James Beck (art historian)
Encyclopedia
James H. Beck was an American art historian
specialising in the Italian Renaissance
. He was an outspoken critic of many high-profile restorations and re-attributions of artworks, and founded the pressure group ArtWatch International
to campaign against irresponsible practices in the art world.
, a short distance away (as he was known to boast) from Thomas Paine
's former house in that city. After graduating from Oberlin College
in 1952 he trained as a painter, firstly at New York University
and then at the Accademia di Belle Arti
in Florence
. At Columbia University
he undertook his doctoral dissertation, on the sculpture of Jacopo della Quercia
, under the supervision of Rudolf Wittkower
. Beck was granted a PhD in 1963 and he published his monograph on the sculptor in 1991. He remained on the art history faculty at Columbia for his entire life, serving as Professor of Italian Renaissance painting and sculpture from 1972.
A turning-point in Beck's career came in 1991 when, as the world's authority on Jacopo, he was invited to comment on a recent restoration of one of the sculptor's works, an effigy of Ilaria del Carretto in Lucca Cathedral. Beck's enraged response was recorded by two reporters for newspapers based in Florence and Livorno
, and in further interviews published in La Stampa
(of Turin
) and Il Giornale dell'Arte (based in Alessandria
) he continued to voice his indignation at what he deemed a ruinous cleaning job. The sculpture's restorer filed lawsuits against him in the courts of all four cities citing criminal defamation, an offence punishable by three years' imprisonment in Italy.
Eventually, Beck won all four cases, and his success prompted him to establish ArtWatch International
the subsequent year. The organization's other founding member was Michael Daley, a British art historian with whom Beck co-wrote Art Restoration: The Culture, the Business and the Scandal in 1993. The book was an attack on the profession of art restoration, and was especially critical of the cleaning
of Michelangelo
's Sistine Chapel frescoes
which was at that time nearing completion. Beck also publicly criticised the attribution of both the Metropolitan Museum
's Stroganoff Madonna
(which it bought in 2001) to Duccio
and the Madonna of the Pinks
(the National Gallery
's major acquisition of 2004) to Raphael
. He argued for the de-attribution of these works in his study From Duccio to Raphael: Connoisseurship in Crisis, published posthumously in 2007.
Art history
Art history has historically been understood as the academic study of objects of art in their historical development and stylistic contexts, i.e. genre, design, format, and style...
specialising in the Italian Renaissance
Italian Renaissance
The Italian Renaissance began the opening phase of the Renaissance, a period of great cultural change and achievement in Europe that spanned the period from the end of the 13th century to about 1600, marking the transition between Medieval and Early Modern Europe...
. He was an outspoken critic of many high-profile restorations and re-attributions of artworks, and founded the pressure group ArtWatch International
ArtWatch International
ArtWatch International was founded by James Beck, professor of art history at Columbia University, to monitor, and campaign for better practices in, the conservation of art works...
to campaign against irresponsible practices in the art world.
Biography
James Beck was born in 1930 in New Rochelle, New YorkNew Rochelle, New York
New Rochelle is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States, in the southeastern portion of the state.The town was settled by refugee Huguenots in 1688 who were fleeing persecution in France...
, a short distance away (as he was known to boast) from Thomas Paine
Thomas Paine
Thomas "Tom" Paine was an English author, pamphleteer, radical, inventor, intellectual, revolutionary, and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States...
's former house in that city. After graduating from Oberlin College
Oberlin College
Oberlin College is a private liberal arts college in Oberlin, Ohio, noteworthy for having been the first American institution of higher learning to regularly admit female and black students. Connected to the college is the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, the oldest continuously operating...
in 1952 he trained as a painter, firstly at New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
and then at the Accademia di Belle Arti
Accademia di Belle Arti Firenze
The Accademia di Belle Arti is an art academy in Florence, Italy and it is now the operative branch of the still existing Accademia delle Arti del Disegno that was the first academy of drawing in Europe.-History:The Accademia delle Arti del Disegno The Accademia di Belle Arti ("Academy of Fine...
in Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
. At Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
he undertook his doctoral dissertation, on the sculpture of Jacopo della Quercia
Jacopo della Quercia
Jacopo della Quercia was an Italian sculptor of the Italian Renaissance, a contemporary of Brunelleschi, Ghiberti and Donatello. He is considered a precursor of Michelangelo.-Biography:...
, under the supervision of Rudolf Wittkower
Rudolf Wittkower
Rudolf Wittkower was a German art historian.-Biography:He was born in Berlin and moved to London in 1934. He taught at the Warburg Institute, University of London from 1934 to 1956 and then at Columbia University from 1956 to 1969 where he was chairman of the Department of Art History and...
. Beck was granted a PhD in 1963 and he published his monograph on the sculptor in 1991. He remained on the art history faculty at Columbia for his entire life, serving as Professor of Italian Renaissance painting and sculpture from 1972.
A turning-point in Beck's career came in 1991 when, as the world's authority on Jacopo, he was invited to comment on a recent restoration of one of the sculptor's works, an effigy of Ilaria del Carretto in Lucca Cathedral. Beck's enraged response was recorded by two reporters for newspapers based in Florence and Livorno
Livorno
Livorno , traditionally Leghorn , is a port city on the Tyrrhenian Sea on the western edge of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of approximately 160,000 residents in 2009.- History :...
, and in further interviews published in La Stampa
La Stampa
La Stampa is one of the best-known, most influential and most widely sold Italian daily newspapers. Published in Turin, it is distributed in Italy and other European nations. The current owner is the Fiat Group.-History:...
(of Turin
Turin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
) and Il Giornale dell'Arte (based in Alessandria
Alessandria
-Monuments:* The Citadel * The church of Santa Maria di Castello * The church of Santa Maria del Carmine * Palazzo Ghilini * Università del Piemonte Orientale-Museums:* The Marengo Battle Museum...
) he continued to voice his indignation at what he deemed a ruinous cleaning job. The sculpture's restorer filed lawsuits against him in the courts of all four cities citing criminal defamation, an offence punishable by three years' imprisonment in Italy.
Eventually, Beck won all four cases, and his success prompted him to establish ArtWatch International
ArtWatch International
ArtWatch International was founded by James Beck, professor of art history at Columbia University, to monitor, and campaign for better practices in, the conservation of art works...
the subsequent year. The organization's other founding member was Michael Daley, a British art historian with whom Beck co-wrote Art Restoration: The Culture, the Business and the Scandal in 1993. The book was an attack on the profession of art restoration, and was especially critical of the cleaning
Restoration of the Sistine Chapel frescoes
The restoration of the frescoes of the Sistine Chapel was one of the most significant art restorations of the 20th century.The Sistine Chapel was built by Pope Sixtus IV within the Vatican immediately to the north of St. Peter's Basilica and completed in about 1481...
of 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...
's Sistine Chapel frescoes
Sistine Chapel ceiling
The Sistine Chapel ceiling, painted by Michelangelo between 1508 and 1512, at the commission of Pope Julius II, is a cornerstone work of High Renaissance art. The ceiling is that of the large Papal Chapel built within the Vatican between 1477 and 1480 by Pope Sixtus IV after whom it is named...
which was at that time nearing completion. Beck also publicly criticised the attribution of both the Metropolitan Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...
's Stroganoff Madonna
Madonna and Child (Duccio)
Madonna and Child is a panel painting by Italian medieval artist Duccio di Buoninsegna. Painted in tempera with gilding on wood panel around the year 1300, it depicts Mary, the mother of Jesus holding the infant Jesus...
(which it bought in 2001) to Duccio
Duccio
Duccio di Buoninsegna was one of the most influential Italian artists of his time. Born in Siena, Tuscany, he worked mostly with pigment and egg tempera and like most of his contemporaries painted religious subjects...
and the Madonna of the Pinks
Madonna of the Pinks
The Madonna of the Pinks is an early devotional painting usually attributed to Italian Renaissance master Raphael. It is painted in oils on fruitwood and now hangs in the National Gallery, London....
(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...
's major acquisition of 2004) to 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...
. He argued for the de-attribution of these works in his study From Duccio to Raphael: Connoisseurship in Crisis, published posthumously in 2007.