John Shearman
Encyclopedia
John Kinder Gowran Shearman was an English art historian who also taught in America. He was a specialist in Italian Renaissance
painting, regarded by many as "the outstanding figure" of his generation in this area, who published several influential works, but whose expected major books on Quattrocento
painting, for the Penguin/Yale History of Art series (already commissioned in 1984, and still a gap in the series in 2011), and on Raphael
, never appeared.
He was born the son of an army officer (and amateur painter) in Aldershot
, Hampshire, educated in Surrey
at St. Edmund's School (Hindhead)
, and Felsted School
in Essex, and entered the Courtauld Institute in London in 1951, where he was appointed a lecturer as soon as he graduated with a BA in 1955 – followed by a PhD in 1957. He had a research fellowship at Princeton University
from 1964, was Reader at the Courtauld from 1967, and Deputy Director 1974–79 before returning to Princeton, where he was chairman of the art history department from 1979 to 1985. He had hoped for the Directorship of the Courtauld at the retirement of Anthony Blunt
in 1974 but was not successful; the medievalist Peter Lasko, who had administrative experience, got the appointment instead. From 1987 until his retirement in 2002 he was a professor at Harvard University
.
In the absence of the works on Raphael and Quattrocento painting, the most widely influential work of his large output was his book, still in print, on the controversial concept of Mannerism
. He was involved with the Italian and Vatican authorities on issues including the damage after the 1966 Flood of the River Arno in Florence
and the Restoration of the Sistine Chapel frescoes
, which he supported.
He was married three times, in 1957, 1983, and 1998, with four children by his first marriage, and died of a heart attack near Lethbridge, Alberta on a holiday in the Rocky Mountains
. He was a keen sailor.
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...
painting, regarded by many as "the outstanding figure" of his generation in this area, who published several influential works, but whose expected major books on Quattrocento
Quattrocento
The cultural and artistic events of 15th century Italy are collectively referred to as the Quattrocento...
painting, for the Penguin/Yale History of Art series (already commissioned in 1984, and still a gap in the series in 2011), and on 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...
, never appeared.
He was born the son of an army officer (and amateur painter) in Aldershot
Aldershot
Aldershot is a town in the English county of Hampshire, located on heathland about southwest of London. The town is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council...
, Hampshire, educated in Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
at St. Edmund's School (Hindhead)
St. Edmund's School (Hindhead)
St. Edmund's School is a coeducational nursery, pre-prep and preparatory school originally founded in Hunstanton, Norfolk, England in 1874, and subsequently moved to Hindhead, Surrey, England in 1900, where the school moved into a large country house named Blen Cathra, previously a home of George...
, and Felsted School
Felsted School
Felsted School, an English co-educational day and boarding independent school, situated in Felsted, Essex. It is in the British Public School tradition, and was founded in 1564 by Richard Rich, 1st Baron Rich who, as Lord Chancellor and Chancellor of the Court of Augmentations, acquired...
in Essex, and entered the Courtauld Institute in London in 1951, where he was appointed a lecturer as soon as he graduated with a BA in 1955 – followed by a PhD in 1957. He had a research fellowship at Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
from 1964, was Reader at the Courtauld from 1967, and Deputy Director 1974–79 before returning to Princeton, where he was chairman of the art history department from 1979 to 1985. He had hoped for the Directorship of the Courtauld at the retirement of Anthony Blunt
Anthony Blunt
Anthony Frederick Blunt , was a British art historian who was exposed as a Soviet spy late in his life.Blunt was Professor of the History of Art at the University of London, director of the Courtauld Institute of Art, Surveyor of the King's Pictures and London...
in 1974 but was not successful; the medievalist Peter Lasko, who had administrative experience, got the appointment instead. From 1987 until his retirement in 2002 he was a professor at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
.
In the absence of the works on Raphael and Quattrocento painting, the most widely influential work of his large output was his book, still in print, on the controversial concept of Mannerism
Mannerism
Mannerism is a period of European art that emerged from the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520. It lasted until about 1580 in Italy, when a more Baroque style began to replace it, but Northern Mannerism continued into the early 17th century throughout much of Europe...
. He was involved with the Italian and Vatican authorities on issues including the damage after the 1966 Flood of the River Arno in Florence
1966 Flood of the River Arno in Florence
The 1966 Flood of the Arno River in Florence killed many people and damaged or destroyed millions of masterpieces of art and rare books in Florence. It is considered the worst flood in the city's history since 1557. With the combined effort of Italian citizens and foreign donors and committees, or...
and the Restoration of the Sistine Chapel frescoes
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...
, which he supported.
He was married three times, in 1957, 1983, and 1998, with four children by his first marriage, and died of a heart attack near Lethbridge, Alberta on a holiday in the Rocky Mountains
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the southwestern United States...
. He was a keen sailor.
Publications
His publications include:- MannerismMannerismMannerism is a period of European art that emerged from the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520. It lasted until about 1580 in Italy, when a more Baroque style began to replace it, but Northern Mannerism continued into the early 17th century throughout much of Europe...
, Baltimore, MD/Penguin, 1967; - Andrea del SartoAndrea del SartoAndrea del Sarto was an Italian painter from Florence, whose career flourished during the High Renaissance and early Mannerism. Though highly regarded during his lifetime as an artist senza errori , his renown was eclipsed after his death by that of his contemporaries, Leonardo da Vinci,...
Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1965; - The Early Italian Pictures in the Collection of Her Majesty the QueenRoyal CollectionThe Royal Collection is the art collection of the British Royal Family. It is property of the monarch as sovereign, but is held in trust for her successors and the nation. It contains over 7,000 paintings, 40,000 watercolours and drawings, and about 150,000 old master prints, as well as historical...
, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1983; - Only Connect: Art and the Spectator in the Italian Renaissance, [A.W. Mellon Lectures in the Fine Arts 1988] Bollingen Series 35, 37. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1992;
- Raphael's CartoonsRaphael CartoonsThe Raphael Cartoons are seven large cartoons for tapestries, now in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, painted by the High Renaissance painter Raphael in 1515-16 and showing scenes from the Gospels and Acts of the Apostles...
in the Collection of Her Majesty the Queen, and the Tapestries for the Sistine Chapel. London: Phaidon, 1972; edited, and Hirst, Michael. Wilde, Johannes. - Michelangelo: Six Lectures. New York: Oxford University Press, 1978;
- The Vatican StanzeRaphael RoomsThe four Stanze di Raffaello in the Palace of the Vatican form a suite of reception rooms, the public part of the papal apartments. They are famous for their frescoes, painted by Raphael and his workshop...
: Functions and Decorations. British Academy Italian Lecture 1971. London: Oxford University Press, 1972; - Raphael in Early Modern Sources 1483–1602, 2003, Yale University Press, ISBN 0300099185 (Updated edition)