Hemming Windfeld-Hansen was the son of the Danish painter Knud Windfeld-Hansen (1883–1966) and the Norwegian painter Elna Arbo Winfeld (1884–1957) (Windfeldt Kaiser 1979: Nos 1252, 1602; Winfeld 1975). Windfeld-Hansen spent decades compiling extensive material on monuments from the Roman era and Late Antiquity. He had a special interest in centrally planned structures and approached ancient and late-antique architecture with a strong interest in structural aspects and technical questions (see Windfeld-Hansen 2017).
Windfeld-Hansen engaged with Norwegian academic circles focused on the study of antiquity, including the Norwegian Institute in Rome, and was involved in its operations from the very beginning (L’Orange 1969: 30). Several of his studies on ancient and late-antique architecture, typically written in French or Italian, were featured in ACTA, the journal of the Norwegian Institute in Rome (Windfeld-Hansen 1965, 1969). He played a key role in the Augustus conference at the institute in 1982, where, alongside Erik Østby (1925–2025), he guided participants through the emperor’s house (Kraggerud 1988: 61). He also participated in several interdisciplinary conferences on antiquity at the Norwegian Institute in Athens, including one on Pausanias and another on theatre (Songstad 1991: 14; Berg 1995: 28).
In the period 1968–1971, he donated a series of three Flemish seventeenth-century tapestries, which he inherited from his parents, to Akershus Castle, where they are still preserved. Additionally, he had in his possession a series of letters by Camilla Collett (1813–1895), which he lent to the National Library in Oslo for duplication; the whereabouts of the original letters remain unknown (Collett 2021).
Windfeld-Hemming’s research archive and library mirrored his research interests, focusing on centrally planned structures. He arranged his study material systematically by building typology, including descriptions, bibliographical references, and drawings. In 2017, the Norwegian Institute in Rome chose to acquire his books on architecture, art history, and late antiquity, as well as key works on Renaissance architects such as Andrea Palladio.
Part of his archive, consisting of drawings and documents, is now housed at the Library of the Friedrich Schiller University of Jena.
Fondo Hemming Windfeld-Hansen: 590 volumes.
Bibliography
Selected works
Windfeld-Hansen, Hemming. “Centrally Planned Structures.” In The Eerdmans Encyclopedia of Early Christian Art and Archaeology, edited by Corbey Finney, 289–93. Eerdmans, 2017.
———. “Le cimitière de Prétextat. Héxaconque funéraire de l’area sub divo.” Publications de l’École Française de Rome 311, no. 1 (2003): 711–25.
———. “Les couloirs annulaires dans l’architecture funéraire antique.” Acta ad archaeologiam et artium historiam pertinentia 2 (1965): 35–63.
———. “L’hexaconque funéraire de l’area sub divo du cimetière de Prétextat à Rome.” Acta ad archaeologiam et artium historiam pertinentia 4 (1969): 61–93.
———. “Via Appia, edificio funerario al IV miglio (proprietà Lugari).” Publications de l’École Française de Rome 311, no. 1 (2003): 735–46.
Secondary literature
Berg, Mette Heuch. “Athen-seminaret 16. - 23. september 1995.” Klassisk Forum 1 (1996): 26–30.
Collettt, Camilla. Brev 1863–64. Edited by Mette Refslund Witting and Marius Wulfsberg. Vol. 2/6. NB kilder. Nasjonalbiblioteket, 2021.
Kraggerud, Egil. “Roma i tekst Ill: Et rom i Augustus’ hus.” Klassisk Forum 1 (1988): 61–67.
L’Orange, Hans Peter. 1969. ‘Roma og det norske Roma-institutt’. In Det norske institutt i Roma for arkeologi og kunsthistorie. Institutum Romanum Norvegiae (...) Instituttets innvielsesfest i eget hus 13. og 15 oktober 1962, 24–31. [Universitetet i Oslo].
Songstad, Jan. “Det 4. norske tverrfaglige seminar for antikkforskere i Athen 4.-9. mai 1991.” Klassisk Forum 2 (1991): 13–15.
Windfeld, Elna Arbo. Minder fra Gulskoven: til min søn Hemming. Windfeld-Hansen, 1975.
Windfeldt Kaiser, Mary. Slægten Windfeld. Dansk Historisk Håndbogsforlag, 1979.