Waagen, Gustav Friedrich

Waagen, Gustav Friedrich (b Hamburg, 11 Feb. 1794; d Copenhagen, 15 July 1868).
German art historian. He made his name with a book on the van Eycks, published in 1822, and in 1832 he was appointed director of the newly founded Gemäldegalerie in Berlin. In 1844 he became the first holder of a university chair in art history when he was made professor at Berlin University. Waagen had a great reputation as a connoisseur, and on his travels he wrote compendious notes on works of art he saw in public and private collections. These formed the basis for various publications that are a mine of information, including Works of Art and Artists in England (3 vols., 1838) and, most notably, Treasures of Art in Great Britain (3 vols., 1854), which was translated by Lady Eastlake; a supplementary volume entitled Galleries and Cabinets of Art in Great Britain was published in 1857. See also Jameson.