James Beck (art historian)

James H. Beck (born May 14, 1930 in New Rochelle , NY , † May 26, 2007 in New York ) was an American art historian .

Beck taught art history at Columbia University since 1963 and wrote numerous books and essays on Renaissance art (including Jacopo della Quercia , Leonardo da Vinci , Masaccio , Michelangelo , Raffael ).

He was the founder and chairman of the organization Art Watch , which opposes the commercialization of museums and strong interventions by restorers.

The painting Madonna and Child by the painter Duccio di Buoninsegna , acquired by the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art for 45 million US dollars, was described by Beck in 2006 as a forgery.

Beck died on May 26, 2007 after a long illness in New York.

Works (excerpt)

with Gino Corti: Masaccio, the documents . JJ Augustin , Locust Valley 1978
Leonardo's rules of painting: an unconventional approach to modern art . Viking Press, New York 1979, ISBN 0670424277
The tyranny of the detail: contemporary art in an urban setting . Willis, Locker & Owens, New York 1992, ISBN 0930279204
Jacopo Della Quercia . Columbia University Press, New York 1992, ISBN 0-231-07200-7 (2 volumes)
with Michael Daley: Art restoration: the culture, the business, and the scandal . J. Murray, London 1994, ISBN 0719554306
Italian Renaissance Painting . Konerman, 1999 (German: Painting of the Italian Renaissance . Könemann, Cologne 2001, ISBN 3829004850 )
Raphael . Harry N. Abrams, New York 1999 (German: Raffael . Dumont, Cologne 2003, ISBN 3832173366 )
Three Worlds of Michelangelo . WW Norton, New York 1999 (German: Die Drei Welten des Michelangelo . CH Beck, Munich 2001, ISBN 3406471935 )