2021, 193–204.
- "Back to the Beginning – Introduction." In: Exposure Time: Photographs from the Collection Ruth and Peter Herzog, ed. with Olga Osadtschy, Basel 2020, 224-235.
- "The Minutoli Model Collection and its Purpose." In: Paragons Afterimages. Photographs from the Berlin University of the Arts 1850–1930, ed. by Ulrich Pohlmann and Dietmar Schenk, Cologne 2020, 35–40.
- "C’est terrible, mais c’est beau ! Photographien nach dem Deutsch-Französischen Krieg 1870/71" ("C’est terrible, mais c’est beau ! Photography after the Franco-German War 1870/71"). In: Adolphe Braun. Photographic Enterprise and the Arts in the Nineteenth Century, München 2017, 254-281.
- "Das photographische Museum" ("The Photographic Museum"). In: Adolphe Braun. Photographic Enterprise and the Arts in the Nineteenth Century, with Dorothea Peters, Munich 2017, 297–309.
- "Thinker". In: Fendry Ekel. Entries, ed. by Astrid Honold, Amsterdam 2016, 110–119.
Reviews, Critiques, Miscellanea
- „Was bleibt, wenn die Evidenz scheitert? Images of the Present. 30 Jahre Dokumentarfotografie Förderpreise der Wüstenrot Stiftung“ ("What Remains When Evidence Fails? Images of the Present. 30 Years of Documentary Photography Awards by the Wüstenrot Foundation"). In: Camera Austria 165, 2024, 84–86.
- „Über die Emergenz künstlerischer Historiografie: Eva Kernbauer, Art History, and Anachronic Interventions since 1990“ ("On the Emergence of Artistic Historiography: Eva Kernbauer, Art History, and Anachronic Interventions since 1990"). In: Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte, 2.2024, 290-296.
- „Productive Archiving: Artistic Strategies, Future Memories, and Fluid Identities“. In: Critique d’art 61, 2023, 181-182.
- „Traces de guerre“ ("Traces of War"). In: Critique d’art 61, 2023.
- "All New Photography Centre at the V&A". In: Camera Austria 164, 2023, 75–76.
- "Zur Gegenwart der Bilder. Katja Petrowskaja: Das Foto schaute mich an" ("The Presence of Images. Katja Petrowskaja: The Photo looked at me"). In: Fotogeschichte 166, 2023, 68–70.
- "Über die Informationstechnologie Fotografie. Image Capital" ("On Photography as Information Technology. Image Capital"). In: Camera Austria 160, 2022, 66–67.
- "Der Mensch bleibt verborgen. Irmel Kamp: Architekturbilder" ("Humans Remain Hidden. Irmel Kamp: Images of Architecture"). In: Camera Austria 159, 2022, 82–83.
- "Moderne Zeiten: Industrie im Blick von Malerei und Fotografie" ("Modern Times. Industry in Painting and Photography"). In: Camera Austria 156, 2021, 85–87.
- "Ins Bewusstsein gepikst. RAY 2021 Ideologien" ("Surfaced. RAY 2021 Ideologies"). In: Camera Austria 155, 2021, 67–69.
- "Die Sonne um Mitternacht schauen: Gegenwartskunst aus dem Lenbachhaus und der KiCo Stiftung" ("Looking at the Sun at Midnight. Contemporary Art from the Lenbachhaus and the KiCo Foundation"). In: Camera Austria 153, 2021, 85–87.
- "Weltgeschichte als ein Fluss mit vielen Ufern. Aby Warburg: Bilderatlas Mnemosyne – Das Original" ("World History as a River with many Banks. Aby Warburg: Mnemosyne Bilderatlas – The Original"). In: Camera Austria 152, 2020, 82–83.
- "What is Vernacular Photography? Imagining Everyday Life." In: Camera Austria 150/151, 2020, 144–145.
- "New Photography Centre at the V&A. Collecting Photography: From Daguerreotype to Digital." In: Camera Austria 142, 2019.
- "Zeigen und/oder beweisen? Die Fotografie als Kulturtechnik und Medium des Wissens" ("To Show and/or to Proof. Photography as a Cultural Technique and Medium of Knowledge"). In: Camera Austria 140, 2017.
- "Harry Graf Kessler. Porträt eines europäischen Kulturvermittlers" ("Harry Graf Kessler. Portrait of a European Culture Ambassador"). In: Etudes Germaniques 4, 2016.
- "Wissenschaftliche Bildproduktion als Gegenstand bildhistorischer Betrachtungen" ("Scientific Image Production as an Object in Visual Studies"). In: Rundbrief Fotografie 23, 2015, 52–56.
Presentations
Lectures, Conference Contributions
- “Die kleinen Leute” (The Little People), lecture as part of the exhibition “Nora Mertes. Greifen und Loslassen”, November 23 - December 19, 2023, Saarländische Galerie, Berlin.
- "Nadar's 'Livre d'Or'. Art Historical Perspectives", Lecture at the University of Konstanz, December 5, 2023.
- "Monumental Shifts: Revisiting the Exhibition 'Archive Fever'", as part of the conference "After the Archive: Artwork and Document", University of Barcelona, October 23-25, 2023.
- "Illustrations for Art History? The Rise of the Art Publishing House 'Braun & Cie'", as part of the conference "Image Economy: Photography as Commodity and Material of Art History around 1900", Zentralinstitut für Kunstgeschichte, Munich, November 5, 2022.
- "Picturing War 1870/71", accompanying event to the exhibition "Reichsgründung in Versailles. Ort – Ereignis – Gedächtnis", Otto-von-Bismarck-Stiftung Friedrichsruh, August 3, 2021.
- "Contemporary Forms of the Past. On the Relationship between Photographs and Ruins", Lecture in the lecture series "The Franco-German War 1870/71 – Interdisciplinary Perspectives," University of Bonn, July 13, 2021.
- "Reading Ruins. Paris Before and After 1871", as part of the conference "Lost Cities – Perception of and Living with Abandoned Cities in World Cultures," Historisches Kolleg München, March 19, 2021.
- "The Photo Albums of the Paris Commune", Research Colloquium, University of Lausanne, March 2, 2021.
- "Photography between Germany and France in 1870", as part of the conference "Siege Paintings (1870–1871)," Sorbonne Nouvelle University Paris 3, February 15, 2021.
- "Censorship and Circulation: The Disappearance of the Paris Commune", as part of the conference “States of Seeing”, University of Basel, June 7, 2019.
- "The Minutoli Model Collection and its Purpose", as part of the conference "Paragons Afterimages. Photographs from the Berlin University of the Arts 1850–1930," Museum für Fotografie, Berlin, May 16, 2019.
- "Writing Art Histories with Photographs", as part of the conference "Visuality, Materiality, and Knowledge Production since the 16th Century", University of Bern, April 20, 2018.
- "C’est terrible, mais c’est beau ! Photographs after the Franco-German War 1870/71", as part of "Paris – Urban, Institutional, and Artistic Site of Photography," German Center for Art History, July 6, 2017.
- "Form, Colour, Materiality: Indexicality and Early Reproductions of Art", as part of the conference "Phenomena of Indexicality beyond Universalist Paradigms", University of Basel, May 13, 2017.
- "Better than the Original: The Revolution of the photographie au charbon", as part of the conference "Factuality and Utilization of Early Photography", Bibliotheca Hertziana – Max-Planck-Institut für Kunstgeschichte, Rome, March 23, 2017.
- "Adolphe Braun, his practice of reproduction and the intervention of art history", as part of the conference "Photographic Plates, Manufacture and Distribution of Knowledge", University of Strasbourg, March 17, 2016.
Panel Discussions
- "On »Homeland in Transit«. Contemporary Art in Hong Kong", with Angelika Li, Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, July 21, 2023.
- "The Photo looked at me", with Katja Petrowskaja, Kunsthochschule Weißensee, July 5, 2023.
- Moderation of the artist talk with Zuzanna Skiba, Peter Klare, David Richter, and Sigrid Melchior as part of the exhibition “Tasty Painting”, Deutscher Künstlerbund e.V., Berlin, November 24, 2022.
- "Hong Kong: Art in Crisis", with Angelika Li, Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, June 5, 2022.
- "The Future of Photography", with Josef Helfenstein and Esther Baur, Moderation: Estelle Blaschke, Kunstmuseum Basel, September 30, 2020.
- "Landscape Painting in the Era of Photography", with Florian Illies and Andreas Beyer, Galerie Knöll, Basel, November 23, 2018.
Organized Events
- "Archive, Non-Archive, Counter-Archive", Workshop, Brandenburgisches Zentrum für Medienwissenschaften (ZeM), Potsdam.
- "Photography – Theory, History, Aesthetics", Lecture Series, Seminar for Media Studies, University of Basel.
- "In the Shadow of Images", Lecture Series, eikones – Center for the Theory and History of the Image, University of Basel.
Teaching
University of Tübingen
- 2024/5 Seminar "Fotografie und historische Praxis" (Photography and Historical Practice), in collaboration with Robert Pursche, Department of History.
- 2024/5 Seminar "Harun Farocki”.
- 2024 Seminar "Theorie der Fotografie" (Theory of Photography).
- 2024 Seminar "Foreigners Everywhere”.
- 2024 7-day excursion to Venice, co-led with Steffen Zierholz.
- 2023/24 Seminar "Nadars livre d’or. Eine fotografische Kunst- und Kulturgeschichte von Paris" (Nadar's Livre d'or: A Photographic Art and Cultural History of Paris), in cooperation with Bernd Stiegler and Karl Philipp Ellerbrock, University of Konstanz.
- 2023/4 Propaedeuticum Architecture.
Weißensee Academy of Art Berlin
- 2023/4 Seminar "Ruins of History”.
- 2023 Seminar "Archival Art".
Berlin University of the Arts
- 2023 Seminar "Design History after 1945".
University of Potsdam
- 2022/3 Excursion to Madrid "Models of Patronage", co-led with Melanie Franke.
- 2022/3 Seminar "Introduction to Art History Methods”.
- 2022 Seminar "Behind the Camera. The Photographer Marie Goslich (1859–1939)", in collaboration with Rahel Schrohe, Kunstverein Potsdam.
- 2022 Excursion to Padua and Florence "Narrative in Renaissance Art", co-led with Melanie Franke.
University of Basel
- 2020 Seminar "Unpacking the Archive: The Herzog Photographic Collection", in collaboration with Olga Osadtschy.
Collaborations
Exhibitions
- “Nora Mertes. Greifen und Loslassen” (Nora Mertes. Grasping and Letting Go), November 23 - December 19, 2023, Saarländische Galerie, Berlin.
- "The Incredible World of Photography. Ruth and Peter Herzog Collection", in collaboration with Olga Osadtschy, Kunstmuseum Basel, 2020.
- "L'évasion photographique - Adolphe Braun", in collaboration with Ulrich Pohlmann, Raphaël Mariani, Casey Ackermann, Musée Unterlinden Colmar, February 17 - May 14, 2018.
- "Adolphe Braun. A European Photography Enterprise and the Arts in the 19th Century", in collaboration with Ulrich Pohlmann, Münchner Stadtmuseum, October 6, 2017 – January 21, 2018.
- "100 Years of Bibliotheca Hertziana in Rome. From Artist's House to Research Institute of the Max Planck Society", in collaboration with Andreas Thielemann and Carina Bauriegel, Guest Exhibition of the Bibliotheca Hertziana Rome at the Gallery at the Reading Room of the Saxon State Library – State and University Library Dresden (SLUB), January 18 - April 21, 2013.
Films
- "1870/71: Photographs of a Forgotten War", in collaboration with Grit Lederer, Documentary, 2020, Production: Kinescope Film for arte, 52 min.
- "Photographs for Ludwig II: Bavaria in the War of 1870/71", in collaboration with Grit Lederer, BR Fernsehen, 2020, 43 min.
Memberships
- Spectrum – Photography in Switzerland.
- Association of Art Historians in Switzerland.
- Member of the Global Art Archive (University of Barcelona).
- Editorial Board ArtHist.net