Josef Paul Hodin (17 August 1905,

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

– 6 December 1995,

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) was a

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art historian Art history is the study of 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. Traditionally, the ...

who in 1954 won the first international prize for

art criticism Art criticism is the discussion or evaluation of visual art. Art critics usually criticize art in the context of aesthetics or the theory of beauty. A goal of art criticism is the pursuit of a rational basis for art appreciation but it is quest ...

at the

Venice Biennale The Venice Biennale ( ; ) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy. There are two main components of the festival, known as the Art Biennale () and the Venice Biennale of Architecture, Architecture Biennale (), ...

for his work on

Surrealism Surrealism is an art movement, art and cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists aimed to allow the unconscious mind to express itself, often resulting in the depiction of illogical or dreamlike s ...

and

Francis Bacon Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Alban (; 22 January 1561 – 9 April 1626) was an English philosopher and statesman who served as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England under King James I. Bacon argued for the importance of nat ...

. Hodin obtained his Doctorate at

Charles University Charles University (CUNI; , UK; ; ), or historically as the University of Prague (), is the largest university in the Czech Republic. It is one of the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest universities in the world in conti ...

in Prague"About the author", cover notes in Hodin, J.P. (1972) ''Edvard Munch''. London:

Thames and Hudson Thames & Hudson (sometimes T&H for brevity) is a publisher of illustrated books in all visually creative categories: art, architecture, design, photography, fashion, film, and the performing arts. It also publishes books on archaeology, history, ...

. and moved to London during World War II to work as a press attaché to the Norwegian government-in-exile.Hodin, Josef Paul.
Dictionary of Art Historians, 2013. Retrieved 13 May 2013

/ref> His work was characterised by strong

psychological Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...

analysis of the artist's character and an interest in

geistesgeschichte ''Geistesgeschichte'' (from German ''Geist'', "spirit" or "mind" metaphysical.html" ;"title="ere connoting the metaphysical">ere connoting the metaphysical realm, in contradistinction to the material and ''Geschichte'', "history") is a concept in ...

and the

zeitgeist In 18th- and 19th-century German philosophy, a ''Zeitgeist'' (; ; capitalized in German) is an invisible agent, force, or daemon dominating the characteristics of a given epoch in world history. The term is usually associated with Georg W. F ...

.J. P. Hodin: A bridge between Europe and Britain.
Alexandra Lazar, 2013. Retrieved 14 May 2013
Archived here.
/ref> Hodin was a specialist in modern art and this is reflected in his published works. His papers are in the archive of the

Tate Gallery Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the UK ...

Honours

Order of St. Olav The Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav (; or ''Sanct Olafs Orden'', the old Norwegian name) is a Norwegian order of chivalry instituted by King Oscar I on 21 August 1847. It is named after King Olav II, known to posterity as St. Olav. Just be ...

, Norway, 1958. (for Munch studies) *Commander of the

Order of Merit The Order of Merit () is an order of merit for the Commonwealth realms, recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or the promotion of culture. Established in 1902 by Edward VII, admission into the order r ...

, Italy, 1966. *Grand Cross, ''Order of Merit'', Austria, 1968.

Selected publications

*''Edvard Munch: Nordens genius''. Stockholm: Ljus, 1948. (English: ''Edvard Munch''. London: Thames and Hudson, 1972. ) *''The Dilemma of Being Modern: Essays on Art and Literature''. London: 1956. *''Ben Nicholson: the Meaning of his Art''. London: A. Tiranti, 1957. *''Barbara Hepworth''. London: Lund Humphries, 1961. *''Oskar Kokoschka: The Artist and His Time: A Biographical Study.'' Greenwich, CT: New York Graphic Society, 1966. *''Modern Art and the Modern Mind''. Cleveland: Case Western Reserve University, 1972.

References

1905 births 1995 deaths Writers from Prague Czech emigrants to the United Kingdom Czech art historians Charles University alumni Recipients of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic Czechoslovak historians Czechoslovak emigrants to the United Kingdom {{CzechRepublic-historian-stub