Background
He was the son of painter Fritz Rumpf (1856–1927).
anthropologist archaeologist art historian university professor
He was the son of painter Fritz Rumpf (1856–1927).
He studied classical archaeology at the University of Leipzig under Franz Studniczka (1860-1929), earning his doctorate with a dissertation on the murals in Veii, titled "Die Wandmalereien in Veji".
He was a specialist of ancient Greek and Roman art, in particular, vase painting and Greek wall painting. In 1923 he received his habilitation at Leipzig with a thesis on Chalkidiki vases. From 1928 to 1960 he was a professor of classical archaeology at the University of Cologne.
He was editor of the "Griechische und römische Kunst" (1932, part of the Einleitung in der Altertumswissenschaft series).