Frederick Hartt (May 22, 1914 – October 31, 1991) was an

Italian Renaissance The Italian Renaissance ( ) was a period in History of Italy, Italian history between the 14th and 16th centuries. The period is known for the initial development of the broader Renaissance culture that spread across Western Europe and marked t ...

scholar, author and professor of

art history Art history is the study of Work of art, artistic works made throughout human history. Among other topics, it studies art’s formal qualities, its impact on societies and cultures, and how artistic styles have changed throughout history. Tradit ...

. His books include ''History of Italian Renaissance Art'', '' Art: A History of Painting, Sculpture, and Architecture ''(two volumes), ''Michelangelo (Masters of Art Series)'', ''The Sistine Chapel'' and ''The Renaissance in Italy and Spain (Metropolitan Museum of Art Series)''. He was also involved with cataloging and repatriating artwork looted and stolen by the Third Reich during World War II.

Biography

Hartt was born in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, Massachusetts, on 22 May 1914, the son of Rollin Lynde Hartt and Jessie Clark Knight (Hartt). He graduated from Columbia College in 1935 and received his PhD from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

Institute of Fine Arts An institute is an organizational body created for a certain purpose. They are often research organisations (research institutes) created to do research on specific topics, or can also be a professional body. In some countries, institutes ca ...

in 1950; the subject of his dissertation was ''

Giulio Romano Giulio Pippi ( – 1 November 1546), known as Giulio Romano and Jules Romain ( , ; ), was an Italian Renaissance painter and architect. He was a pupil of Raphael, and his stylistic deviations from High Renaissance classicism help define the ...

and the Palazzo del Te''. From 1942 to 1946, during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Hartt was an officer in the

Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives program The Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives Section Unit (MFAA) was a program established by the Allies of World War II, Allies in 1943 to help protect cultural property in war areas during and after World War II. The group of about 400 service membe ...

of the US Army and received a Bronze Star. He was also made an honorary citizen of

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

, and was decorated with the Knight's Cross by the Italian government. He was on the faculty of the art history department at Washington University in St. Louis from 1949 to 1960, and from 1960 to 1967 he taught at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

. In 1967 he moved to the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

, where he was chairman of the art department from 1967 to 1976. In 1969, Hartt published a textbook survey of Renaissance art, ''History of Italian Renaissance Art: Painting, Sculpture, Architecture'', which has been revised and reprinted numerous times. He became a Professor Emeritus of the University of Virginia in 1984. Harrt died in Washington, D.C., on 31 October 1991.

Michelangelo controversy

In 1986 Hartt authenticated a plaster statue of a headless torso as an original by Michelangelo. "In March 1987, he presented his findings at the New York Academy of Sciences, where several other scholars confirmed his judgment." An English newspaper, ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

,'' later published an article implying that Hartt had acted dishonestly. He sued the paper for libel. While Hartt won the case, the judge reduced the sum awarded because Hartt had accepted a "commission on the sale of the statue after his writings about it were published."

Bibliography (partial list)

* Hartt, Frederick (1949). ''Florentine Art Under Fire''. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. * Hartt, Frederick (1953). ''Sandro Botticelli''. Harry N. Abrams, Inc. * Hartt, Frederick (1964). ''Love in Baroque Art''. J.J. Augustin. * Hartt, Frederick (1968). ''Michelangelo: The Complete Sculpture''. . * Hartt, Frederick (1969). ''History of Italian Renaissance Art: Painting, Sculpture, Architecture''. Harry N. Abrams, Inc. .

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hartt Frederick 1914 births 1991 deaths Writers from Boston American art historians University of Virginia faculty Monuments men 20th-century American historians American male non-fiction writers New York University Institute of Fine Arts alumni Historians from Massachusetts Columbia College (New York) alumni 20th-century American male writers University of Pennsylvania faculty Washington University in St. Louis faculty