Robert Branner
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Robert Branner (January 13, 1927 – November 26, 1973) was an American art historian,
archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...
, and
educator A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...
. A scholar of
medieval art The medieval art of the Western world covers a vast scope of time and place, with over 1000 years of art in Europe, and at certain periods in Western Asia and Northern Africa. It includes major art movements and periods, national and regional ar ...
, specializing in
Gothic architecture Gothic architecture is an architectural style that was prevalent in Europe from the late 12th to the 16th century, during the High Middle Ages, High and Late Middle Ages, surviving into the 17th and 18th centuries in some areas. It evolved f ...
and
illuminated manuscript An illuminated manuscript is a formally prepared manuscript, document where the text is decorated with flourishes such as marginalia, borders and Miniature (illuminated manuscript), miniature illustrations. Often used in the Roman Catholic Churc ...
s, Branner was Professor of Art History and Archaeology at
Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
.


Career

Born in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
, Branner was the son of the noted cartoonist Martin Branner and Edith Fabbrini. Branner was drafted into the
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...
in 1945, serving in the later stages of the European theatre of World War II. He graduated from
Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...
, where he received both a
Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...
in
Classics Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...
in 1948 and a
Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of Postgraduate education, graduate study and original resear ...
in
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 ...
in 1953. He was a doctoral student of Sumner McKnight Crosby, and was also influenced by Jurgis Baltrušaitis, Jean Bony, and Louis Grodecki, all students of Henri Focillon. While a student, Branner worked in
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
at the École Nationale des Chartes and led excavations of the Bourges Cathedral between 1950 and 1952, the subject of his doctoral dissertation and an eventual book on the topic that won him the Alice Davis Hitchcock Award in 1963. Throughout his career, he made important discoveries in the chronology and style of French
cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...
s, incorporating cultural historical tools into the method of design analysis that had more traditionally dominated
architectural history The history of architecture traces the changes in architecture through various traditions, regions, overarching stylistic trends, and dates. The beginnings of all these traditions is thought to be humans satisfying the very basic need of shelt ...
. Branner also studied such artists as Jean de Chelles, buildings such as the Le Mans Cathedral and the
Sainte-Chapelle The Sainte-Chapelle (; ) is a royal chapel in the Gothic style, within the medieval Palais de la Cité, the residence of the Kings of France until the 14th century, on the Île de la Cité in the River Seine in Paris, France. Construction b ...
, and manuscripts such as Fécamp Bible and the Psalter of Saint Louis. In 1952, Branner was hired to be part of the Yale faculty. He continued on to teach at the University of Kansas from 1954 to 1957, where he was Assistant Professor of Art History. He then moved on to
Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
to become Associate Professor, winning a
Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are Grant (money), grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon Guggenheim, Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon indiv ...
in 1962, and reached the rank of full Professor in four years after that. After a year as department chair in 1968-1969, Branner transferred to
Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...
. He returned to Columbia shortly thereafter in 1971. From 1964 to 1966, Branner also served as president of the Society of Architectural Historians. Late in life, he worked on the stylistic identification of different manuscript painting ateliers during the reign of
Louis IX of France Louis IX (25 April 1214 – 25 August 1270), also known as Saint Louis, was King of France from 1226 until his death in 1270. He is widely recognized as the most distinguished of the Direct Capetians. Following the death of his father, Louis VI ...
. Branner died in 1973 at Mount Sinai Morningside, following complications from heart surgery. His legacy at Columbia is remembered through the Robert Branner Forum for Medieval Art, a student-run symposium. Papers from the career of Branner are kept in the Columbia University Libraries.


See also

* List of Columbia University people * List of Guggenheim Fellowships awarded in 1962 * List of Johns Hopkins University people *
List of people from New York City Many notable people were either born in New York City or adopted it as their home. People from New York City 0–9 * 50 Cent (Curtis Jackson, born 1975) – businessman and rapper * 6ix9ine (Daniel Hernandez, born 1996) – rapper * 22G ...
* List of University of Kansas people * List of Yale University people


References


External links


Dictionary of Art Historians profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Branner, Robert 1927 births 1973 deaths Historians of manuscript illumination Educators from New York City United States Army personnel of World War II 20th-century American archaeologists 20th-century American historians American architectural historians American art historians American medievalists Yale College alumni Yale University faculty Columbia University faculty University of Kansas faculty Johns Hopkins University faculty Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni