Felicity Harley-McGowan

‘Being Blunt’: The art history ‘revolution’ in 1940s London

In 1940, London was home to a thriving network of scholarly activity in the discipline of art history. Three books published in that year have been seen within their own fields of research to epitomise the radical transformation of the discipline in the English-speaking world across the 1930s and 1940s. Concerning aspects of classical, medieval and Renaissance art and intellectual culture, each was published by a leading institution (The Courtauld Institute, British Museum, and The Warburg Institute), and authored by now-celebrated scholars (Anthony Blunt, Ernst Kitzinger, and Jean Seznec). This paper will examine aspects of the innovative pedagogical and research ideas epitomised by the books collectively; and with reference to the current state of the discipline, will reflect on the ways in which each was a catalyst for the broader consideration of the image and its role in society not simply by scholars, but by a wider public.

Date: Monday 28 October 2013, 6:30pm

Venue: Room 205, Old Arts Building, University of Melbourne, Parkville campus.

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All Welcome

The EVCS is brought to you by the Melbourne Art Network with the support of the Art History Program at the University of Melbourne.

Forthcoming Papers:

Monday 25 November, 6:30pm
Angelo Lo Conte, Landscapes and Garlands of Flowers: An example of naturalistic Lombard devotion.