Content uploaded by Peter Wenk
Author content
All content in this area was uploaded by Peter Wenk on Aug 19, 2017
Content may be subject to copyright.
Biography of Hermann Weber (21.11.1899 - 18.11.1956)
Abstract
The scientific work of Hermann Weber concerned insect morphology and ecology. In his academic career, between 1928 and 1954 he had been appointed to two professorships and four chairs in zoology. He tried to explain the function of organ systems through three dimensional reconstructions. His design of the basic structure of the main groups of insects remained valid up today. He compared the evolutionary diversity of organisms with the causal determination of all life processes.
Scientific illustrations of Hermann Weber are still used in the entomological standard literature and have played a significant role in the success of his work. All his textbooks were illustrated by himself and he created outstanding line drawings of anatomic structures. He reconstructed his aesthetic representations mainly on the basis of histological section series. In the 19th century there came stereotypes made of zinc into use, which in combination with new photographic reproduction methods formed the condition to transmit Hermann Weber's unique illustration style into print.