Andrew Michael Jaffé (3 June 1923 – 13 July 1997) was a British
art historian and
curator
A curator (from la, cura, meaning "to take care") is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the parti ...
. He was Director of the
Fitzwilliam Museum in
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
for 17 years, from 1973 to 1990.
Life
Born in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
, he was educated at Wagner's and at
Eton College
Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, ...
. Jaffé's undergraduate studies were delayed for four years by
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, during which time he served in the
RNVR. He came up to
King's College, Cambridge
King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, the college lies beside the River Cam and faces out onto King's Parade in the centre of the cit ...
in 1945, studying History before changing to English, in which subject he got a First. He became President of the
Marlowe Society
The Marlowe Society is a Cambridge University theatre club for Cambridge students. It is dedicated to achieving a high standard of student drama at Cambridge. The society celebrated its centenary over three years (2007–2009) and in 2008 there wa ...
, and was editor of ''
Granta
''Granta'' is a literary magazine and publisher in the United Kingdom whose mission centres on its "belief in the power and urgency of the story, both in fiction and non-fiction, and the story’s supreme ability to describe, illuminate and ma ...
'' while a student. After Cambridge, he studied art history at the
Courtauld Institute, where he attended Johannes Wilde's lectures and had access to the Seilern Collection; this was followed by research at
Harvard on
Rubens and his contemporaries.
[
He became a Fellow of King's College in 1952, holding the position until his death; was appointed as Cambridge University's only Assistant Lecturer in Fine Arts in 1956; and began undergraduate teaching in the subject. He held the post for four years until going to ]Washington University
Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University is r ...
in 1960, where he was briefly Professor of Renaissance Art until returning to Cambridge University in 1961, when he was appointed Lecturer in Fine Arts. In 1968 he was appointed Reader in History of Western Art, and he became Head of Department of History of Art in 1970, a position he held until 1973 and his appointment to the Directorship of the Fitzwilliam Museum.[
Jaffé married Patricia Milne-Henderson in 1964, and they had two sons and two daughters. Jaffé owned the country house Clifton Maybank near Yeovil in Somerset. He was appointed a ]CBE
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
in 1989. He died on 13 July 1997. A bronze portrait bust of Jaffé by Elisabeth Frink
Dame Elisabeth Jean Frink (14 November 1930 – 18 April 1993) was an English sculptor and printmaker. Her ''Times'' obituary noted the three essential themes in her work as "the nature of Man; the 'horseness' of horses; and the divine in ...
is in the Fitzwilliam.[
]
Selected works
*''Van Dyck's Antwerp Sketchbook'' 1966
*''Rubens'' 1967
*''Jacob Jordaens 1593–1678'' 1968
*''Rubens and Italy'' 1977
*''Rubens: catalogo completo'' 1989
*''Old master drawings from Chatsworth'' 1993
*editor of ''The Devonshire Collection of Italian Drawings'' 1994
References
External links
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography entry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jaffe, Michael
1923 births
1997 deaths
20th-century British historians
People educated at Eton College
Alumni of King's College, Cambridge
Alumni of the Courtauld Institute of Art
Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
Fellows of King's College, Cambridge
University of Washington faculty
British art historians
English curators
Directors of museums in the United Kingdom
People associated with the Fitzwilliam Museum
Scholars of Netherlandish art
Peter Paul Rubens
Writers from London