Karl Gottlieb Wilhelm Bötticher (29 May 1806, Nordhausen – 19 June 1889, Berlin) was a German archaeologist who specialized in architecture.
He was born in Nordhausen. He studied at the Academy of Architecture in Berlin, and was afterwards appointed an instructor in the School of Design of the Industrial Institute there. In 1844, he was appointed a professor of tectonics (architectonics) at the Academy of Architecture.[1]
In 1853, he received his doctorate from the University of Greifswald, and later worked as a lecturer at the University of Berlin (until 1862). In 1868, he was appointed director of the sculpture department at the Berlin Museum.[1]
His chief work is the "Tektonik der Hellenen" (Architectonics of the Greeks; 1844–52), a contribution to the study of Ancient Greek architecture. In this work Bötticher suggested splitting the architectural form into a structural "core-form" (German: Kernform) and decorative "art-form" (German: Kunstform). Art-form was supposed to reflect the functionality of the core-form: for example, rounding and tapering of the column should suggest its load-bearing function.
Others of his works are: