James Baquet

    Instead of an artist, today I have chosen to write about an art historian. Some have even called him an “aesthete.” Sir Kenneth Clark (1903-1983) is best known to both British and international audiences for his 1969 television series called “Civilization: A Personal View by Kenneth Clark,” which in 13 episodes explored the history of Western art from the Dark Ages until modern times.

    The show was one of the first to feature an individual scholar writing, producing, and presenting on a topic from his own subjective point of view. The show was made on location in 11 European countries, with Sir Kenneth standing in front of the very artifacts he was talking about. This format was later emulated by other series, including “Alistair Cooke’s America” (1972) and Carl Sagan’s “Cosmos: A Personal Journey” (1980).

    In addition to this series, Kenneth Clark was a serious scholar who wrote some 20 books on art and culture. After “Civilization,” he was asked to do other on-screen appearances, including a program based on a Metropolitan Museum of Art Centennial exhibition named “Masterpieces of Fifty Centuries” (1970), and “Romantic Rebellion” (1973) about the Romantic period’s reaction to Classical art.

    Clark was born in London and was an only child. His parents were wealthy, his father not needing to work. After studying the history of art at Oxford, at 30 he became director of the National Gallery, the youngest ever to hold that position.

    After seeing the National Gallery’s collection safely through the bombing of London during World War II, Clark resigned in 1946 to become a professor at Oxford, and to write books.

    Even though he was a popular lecturer on art, Clark was surprised at the popularity of his television series, “Civilization.” At one early screening of the series the audience cheered and applauded him. This was too much for him, and totally unexpected. He ended up hiding in the restroom and crying, overcome with emotion.

    Sir Kenneth Clark died at 79.

    Vocabulary

    Which word above means:

    1. person interested in beauty and aesthetics

    2. special works of art

    3. in front of the camera, on television (or in a movie)

    4. outside of a studio, in a natural setting

    5. response to something that has happened

    6. things made by humans

    7. showing, presentation

    8. surprising

    9. personal, not subject to verification

    10. imitated, copied