Wilhelm Gottlieb Becker


Wilhelm Gottlieb Becker was a German art historian, numismatist, and author.

Biography

He received an early education in Gera, then studied law at Leipzig. Following graduation, he taught classes at the Philanthropinum in Dessau, and for several years traveled abroad, during which time, he visited Strasbourg, Basel, and Zurich. He became a professor at the Ritterakademie in Dresden in 1782. In 1795 he was appointed director of the Dresden Gallery of Antiques, and of the Coin Cabinet, and in 1805 he was also entrusted with the directorship of the celebrated Grünes Gewölbe.

Works

His chief work was Taschenbuch zum geselligen Vergnügen. He was also the author of Erholungen, Augusteum, Dresdens antike Denkmäler enthaltend, with 162 engravings, Zweihundert seltene Münzen des Mittelalters, and a large number of popular handbooks of art.
He edited the Encomium moriae of Erasmus, and published the works of Holbein.

Family

His son Wilhelm Adolf Becker was a noted classical scholar.