Harold Wethey
Encyclopedia
Harold Edwin Wethey was a prominent art historian. Wethey received a bachelor's degree from Cornell University
and his doctorate from Harvard. He taught at Bryn Mawr College
and Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri
before joining the faculty of the University of Michigan
in 1940, where he taught until his retirement in 1972. At the University of Michigan Wethey became chairman of the department of fine arts. He was survived by his wife, Alice, and a son, David. In 2006 a digital document was published, covering the life and work of Wethey as an entry from Contemporary Authors, a reference volume issued by Thomson Gale
.
. Wethey had also contributed three articles in Encyclopaedia Britannica: "El Greco", "Titian" and "History of Western Architecture".
painter El Greco
. Palluchini attributed to El Greco a small triptych
in the Galleria Estense
at Modena
on the basis of a signature on the painting on the back of the central panel on the Modena triptych ("Χείρ Δομήνιχου", Created by the hand of Doménicos). There was consensus that the triptych was indeed an early work of El Greco and, therefore, Pallucchini's publication became the yardstick for attributions to the artist. Nevertheless, Wethey denied that the Modena triptych had any connection at all with the artist and, in 1962, produced El Greco and His School, a reactive catalogue raisonné, with a greatly reduced corpus of materials. Whereas art historian José Camón Aznar had attributed between 787 and 829 paintings to the Cretan master, Wethey reduced the number to 285 authentic works and Halldor Sœhner, a German researcher of Spanish art
, recognized only 137. Wethey and other scholars rejected the notion that Crete took any part in his formation and supported the elimination of a series of works from El Greco's oeuvre.
Since 1962 the discovery of the Dormition of the Virgin
and an extensive archival research initiated by other scholars, such as Nikolaos Panayotakis, Pandelis Prevelakis and Maria Constantoudaki, gradually convinced the academic world that Wethey's assessments were not entirely correct, and that his catalogue decisions may have distorted the perception of the whole nature of El Greco's origins, development and oeuvre. The discovery of the Dormition led to the attribution of three other signed works of "Doménicos" to El Greco (Modena Triptych, St. Luke Painting the Virgin and Child, and The Adoration of the Magi) and then to the acceptance of more works as authentic – some signed, some not (such as The Passion of Christ (Pietà with Angels) painted in 1566), – which were brought into the group of early works of El Greco. Even Wethey accepted that "he [El Greco] probably had painted the little and much disputed triptych in the Galleria Estense at Modena before he left Crete". Nevertheless, disputes over the exact number of El Greco's authentic works remain unresolved, and the status of Wethey's catalogue raisonné is at the centre of these disagreements.
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
and his doctorate from Harvard. He taught at Bryn Mawr College
Bryn Mawr College
Bryn Mawr College is a women's liberal arts college located in Bryn Mawr, a community in Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania, ten miles west of Philadelphia. The name "Bryn Mawr" means "big hill" in Welsh....
and Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
before joining the faculty of the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
in 1940, where he taught until his retirement in 1972. At the University of Michigan Wethey became chairman of the department of fine arts. He was survived by his wife, Alice, and a son, David. In 2006 a digital document was published, covering the life and work of Wethey as an entry from Contemporary Authors, a reference volume issued by Thomson Gale
Thomson Gale
Gale is an educational publishing company based in Farmington Hills, Michigan, the United States, in the western suburbs of Detroit. It was part of the Thomson Learning division of the Thomson Corporation, a Canadian company, but became part of Cengage Learning in 2007.The company, formerly known...
.
Works
Wethey wrote a number of books, among them, Colonial Architecture and Sculpture in Peru, El Greco and His School in two volumes, Alonso Cano, a study of the 17th- century Spanish painter, and three volumes on TitianTitian
Tiziano Vecelli or Tiziano Vecellio Tiziano Vecelli or Tiziano Vecellio Tiziano Vecelli or Tiziano Vecellio (c. 1488/1490 – 27 August 1576 better known as Titian was an Italian painter, the most important member of the 16th-century Venetian school. He was born in Pieve di Cadore, near...
. Wethey had also contributed three articles in Encyclopaedia Britannica: "El Greco", "Titian" and "History of Western Architecture".
Research on El Greco
The publishing of El Greco and His School in 1962 had a huge impact in scholarly circles. In 1937 a highly influential study by art historian Rodolfo Pallucchini had the effect of greatly increasing the number of works accepted to be by Spanish RenaissanceSpanish Renaissance
The Spanish Renaissance refers to a movement in Spain, emerging from the Italian Renaissance in Italy during the 14th century, that spread to Spain during the 15th and 16th centuries...
painter El Greco
El Greco
El Greco was a painter, sculptor and architect of the Spanish Renaissance. "El Greco" was a nickname, a reference to his ethnic Greek origin, and the artist normally signed his paintings with his full birth name in Greek letters, Δομήνικος Θεοτοκόπουλος .El Greco was born on Crete, which was at...
. Palluchini attributed to El Greco a small triptych
Triptych
A triptych , from tri-= "three" + ptysso= "to fold") is a work of art which is divided into three sections, or three carved panels which are hinged together and can be folded shut or displayed open. It is therefore a type of polyptych, the term for all multi-panel works...
in the Galleria Estense
Galleria Estense
The Galleria Estense or Estense Gallery is an art museum in Modena, with mainly Italian and Spanish paintings from the 14th to the 18th century, formed around the collection of the House of Este, rulers of Modena . It is located on the upper floor of the Palazzo dei Musei, on the St. Augustine...
at Modena
Modena
Modena is a city and comune on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy....
on the basis of a signature on the painting on the back of the central panel on the Modena triptych ("Χείρ Δομήνιχου", Created by the hand of Doménicos). There was consensus that the triptych was indeed an early work of El Greco and, therefore, Pallucchini's publication became the yardstick for attributions to the artist. Nevertheless, Wethey denied that the Modena triptych had any connection at all with the artist and, in 1962, produced El Greco and His School, a reactive catalogue raisonné, with a greatly reduced corpus of materials. Whereas art historian José Camón Aznar had attributed between 787 and 829 paintings to the Cretan master, Wethey reduced the number to 285 authentic works and Halldor Sœhner, a German researcher of Spanish art
Spanish art
Spanish art is the visual art of Spain, and that of Spanish artists worldwide. Whilst an important contributor to Western art and producing many famous and influential artists Spanish art has often had distinctive characteristics and been assessed...
, recognized only 137. Wethey and other scholars rejected the notion that Crete took any part in his formation and supported the elimination of a series of works from El Greco's oeuvre.
Since 1962 the discovery of the Dormition of the Virgin
Dormition of the Virgin (El Greco)
El Greco painted his Dormition of the Virgin near the end of his Cretan period, probably before 1567. El Greco' signature on the base of the central candelabrum was discovered in 1983. The discovery of the Dormition led to the attribution of three other signed works of "Doménicos" to El Greco El...
and an extensive archival research initiated by other scholars, such as Nikolaos Panayotakis, Pandelis Prevelakis and Maria Constantoudaki, gradually convinced the academic world that Wethey's assessments were not entirely correct, and that his catalogue decisions may have distorted the perception of the whole nature of El Greco's origins, development and oeuvre. The discovery of the Dormition led to the attribution of three other signed works of "Doménicos" to El Greco (Modena Triptych, St. Luke Painting the Virgin and Child, and The Adoration of the Magi) and then to the acceptance of more works as authentic – some signed, some not (such as The Passion of Christ (Pietà with Angels) painted in 1566), – which were brought into the group of early works of El Greco. Even Wethey accepted that "he [El Greco] probably had painted the little and much disputed triptych in the Galleria Estense at Modena before he left Crete". Nevertheless, disputes over the exact number of El Greco's authentic works remain unresolved, and the status of Wethey's catalogue raisonné is at the centre of these disagreements.