Viktoria Schmidt-Linsenhoff


Viktoria Schmidt-Linsenhoff was a German art historian and professor with particular research interest in the fields of gender studies and postcolonial studies.

Early life and education

Viktoria Schmidt-Linsenhoff was born August 21, 1944 in Cottbus.
She studied Art History, Classical Archeology and Modern German Literature. In 1973, she received her doctorate from Erich Hubala at the University of Kiel with a thesis on Guido Reni. A one-year apprenticeship enabled her to become a curator in the painting and graphic collection of the Historical Museum, Frankfurt.

Research and career

From 1986 to 1991, Schmidt-Linsenhoff was co-editor of the art journal Kritische Berichte. In 1990, she did a substitute professorship at the University of Oldenburg, and in 1992, a collaboration at the Institute of Cultural Studies Essen. Schmidt-Linsenhoff became Professor of Art History at the University of Trier with a focus on women's research from 1992 until her retirement in 2008.
From 2001 to 2004, Schmidt-Linsenhoff initially took on the Käthe Leichter Visiting Professorship at the University of Vienna before teaching at the University of Cotonou in Benin. This was followed by a stay in the United States as a visiting professor at Dartmouth College. The Center for Postcolonial and Gender Studies was founded at University of Trier on her initiative in 2005 and she remained on its advisory board until her death. It institutionalized interdisciplinary research, which now also includes the course "Intercultural Gender Studies". Schmidt-Linsenhoff research projects included:
In 2008, together with her partner, the filmmaker Dieter Reifarth, she directed the film The Court. This is a documentary about the farm of the Senegalese artist Joe Ouakam, known as Issa Samb.
She died February 14, 2013 in Frankfurt.

Filmography