We were deeply saddened to learn of the death of our long-time colleague Prof. Dr. Rudolf H. W. Stichel. With his passing, Technische Universität Darmstadt loses an archaeologist who shaped the field of Classical Archaeology in the Department of Architecture for more than four decades.

Rudolf H. W. Stichel studied Classical Archaeology at the universities of Berlin and Tübingen. In 1975, he completed his doctorate under Ulrich Hausmann with a seminal dissertation on The Roman Imperial Statue at the End of Antiquity – a study regarded as an important reference for Late Antique portrait art. After positions at the Badisches Landesmuseum Karlsruhe and on the Kerameikos excavation of the German Archaeological Institute in Athens, he joined TU Darmstadt in 1979, where he served as research associate, later as academic councillor, and ultimately as adjunct professor. His habilitation thesis (1990) focused on The Ancient Monuments of Constantinople in Early Modern Testimonies – a work that masterfully combined philological, topographical, and iconographic approaches.

In his research, Rudolf Stichel combined precise knowledge of the material evidence with a deep interest in the intellectual, political, and religious contexts of ancient and especially Late Antique art. His scholarly focus lay on Roman sculpture and on the art and architecture of Late Antiquity and Early Byzantium. His studies on Constantinople, particularly on Justinian’s Hagia Sophia, opened new perspectives on the relationship between architecture, ritual, and imperial representation.

His publications – including numerous contributions to the renowned Byzantinische Zeitschrift, Istanbuler Mitteilungen, and Architectura – were distinguished by meticulous source work, methodological precision, and stylistic clarity. In recent years, he increasingly dedicated his research to questions of light, perception, and liturgical staging in the Hagia Sophia.

Rudolf Stichel was marked by great erudition and scholarly thoroughness, always combined with collegial modesty. Those who worked with him valued his encyclopedic knowledge and his subtle sense of humor.

With his passing, Technische Universität Darmstadt loses a scholar of high academic authority and a respected colleague. His name will remain closely connected with the study of ancient and Byzantine art and culture.

His work and his personality will live on in our memory.