Michael Henry Peppiatt (born 9 October 1941) is an English

art historian Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today ...

, curator and writer.

Biography

Son of Edward George Peppiatt (died 1983), B.Sc, ARCS, of Silver Birches,

Stocking Pelham Stocking Pelham is a village and civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district of Hertfordshire, England. It is located on the border with Essex, around 6 miles (10 km) east of Buntingford.The village is one of the three Pelhams, along w ...

, near

Buntingford Buntingford is a market town and civil parish in the district of East Hertfordshire and county of Hertfordshire in England. It lies next to the River Rib and is located on the historic Roman road, Ermine Street. As a result of its location, it ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

, technical and production director for a pharmaceutical manufacturing company, and Elsa Eugénie (née Schlaich; died 1997).

Education and career

Michael Peppiatt studied at

Brentwood School, Essex , established = , type = Public SchoolIndependent day and boarding , religion = Church of England , head_label = Headmaster , head = M Bond , chair_lab ...

, at the

University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen, (german: Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, known informally as Georgia Augusta) is a public research university in the city of Göttingen, Germany. Founded ...

, and at Trinity Hall,

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a 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. Cambridge bec ...

(BA 1964, MA 1985, PhD) and subsequently joined ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...

'' as a junior art critic. He then went to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

to take up an editorial job at '' Réalités'' magazine, where he remained until 1969, when he was appointed arts editor at ''

Le Monde ''Le Monde'' (; ) is a French daily afternoon newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average circulation of 323,039 copies per issue in 2009, about 40,000 of which were sold abroad. It has had its own website si ...

''. In the mid-1970s he began reporting on cultural events across Europe for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' and ''

The Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nikk ...

'', becoming Paris correspondent for several art magazines, notably ''

Art News ''ARTnews'' is an American visual-arts magazine, based in New York City. It covers art from ancient to contemporary times. ARTnews is the oldest and most widely distributed art magazine in the world. It has a readership of 180,000 in 124 countri ...

'' and ''

Art International ''Art International'' known as ''Art International Magazine'', was an art journal based in Switzerland and issued 10 times per year. James A. Fitzsimmons was the magazine's chief editor and publisher. History and profile ''Art International'' ma ...

''. In 1985, Peppiatt became owner and editor of ''Art International'', which he relaunched from Paris, devoting special issues to the artists he most admired. In 1994, Peppiatt returned to London with his wife, the art historian

Jill Lloyd Jill Lloyd is a writer and curator specializing in twentieth-century art, with particular expertise for German and Austrian art. She has organised many critically acclaimed exhibitions for leading museums and has published widely, including her ...

, and their two children, where he wrote the biography of

Francis Bacon Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Alban (; 22 January 1561 – 9 April 1626), also known as Lord Verulam, was an English philosopher and statesman who served as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England. Bacon led the advancement of both ...

(1909–1992), whose close friend and commentator he had been for thirty years. Chosen as a "Book of the Year" by ''The New York Times'' and translated into several languages, the biography is considered the definitive account of Bacon's life and work. Peppiatt has curated numerous exhibitions worldwide, notably travelling retrospectives of the School of London,

Alberto Giacometti Alberto Giacometti (, , ; 10 October 1901 – 11 January 1966) was a Swiss sculptor, painter, draftsman and printmaker. Beginning in 1922, he lived and worked mainly in Paris but regularly visited his hometown Borgonovo to see his family and ...

Christian Schad Christian Schad (21 August 189425 February 1982) was a German painter and photographer. He was associated with the Dada and the New Objectivity movements. Considered as a group, Schad's portraits form an extraordinary record of life in Vienna a ...

and

Antoni Tàpies Antoni Tàpies i Puig, 1st Marquess of Tápies (; 13 December 1923 – 6 February 2012) was a Catalan People, Catalan painter, sculptor and art theorist, who became one of the most famous European artists of his generation. Life The son of Jo ...

. In 2009, Peppiatt curated an exhibition of sculpture by Dado for the

Venice Biennale The Venice Biennale (; it, La Biennale di Venezia) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy by the Biennale Foundation. The biennale has been organised every year since 1895, which makes it the oldest of ...

, a

Maillol Aristide Joseph Bonaventure Maillol (; December 8, 1861 – September 27, 1944) was a French sculptor, painter, and printmaker.Le Normand-Romain, Antoinette . "Maillol, Aristide". ''Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online''. Oxford University P ...

retrospective for Barcelona, and a

Caravaggio Michelangelo Merisi (Michele Angelo Merigi or Amerighi) da Caravaggio, known as simply Caravaggio (, , ; 29 September 1571 – 18 July 1610), was an Italian painter active in Rome for most of his artistic life. During the final four years of hi ...

-Bacon exhibit for the

Galleria Borghese The Galleria Borghese () is an art gallery in Rome, Italy, housed in the former Villa Borghese Pinciana. At the outset, the gallery building was integrated with its gardens, but nowadays the Villa Borghese gardens are considered a separate tourist ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. In 2005, Peppiatt was awarded a

Ph.D A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common Academic degree, degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields ...

by the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

for his publications on

20th-century art Twentieth-century art—and what it became as modern art—began with modernism in the late nineteenth century. Overview Nineteenth-century movements of Post-Impressionism ( Les Nabis), Art Nouveau and Symbolism led to the first twentieth-century ...

. He is a member of the

Society of Authors The Society of Authors (SoA) is a United Kingdom trade union for professional writers, illustrators and literary translators, founded in 1884 to protect the rights and further the interests of authors. , it represents over 12,000 members and as ...

and the

Royal Society of Literature The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820, by George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV, to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, th ...

, and since 2010 he has been on the board of the

Palazzo delle Esposizioni The Palazzo delle Esposizioni is a neoclassical exhibition hall, cultural center and museum on Via Nazionale in Rome, Italy. History Designed by Pio Piacentini, it opened in 1883. It has housed several exhibitions (e.g. Mostra della Rivoluzi ...

. In 2012, Peppiatt published ''Interviews with Artists'', a book of more than forty interviews with personalities ranging from

Jean Dubuffet Jean Philippe Arthur Dubuffet (31 July 1901 – 12 May 1985) was a French Painting, painter and sculpture, sculptor. His idealistic approach to aesthetics embraced so-called "low art" and eschewed traditional standards of beauty in favor of what ...

Balthus Balthasar Klossowski de Rola (February 29, 1908 – February 18, 2001), known as Balthus, was a Polish-French modern artist. He is known for his erotically charged images of pubescent girls, but also for the refined, dreamlike quality of his image ...

, and

Oscar Niemeyer Oscar Ribeiro de Almeida Niemeyer Soares Filho (15 December 1907 – 5 December 2012), known as Oscar Niemeyer (), was a Brazilian architect considered to be one of the key figures in the development of modern architecture. Niemeyer was ...

to Brassai,

Henri Cartier-Bresson Henri Cartier-Bresson (; 22 August 1908 – 3 August 2004) was a French humanist photographer considered a master of candid photography, and an early user of 35mm film. He pioneered the genre of street photography, and viewed photography as cap ...

, and

. An exhibition on this theme was shown at Eykyn Maclean in

London London is the capital and 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 down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. Peppiatt curated a Miró exhibition that travelled from the

Bucerius Kunst Forum The Bucerius Kunst Forum is an international exhibition centre in Hamburg, Germany, founded in 2002 through the '' ZEIT-Stiftung Ebelin und Gerd Bucerius'' foundation. It is named after Gerd Bucerius and his wife, and located directly beside the ...

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

to the Kunstsammlung,

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in th ...

, in 2014–15. Peppiatt's latest memoir, ''Francis Bacon in Your Blood'', was published by Bloomsbury in August 2015. In 2018, Peppiatt curated the exhibition ''Bacon/Giacometti'' at the

Beyeler Foundation The Beyeler Foundation or Fondation Beyeler with its museum in Riehen, near Basel (Switzerland), owns and oversees the art collection of Hildy and Ernst Beyeler, which features modern and traditional art. The Beyeler Foundation museum includes a s ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. In 2022, Peppiatt curated the exhibition, ''Francis Bacon: Man and Beast'', at the

Royal Academy of Arts The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its purpo ...

, London. The exhibition charts the development of Bacon's work through the lens of his fascination with animals and its impact on his treatment of the human figure. Peppiatt has completed a new memoir about his life in Paris from the 1960s onwards, to be published by

Bloomsbury Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural, intellectual, and educational institutions. Bloomsbury is home of the British Museum, the largest mus ...

. Peppiatt serves on the advisory council of the UK Friends of the

National Museum of Women in the Arts The National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA), located in Washington, D.C., is "the first museum in the world solely dedicated" to championing women through the arts. NMWA was incorporated in 1981 by Wallace and Wilhelmina Holladay. Since openin ...

Bibliography

*1964: ''Modern Art in Britain'' *1976: ''Francis Bacon: l’art de l’impossible'' (trans. with Michel Leiris) *1983: ''Imagination’s Chamber: Artists and their Studios'' (with Alice Bellony Rewald) *1987: ''The School of London'' *1997: ''Francis Bacon: Anatomy of an Enigma'' *2000: ''Zoran Music'' *2001: ''Alberto Giacometti in Post-War Paris'' *2002: ''Aristide Maillol'' *2003: ''Christian Schad and the Neue Sachlichkeit'' (ed. with Jill Lloyd) *2003: ''Dans l’atelier de Giacometti'' *2003: ''Vincent van Gogh'' *2004: ''Francis Bacon: le sacré et le profane'' *2006: ''L’amitié Leiris-Bacon: Une étrange fascination'' *2006: ''Francis Bacon in the 1950s'' *2006: ''Les dilemmes de Jean Dubuffet'' *2007: ''Van Gogh and Expressionism'' (ed. with Jill Lloyd) *2008 ''Francis Bacon in the 1950s'' *2008: ''Francis Bacon: Studies for a Portrait'' *2008: ''Francis Bacon: Anatomy of an Enigma'' (revised edition) *2009: ''Caravaggio/Bacon'' *2010: ''In Giacometti's Studio'' *2010: ''Alberto Giacometti: An Intimate Portrait'' *2012: ''Interviews with Artists (1966–2012)'' *2013: ''

Giacometti Alberto Giacometti (, , ; 10 October 1901 – 11 January 1966) was a Swiss sculptor, painter, Drafter, draftsman and Printmaking, printmaker. Beginning in 1922, he lived and worked mainly in Paris but regularly visited his hometown Borgonovo, ...

and

Sartre Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (, ; ; 21 June 1905 – 15 April 1980) was one of the key figures in the philosophy of existentialism (and phenomenology), a French playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and litera ...

: A Double Portrait'' *2014: ''Art Plural: Voices of Contemporary Art'' *2014: ''

'' *2014: ''

Joan Miró Joan Miró i Ferrà ( , , ; 20 April 1893 – 25 December 1983) was a Catalan painter, sculptor and ceramicist born in Barcelona. A museum dedicated to his work, the Fundació Joan Miró, was established in his native city of Barcelona i ...

: A Painter among Poets'' *2015: ''Francis Bacon In Your Blood: A Memoir'' *2017: ''David Hockney, Souvenirs'' *2019: ''The Existential Englishman'' *2020: ''The Making of Modern Art: Selected Essays'' *2021: ''Francis Bacon: Studies for a Portrait'' (revised and enlarged edition) *2021: ''Conversations avec Adrian Ghenie'' *2021: ''Bacon/Giacometti: A Dialogue'' *2021: ''Francis Bacon: Man and Beast'' *2021: ''Only Too Much Is Enough: Francis Bacon In His Own Words''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Peppiatt, Michael 1941 births Living people Alumni of Trinity Hall, Cambridge English art critics English art historians The New York Times writers