Michael Wenzel

Dr. Michael Wenzel is a distinguished researcher at the Herzog August Library in Wolfenbüttel, Germany, where he has served since 2017 as internal project manager for the DFG long-term project 'Annotated digital edition of the travel and collection descriptions of Philipp Hainhofer (1578-1647).' His career spans multiple prestigious German cultural institutions, including the Winckelmann Museum Stendal (2004-2008), where he eventually held a leadership position, and the Herzog Anton Ulrich Museum Braunschweig (2002-2004). Earlier, he worked as a research and teaching assistant at the University of Jena (2000-2001) while completing his doctoral studies.

Dr. Wenzel's research focuses on the intersections of art, travel, and diplomacy in early modern Europe, with particular expertise in collection history, material culture, gender perspectives in portrait art, 18th-century art theory (especially Winckelmann), and early modern garden art. His scholarly approach combines traditional art historical methods with digital humanities, as demonstrated by his current work creating a comprehensive digital edition of Philipp Hainhofer's writings.

His recent publications reveal a sustained engagement with early modern cultural networks, object mobility, and cross-cultural exchange. Rather than focusing on isolated artworks, Dr. Wenzel examines how art functioned within broader social, political, and diplomatic contexts—particularly how objects moved across borders through gift exchange, trade, and plunder. His work on Philipp Hainhofer has established him as a leading authority on this important intermediary figure who connected courts, collections, and cultural practices across 17th-century Europe.

Dr. Wenzel's scholarly contributions include numerous monographs, edited volumes, and over fifty articles spanning from 1999 to 2025. His 2020 monograph 'Philipp Hainhofer. Trading in Art and Politics' represents a significant contribution to understanding art entrepreneurship in the early modern period. He has also edited important collections such as 'Ekphrasis und Residenz' (2023) and 'Das Meer in der Kammer' (2024), demonstrating his leadership in interdisciplinary scholarship.

His research has been consistently supported by the German Research Foundation (DFG), including membership in the network 'Material Culture and Consumption in Early Modern Europe' (2012-2016) and multiple project grants focused on Hainhofer's work. Dr. Wenzel maintains an active presence in academic discourse through conference participation, exhibition catalog contributions, and scholarly reviews, reflecting his commitment to engaging with both academic and public audiences.

Based at the Herzog August Library, Dr. Wenzel leads the digital research project on Philipp Hainhofer, which serves as both a scholarly resource and a model for digital humanities applications in art historical research. The project website (https://hainhofer.hab.de/) provides open access to transcriptions, commentaries, and contextual materials related to Hainhofer's extensive writings on art collections and travel experiences across early modern Europe.