| English art historian, critic and lecturer Date of Birth: 13.07.1903 Country: Great Britain |
Kenneth Clark was an English art historian, critic, and lecturer, who is considered one of the most prominent art scholars of the 20th century. His influence extended far beyond academic circles, and his famous television series "Civilisation," first broadcast in the UK in 1969-1970, was viewed worldwide. One of Clark's greatest strengths was his ability to combine in-depth stylistic analysis with accessible explanations of the meaning behind works of art. His research in the field of Italian Renaissance and the works of Leonardo da Vinci, Piero della Francesca, Rembrandt, and J.M.W. Turner made invaluable contributions to the field of art history.
Kenneth Clark was born on July 13, 1903, in London. From 1922 to 1926, he studied at Trinity College, Oxford, where he met his first mentor, Charles Bell, the curator of the Art Department at the Ashmolean Museum. It was Bell who suggested the subject of Clark's first book, "The Gothic Revival" (1928), an essay on neo-Gothic architecture in England. In 1931, Clark succeeded Bell in his position after a two-year apprenticeship in Italy under the guidance of the renowned art connoisseur Bernard Berenson.
In 1934, Clark became the director of the National Gallery in London, the youngest person to hold this position in its history, and he remained in this role until 1945. Under his leadership, significant paintings were acquired, including works by Sassetta, Giovanni di Paolo, Bosch, Rembrandt, Ingres, and Cézanne. Clark set new standards for the scientific preservation of artworks during his time at the gallery. During World War II, when London was under bombardment, Clark was responsible for the evacuation and safe return of the paintings. He also supported contemporary English artists, sometimes using his own funds.
From 1934 to 1944, Clark served as the Keeper of the Royal Collection. During this time, he compiled a catalog of Leonardo da Vinci's extensive collection of drawings at Windsor Castle (1935), followed by a monograph on Leonardo in 1939. In 1946, Clark was awarded an honorary professorship at the Slade School of Fine Art in Oxford. His first lectures were later revised and published as the book "Landscape into Art" (1949). This practice continued in subsequent years, with Clark presenting his ideas in public lectures and then developing them into books.
In 1951, Clark published a monograph on the 15th-century Italian artist Piero della Francesca, who had long been overlooked. He was the first to translate Piero della Francesca's abstract, mathematical concepts of form into the language of modern understanding. This was followed by the book "The Nude: A Study in Ideal Form" (1956), an overview of the depiction of the nude in Western European art. Other notable works by Clark include "Looking at Pictures" (1960), "Rembrandt and the Italian Renaissance" (1966), "Civilisation" (1975), and "Moments of Vision" (1982). He also wrote two witty and unusually candid autobiographies, "Another Part of the Wood" (1974) and "The Other Half" (1977). In 1969, Clark was granted a life peerage and officially became Baron Clark of Saltwood, named after the castle that became his permanent residence. Kenneth Clark passed away in Hythe, England, on May 21, 1983.