Andrew Michael Jaffé (3 June 1923 – 13 July 1997) was a British

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 ...

and curator. He was Director of the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, England for 17 years, from 1973 to 1990.

Life

Born in London, he was educated at Wagner's and at Eton College. Jaffé's undergraduate studies were delayed for four years by World War II, during which time he served in the RNVR. He came up to King's College, Cambridge in 1945, studying History before changing to English, in which subject he got a First. He became President of the Marlowe Society, and was editor of '' Granta'' 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 Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

Rubens Sir Peter Paul Rubens (; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish artist and diplomat from the Duchy of Brabant in the Southern Netherlands (modern-day Belgium). He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque traditio ...

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 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 in 1989. He died on 13 July 1997. A bronze portrait bust of Jaffé by Elisabeth Frink 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