Cecil Gould
Encyclopedia
Cecil Hilton Monk Gould was a British art historian and curator
who specialised in Renaissance
painting. He was a former Keeper and Deputy Director of the National Gallery
in London.
, the restorer of John Harrison
’s chronometers, and Muriel Estall. Gould was educated at Kingswood House preparatory school
, near Epsom, and then at Westminster School
. After leaving school he studied at the Courtauld Institute. During the Second World War he served as Pilot Officer
Gould in R.A.F. Intelligence
, first in Egypt
from 1941 to 1943, and then in Normandy
, France
. After the war he joined the National Gallery staff in 1946, and worked there until his retirement in 1987. He was Keeper and Deputy Director for the last five years of his tenure. He was a prolific author, publishing many books and articles during his career.
In 1970, Gould established that the National Gallery’s portrait of Pope Julius II
was the original by Raphael
and not a copy, as had previously been thought. He was also responsible for a new attribution of a work by Michelangelo
.
In his last years Gould lived with his sister Jocelyne Stacey in the village of Thorncombe
, West Dorset
. He developed a brain tumour and after a short illness, died on 7 April 1994. Gould never married and was survived by Jocelyne. A collection of Gould's large format black and white photographs of Islamic architecture in Cairo, taken during World War II, have been donated to the RIBA
library.
Curator
A curator is a manager or overseer. Traditionally, a curator or keeper of a cultural heritage institution is a content specialist responsible for an institution's collections and involved with the interpretation of heritage material...
who specialised in Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
painting. He was a former Keeper and Deputy Director of the National Gallery
National Gallery, London
The National Gallery is an art museum on Trafalgar Square, London, United Kingdom. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The gallery is an exempt charity, and a non-departmental public body of the Department for Culture, Media...
in London.
Life
Born in 1918, Gould was the son of Rupert GouldRupert Gould
Rupert Thomas Gould , was a Lieutenant Commander in the British Royal Navy noted for his contributions to horology .-Life:...
, the restorer of John Harrison
John Harrison
John Harrison was a self-educated English clockmaker. He invented the marine chronometer, a long-sought device in solving the problem of establishing the East-West position or longitude of a ship at sea, thus revolutionising and extending the possibility of safe long distance sea travel in the Age...
’s chronometers, and Muriel Estall. Gould was educated at Kingswood House preparatory school
Kingswood House School
Kingswood House School is a preparatory school in Epsom, Surrey in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1899 and moved to its present site in West Hill in 1920. It caters for boys aged 3 to 13 years and girls aged 3 to 7 years. The School is a member of the Independent Association of Preparatory...
, near Epsom, and then at Westminster School
Westminster School
The Royal College of St. Peter in Westminster, almost always known as Westminster School, is one of Britain's leading independent schools, with the highest Oxford and Cambridge acceptance rate of any secondary school or college in Britain...
. After leaving school he studied at the Courtauld Institute. During the Second World War he served as Pilot Officer
Pilot Officer
Pilot officer is the lowest commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countries. It ranks immediately below flying officer...
Gould in R.A.F. Intelligence
RAF Intelligence
Intelligence services in the Royal Air Force is delivered by Officers of the Royal Air Force Operations Support Intelligence Branch and Airmen from the Intelligence Analyst Trade and Intelligence Analyst Trade...
, first in Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
from 1941 to 1943, and then in Normandy
Normandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. After the war he joined the National Gallery staff in 1946, and worked there until his retirement in 1987. He was Keeper and Deputy Director for the last five years of his tenure. He was a prolific author, publishing many books and articles during his career.
In 1970, Gould established that the National Gallery’s portrait of Pope Julius II
Portrait of Pope Julius II (Raphael)
Portrait of Pope Julius II is an oil painting attributed to Italian painter Raphael. This painting of Pope Julius II, who was a popular subject for Raphael and his students, was unusual for its time and would carry a long influence on papal portraiture...
was the original by Raphael
Raphael
Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino , better known simply as Raphael, was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. His work is admired for its clarity of form and ease of composition and for its visual achievement of the Neoplatonic ideal of human grandeur...
and not a copy, as had previously been thought. He was also responsible for a new attribution of a work by Michelangelo
Michelangelo
Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni , commonly known as Michelangelo, was an Italian Renaissance painter, sculptor, architect, poet, and engineer who exerted an unparalleled influence on the development of Western art...
.
In his last years Gould lived with his sister Jocelyne Stacey in the village of Thorncombe
Thorncombe
Thorncombe is a village and civil parish in west Dorset, England, situated on the borders of Somerset and Devon, five miles south east of Chard. The civil parish has a population of 714 , and 8.4% of dwellings are second homes.-Geography:...
, West Dorset
West Dorset
West Dorset is a local government district and parliamentary constituency in Dorset, England. Its council is based in Dorchester. The district was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, and was a merger of the boroughs of Bridport, Dorchester and Lyme Regis, along with...
. He developed a brain tumour and after a short illness, died on 7 April 1994. Gould never married and was survived by Jocelyne. A collection of Gould's large format black and white photographs of Islamic architecture in Cairo, taken during World War II, have been donated to the RIBA
Riba
Riba means one of the senses of "usury" . Riba is forbidden in Islamic economic jurisprudence fiqh and considered as a major sin...
library.
Partial bibliography
- The Sixteenth Century Venetian School 1959 (National Gallery Catalogue Series)
- The Sixteenth Century Italian Schools (excluding the Venetian) 1962 (National Gallery Catalogue Series)
- The last two were revised and combined as: The Sixteenth Century Italian Schools 1975 (National Gallery Catalogue Series) ISBN 978-0-947645-22-9
- Michaelangelo: Battle of Cascina 1966 University of Newcastle Upon Tyne
- Titian 1969 Hamlyn
- (with Martin DaviesMartin DaviesSir Martin Davies CBE FBA FSA was a British museum director and civil servant.Davies read mathematics and modern languages at Cambridge University. He first joined the staff of the National Gallery, the institution to which he was to devote his career, as an attaché in 1930...
) French School: Early 19th Century Impressionists, Post-Impressionists etc. 1970 (National Gallery Catalogue Series) - Leonardo: The Artist and the Non-Artist 1975 Weidenfeld and Nicolson ISBN 978-0-297-77000-8
- The Paintings of Correggio 1978 Cornell University Press
- Bernini in France: An Episode in Seventeenth Century History 1981 Weidenfeld and Nicolson ISBN 978-0-297-77944-5
- Parmigianino 1995 Abbeville Press ISBN 978-1-55859-892-8
Sources
- Betts, Jonathan (2006); Time Restored: The Harrison timekeepers and R. T. Gould, the man who knew (almost) everything Oxford University Press ISBN 0-19-856802-9
- Levey, MichaelMichael LeveySir Michael Vincent Levey, LVO was a British art historian and was director of the National Gallery for thirteen years, from 1973 to 1986.-Biography:...
(1994); 'Cecil Gould (1918–94)'; The Burlington Magazine; Volume 136, 554