Robert Michael Neuman is a professor of

art history Art history is the study of Work of art, artistic works made throughout human history. Among other topics, it studies art’s formal qualities, its impact on societies and cultures, and how artistic styles have changed throughout history. Tradit ...

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...

, where he specializes in early modern European art, with an emphasis on social and religious history, gender studies, and the intersection of high art and popular culture. His scholarship encompasses all media -

painting Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

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 ...

, prints,

decorative art ] The decorative arts are arts or crafts whose aim is the design and manufacture of objects that are both Beauty, beautiful and functional. This includes most of the objects for the interiors of buildings, as well as interior design, but typical ...

s, and

costume Costume is the distinctive style of dress and/or makeup of an individual or group that reflects class, gender, occupation, ethnicity, nationality, activity or epoch—in short, culture. The term also was traditionally used to describe typica ...

. His 1994 book, ''Robert de Cotte and the Perfection of Architecture in Eighteenth-Century France'', is the first comprehensive examination of the French royal architect,

Robert de Cotte Robert de Cotte (; 1656 – 15 July 1735) was a French architect-administrator, under whose design control of the royal buildings of France from 1699, the earliest notes presaging the Rococo, Rococo style were introduced. First a pupil of ...

, during a period when

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 ...

became the center of courtly fashion. He also regularly serves on doctoral dissertation committees.

Biography

Neuman holds a

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

from the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

and was formerly a book review editor for the ''Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians (JSAH). He was the 1986-87 recipient of the Florida State University Teaching Award, the 1994 Millard Meiss Publication Fund, as well as various other teaching awards.

Current projects

He is currently working as principal investigator for a project with the Florida Center for Advising & Academic Support (FCAAS), as well as researching the role of

American movies The cinema of the United States, primarily associated with major film studios collectively referred to as Hollywood, has significantly influenced the global film industry since the early 20th century. Classical Hollywood cinema, a filmmakin ...

in shaping perceptions of historic architecture.

Selected publications

*"Illusions of Grandeur: A Harmonious Garden for the Sun King." I
''Gardening Philosophy for Everyone: Cultivating Wisdom''
edited by Dan O'Brien, 163–77. Oxford: Wiley Blackwell, 2010. *"Main Street, USA." I
''Disneyland and Culture: Essays on the Parks and Their Influence''
edited by Kathy Merlock Jackson and Mark I. West. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2010.
Disneyland's Main Street, U.S.A., and Its Sources in Hollywood, U.S.A.
''Journal of American Culture'' 31 (2008); 83–97. *"Now Mickey Mouse Enters Art's Temple: Walt Disney at the Intersection of Art and Entertainment." ''Visual Resources'' 14.3 (1999): 249–61. *Biographical entries, Oxford Art Online (''Dictionary of Art''., Ed. Jane Turner. 36 vols. New York: Grove: 1996).
''Robert de Cotte and the Perfection of Architecture in Eighteenth-Century France''
Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1994. *"Projects for the Church of Saint-Louis de Versailles in the Parc-aux-Cerfs.
''Eighteenth-Century Life''
17 (1993): 182–93. *"Watteau's L'enseigne de Gersaint and Baroque Emblematic Tradition." ''

Gazette des Beaux-Arts The ''Gazette des Beaux-Arts'' was a French art review, founded in 1859 by Édouard Houssaye, with Charles Blanc as its first chief editor. Assia Visson Rubinstein was chief editorial secretary under the direction of George Wildenstein from 1 ...

'' 104 (1984): 153–64.

References

External links

Faculty webpage page
at Florida State University {{DEFAULTSORT:Neuman, Robert Florida State University faculty American art historians University of Michigan alumni American non-fiction writers Year of birth missing (living people) Living people