''The Burlington Magazine'' is a monthly publication that covers the

fine Fine may refer to: Characters * Fran Fine, the title character of ''The Nanny'' * Sylvia Fine (''The Nanny''), Fran's mother on ''The Nanny'' * Officer Fine, a character in ''Tales from the Crypt'', played by Vincent Spano Legal terms * Fine (p ...

and

decorative arts ] The decorative arts are arts or crafts whose aim is the design and manufacture of objects that are both beautiful and functional. This includes most of the objects for the interiors of buildings, as well as interior design, but typically excl ...

of all periods. Established in 1903, it is the longest running art journal in the English language. It has been published by a

charitable organisation A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, Religion, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good). The legal definitio ...

since 1986. Since 2018, it has also published the online, open-access contemporary art platform, ''Burlington Contemporary''.

History

The magazine was established in 1903 by a group of art historians and connoisseurs which included

Roger Fry Roger Eliot Fry (14 December 1866 – 9 September 1934) was an English painter and art critic, critic, and a member of the Bloomsbury Group. Establishing his reputation as a scholar of the Old Masters, he became an advocate of more recent ...

, Herbert Horne, Bernard Berenson, and Charles Holmes. Its most esteemed editors have been Roger Fry (1909–1919),

Herbert Read Sir Herbert Edward Read, (; 4 December 1893 – 12 June 1968) was an English art historian, poet, literary critic and philosopher, best known for numerous books on art, which included influential volumes on the role of art in education. Read wa ...

(1933–1939), and Benedict Nicolson (1948–1978). The journal's structure was loosely based on its contemporary British publication '' The Connoisseur'', which was mainly aimed at collectors and had firm connections with the art trade. ''The Burlington Magazine'', however, added to this late Victorian tradition of market-based criticism new elements of historical research inspired by the leading academic German periodicals and thus created a formula that has remained almost intact to date: a combination of archival and formalist object-based art historical research juxtaposed to articles on collectors’ items and private collections, enlivened with notes on current art news, exhibitions and sales. The lavishness of this publication almost immediately created financial troubles and in January 1905 Fry embarked on an American tour to find sponsorship to assure the survival of the journal, which he had quickly recognized as a magazine for the developing study of art history.

Content

From its first editorial, ''The Burlington Magazine'' presented itself as synthesising opposing traditions – historicist versus aestheticism and academic versus commercial – by defining itself an exponent of "Austere Epicureanism". Against the perceived "sameness" of the contemporary art panorama, ''The Burlington Magazine'' was to act as a disinterested guide, directing the public's attention to high-quality art on offer both on the market and on institutional settings and educating its readers on the elevating qualities of ancient art. ''The Burlington Magazine'' editors and contributors were part of the institutional sphere of museums and academia and yet, unlike their German counterparts, they participated in the emerging world of the commercial galleries. The magazine remained independent from any institution and yet it was instrumental in the establishment of academic art history in Britain: its

dialectical Dialectic (; ), also known as the dialectical method, refers originally to dialogue between people holding different points of view about a subject but wishing to arrive at the truth through reasoned argument. Dialectic resembles debate, but the c ...

dynamic between market and institution contributed to the creation of an original and multifaceted publication. ''The Burlington Magazine'' was founded as a journal of ancient art but already in its first decade, especially under the editorship of Fry articles on modern art became prominent. Topics covered in detail were:

Paul Cézanne Paul Cézanne ( , , ; ; ; 19 January 1839 – 22 October 1906) was a French Post-Impressionism, Post-Impressionist painter whose work introduced new modes of representation, influenced avant-garde artistic movements of the early 20th century a ...

and

Post-Impressionism Post-Impressionism (also spelled Postimpressionism) was a predominantly French art movement that developed roughly between 1886 and 1905, from the last Impressionist exhibition to the birth of Fauvism. Post-Impressionism emerged as a reaction a ...

in a debate between Fry and D. S. MacColl, a debate on a bust of Flora ascribed to

Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 1452 - 2 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially rested o ...

and later discovered to be a forgery, and the role of archival research in the art historical reconstruction, with contributions by Herbert Horne and

Constance Jocelyn Ffoulkes Constance Jocelyn Ffoulkes (1858–1950) was a British art historian, translator, and scholar of Italian Renaissance art. She participated in the adoption of the 'historical standpoint' method of research, a shift in art criticism that emerged in ...

. ''The Burlington Magazine'', especially in its first decades, was also preoccupied with the definition and development of

formal analysis In art history, formalism is the study of art by analyzing and comparing form and Style (visual arts), style. Its discussion also includes the way objects are made and their purely visual or material aspects. In painting, formalism emphasizes compo ...

and connoisseurship in the visual arts and consistently observed, reviewed and contributed to the body of attributions to various artists, notably

Rembrandt Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (; ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), mononymously known as Rembrandt was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker, and Drawing, draughtsman. He is generally considered one of the greatest visual artists in ...

Poussin Nicolas Poussin (, , ; June 1594 – 19 November 1665) was a French painter who was a leading painter of the Classicism, classical French Baroque style, although he spent most of his working life in Rome. Most of his works were on religious and ...

, and

Caravaggio Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (also Michele Angelo Merigi or Amerighi da Caravaggio; 29 September 1571 – 18 July 1610), known mononymously as Caravaggio, was an Italian painter active in Rome for most of his artistic life. During the fina ...

. The journal had also many notable contributions by visual artists on other artists, notably Walter Sickert on

Edgar Degas Edgar Degas (, ; born Hilaire-Germain-Edgar De Gas, ; 19 July 183427 September 1917) was a French Impressionist artist famous for his pastel drawings and oil paintings. Degas also produced bronze sculptures, prints, and drawings. Degas is e ...

Production

The journal is published monthly, and features a cross-section of writers. The first issues of ''The Burlington Magazine'' were printed on high-quality paper, had a typeface designed by Herbert Horne and were richly illustrated with black and white photographs, many by the arts and crafts photographer

Emery Walker Sir Emery Walker FSA (2 April 1851 – 22 July 1933) was an English engraver, photographer and printer. Walker took an active role in many organisations that were at the heart of the Arts and Crafts movement, including the Art Workers Gu ...

Editors

* Robert Dell: March–December 1903 * Charles Holmes and Robert Dell: January 1904 – October 1906 * Charles Holmes: October 1906 – September 1909 * Harold Child Assistant Editor with the advice of a Consultative Committee: October and November 1909 *

and Lionel Cust: December 1909 – December 1913 *

, Lionel Cust, and More Adey: January 1914 – May 1919 * John Hope-Johnstone: July 1919 – December 1920 * Robert R. Tatlock: Early 1921 – 1933 *

: 1933–1939 * Albert C. Sewter: 1939–1940 * Tancred Borenius: 1940–1944 * Edith Hoffmann (Assistant Editor who ran the Magazine with advice from Read): 1944–1945 * Ellis Waterhouse acting editor (the magazine was officially without an editor): 1945–1947 * Benedict Nicolson: 1947 – July 1978 * Editorial Board of Directors: August–October 1978 * Terence Hodgkinson: November 1978 – August 1981 * Neil MacGregor: September 1981 – February 1987 * Caroline Elam: March 1987 – July 2002 * Andrew Hopkins: August 2002 – December 2002 * Richard Shone and Bart Cornelis (joint editors): January 2003 – March 2003 * Richard Shone: March 2003 – September 2015 * Frances Spalding: September 2015 – August 2016 * Jane Martineau: acting editor August 2016 – May 2017 * Michael Hall: May 2017 – December 2023 * Christopher Baker: January 2024 – present

References

External links

*
Examples of articlesOnline books page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burlington Magazine, The History magazines published in the United Kingdom Monthly magazines published in the United Kingdom Magazines established in 1903 Magazines published in London Visual arts magazines published in the United Kingdom Art history journals