---
type: entity
title: THEORIA Research Group
tags: [research-group, romanticism, northern-europe]
related: [kilian-heck, pommerschen-landesmuseum-greifswald, christoph-mueller-collection]
created: 2026-07-13
updated: 2026-07-13
sources: ["output_cdfi/cdfi_uni_greifswald_de_kunstgeschichte_forschung_forschungsprojekte_lehrstuhl_pr.md"]
---

# THEORIA Research Group

The **THEORIA Research Group** is an academic initiative led by [[kilian-heck]] that investigates the painting of Romanticism in Northern Europe, focusing on its transcultural connections and reception.

## Research Objectives
The group aims to expand traditional Romanticism research by focusing on:
- **Transnational Exchange:** The movement of ideas and styles between artists in Denmark, Germany, and England.
- **The "Topos of the North":** Analyzing how a specific Northern visual identity was constructed after 1800 using motifs like fog, snow, and oaks as a counter-model to Southern/Renaissance art.
- **Long-term Reception:** Tracking the continuity of Romantic reception into the 20th century, including the ideological appropriation of "Northern Art" by National Socialist historians to create racist interpretations.

## Key Collaborations
- **Pommerschen Landesmuseum Greifswald:** Primary partner, specifically utilizing the [[christoph-mueller-collection]].
- **International Partners:** Includes the Kunstmuseum Bornholm (Denmark), the DFG Graduate School "Baltic Borderlands," and the Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg.

## Core Team
- **Prof. Dr. Kilian Heck**
- **Dr. Jana Olschewski**
- **Dr. Birte Frenssen**
- **Nico Anklam M.A.**
- **Christel Bair M.A.**
