
André Nicolaevitch Grabar (; July 26, 1896 – October 5, 1990)
was a historian of Romanesque art and the art of the
Eastern Roman Empire
The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...
and the Bulgarian Empire. Born and educated in
Kiev
Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...
,
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...
and
Odessa
ODESSA is an American codename (from the German language, German: ''Organisation der ehemaligen SS-Angehörigen'', meaning: Organization of Former SS Members) coined in 1946 to cover Ratlines (World War II aftermath), Nazi underground escape-pl ...
, he spent his career in
Bulgaria
Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...
(1919–1922),
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
(1922–1958) and the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
(1958–1990). Grabar was one of the 20th-century founders of the study of the art and
icons
An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholic, and Lutheran churches. The most common subjects include Jesus, Mary, saints, and angels. Although especially ...
of the Eastern Roman Empire, adopting a synthetic approach embracing history, theology and interactions with the
Islamic
Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
world.
His son
Oleg Grabar also became an art historian, with a special interest in
Islamic art
Islamic art is a part of Islamic culture and encompasses the visual arts produced since the 7th century CE by people who lived within territories inhabited or ruled by Muslims, Muslim populations. Referring to characteristic traditions across ...
and
architecture
Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...
.
Life
André Nicolaevitch Grabar was born on July 26, 1896, in
Kiev
Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...
, the
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...
. He was educated in Kiev and at first thought of becoming an artist, joining the studio of a Kiev painter on leaving school. Deciding that he did not have sufficient talent he turned to the study of art history, although he remained an amateur painter. He began his university studies in Kiev, moving to
Petrograd
Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...
in 1915. While there he began to think about the connection between religious life and art, which would become his life's work. Discussing the connection between the Orthodox Christian faith and conservative aesthetics of the creators of Christian
icon
An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholic Church, Catholic, and Lutheranism, Lutheran churches. The most common subjects include Jesus, Mary, mother of ...
s, Grabar explained, "Their role can be compared to that of musical performers in our day, who do not feel that their importance is diminished by the fact that they limit their talent to the interpretation of other people's work, since each interpretation contains original nuances." He left St. Petersburg in November 1917, a few days after the
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, were a radical Faction (political), faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with the Mensheviks at the 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, ...
s seized power in the
October Revolution
The October Revolution, also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution (in Historiography in the Soviet Union, Soviet historiography), October coup, Bolshevik coup, or Bolshevik revolution, was the second of Russian Revolution, two r ...
, and completed his studies in
Odessa
ODESSA is an American codename (from the German language, German: ''Organisation der ehemaligen SS-Angehörigen'', meaning: Organization of Former SS Members) coined in 1946 to cover Ratlines (World War II aftermath), Nazi underground escape-pl ...
in 1919.
[Maguire, p. xii]
Grabar realized it would not be possible for him to pursue his career in what was becoming the
Soviet Union
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
and he left for
Sofia
Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...
,
Bulgaria
Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...
in January 1920. He spent three years surveying the medieval monuments of the country for the National Museum, often in "harsh conditions".
He took many trips through the countryside, often by donkey or on foot.
He moved to
Strasbourg
Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...
,
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
in 1922, first teaching the
Russian language
Russian is an East Slavic languages, East Slavic language belonging to the Balto-Slavic languages, Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family. It is one of the four extant East Slavic languages, and is ...
. He married Julie Ivanova (whom he had met in Bulgaria) in 1923; she was a medical doctor.
He earned a PhD at the
University of Strasbourg
The University of Strasbourg (, Unistra) is a public research university located in Strasbourg, France, with over 52,000 students and 3,300 researchers. Founded in the 16th century by Johannes Sturm, it was a center of intellectual life during ...
in 1928, and taught art history there until 1937. He wrote most of his books in the
French language
French ( or ) is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European family. Like all other Romance languages, it descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire. French evolved from Northern Old Gallo-R ...
, but many of his more than 30 titles were translated into English and other languages.
From 1937 to 1958 he became the center of a school of young art historians, as a Director of Studies in Christian Archaeology at the
Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes (1937–1946) and as a professor at the
Collège de France
The (), formerly known as the or as the ''Collège impérial'' founded in 1530 by François I, is a higher education and research establishment () in France. It is located in Paris near La Sorbonne. The has been considered to be France's most ...
(1946–1958).
In 1958 Grabar moved to the United States, becoming a central figure at the
Dumbarton Oaks
Dumbarton Oaks, formally the Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, is a historic estate in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. It was the residence and gardens of wealthy U.S. diplomat Robert Woods Bliss and his wife ...
Institute of
Harvard University
Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
.
He was a research professor at Dumbarton Oaks from 1950 to 1964. In 1961 he gave the
A. W. Mellon lectures in the Fine Arts at the
National Gallery of Art
The National Gallery of Art is an art museum in Washington, D.C., United States, located on the National Mall, between 3rd and 9th Streets, at Constitution Avenue NW. Open to the public and free of charge, the museum was privately established in ...
in
Washington, DC
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...
, published as ''Christian Iconography: A Study of Its Origins'' (1968).
He became a member of the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...
.
He died in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
on October 5, 1990.
His son
Oleg Grabar (1929–2011) was also a historian of art, specializing in
Islamic art
Islamic art is a part of Islamic culture and encompasses the visual arts produced since the 7th century CE by people who lived within territories inhabited or ruled by Muslims, Muslim populations. Referring to characteristic traditions across ...
. He also had another son named Nicolas.
Andre Grabar's papers are part of the Dumbarton Oaks collection.
Selected works
* ''L'Eglise de Boiana'' (1924)
* ''La peinture religieuse en Bulgarie'' (1928)
* ''Recherche sur les Influences Orientales dans l'Art Balkanique'' (1928)
* ''La Sainte Face de Laon'' (1936)
* ''Martyrium'' (1943, 1946)
* ''La Peinture byzantine'' (1953)
* ''Byzantine Painting: Historical and Critical Study'' (1953. Geneva: Skira)
* ''L'Iconoclasme'' (1957)
* ''Early Medieval Painting from the Fourth to the Eleventh Century: Mosaics and Mural Painting'' (1957. New York: Skira)
* ''Ampoules de Terre Sainte (Monza, Bobbio)'' (1958. Paris, C. Klincksieck) (The standard monograph, with 61 photographs and 70 pages of commentary.) (See Leroy review, below.)
* ''Romanesque Painting from the Eleventh to the Thirteenth Century'' (1958. New York: Skira)
* ''The Treasures of Venice''. Michelangelo Murano and André Grabar (1963), Editions d'Art Albert Skira, Geneva, 218 pp.
* ''Byzantine and Early Medieval Painting'' (1965. New York: Viking Press)
* ''The Beginnings of Christian Art, 200–395'' (=
Arts of Mankind; 9) (1967. London: Thames & Hudson)
* ''Christian Iconography: a Study of its Origins'', A.W. Mellon Lectures in the Fine Arts, 1961. (1968. Princeton, NJ: Princeton U.P.)
* Leroy, Jules
Review of André Grabar ''Les Ampoules de Terre Sainte ''Syria. Archéologie, Art et histoire'', Vol 36, 1959 (in French)
See also
*
Christianity in the 3rd century#Early iconography
*
Cross-in-square
A cross-in-square or crossed-dome floor plan was the dominant form of church architecture in the middle and late Byzantine Empire. It featured a square centre with an internal structure shaped like a cross, topped by a dome.
Architecture
Archite ...
*
Monza ampullae
Notes
Further reading
*Maguire, Henry. 'André Grabar, 1896–1990', in ''Dumbarton Oaks Papers''; 45 (1991), pp. xii–x
JSTOR
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grabar, Andre
Writers from Kyiv
1896 births
1990 deaths
French art historians
Harvard University faculty
Winners of the Prix Broquette-Gonin (literature)
White Russian emigrants to Bulgaria
French male non-fiction writers
Emigrants from the Russian Empire to Bulgaria
Corresponding Fellows of the Medieval Academy of America
Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (civil class)
20th-century French male writers
Corresponding fellows of the British Academy
Historians of Byzantine art