Wittkower, Rudolf

Wittkower, Rudolf (wĭt`kōv-ər, Ger. vĭt`kōv-ər), 1901–71, German-American art historian. After gaining his doctorate in Berlin, Wittkower became a research assistant and later research fellow at the Biblioteca Hertiziana, Rome (1923–33). He was (1934–56) on the staff of the Warburg Institute, London, and became professor at the Univ. of London from 1949 until 1956. Wittkower then headed the department of fine arts and archaeology at Columbia Univ. A man of indomitable energy, he transformed the department into one of the vital centers of scholarship in art history. His highly original works in English include Architectural Principles in the Age of Humanism (1949), which was a major influence on modern English architects; The Drawings of the Carracci (1952); Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1955), a basic reevaluation; Art and Architecture in Italy, 1600–1750 (1958); Born under Saturn, the Character and Conduct of Artists (with Margot Wittkower, 1963); Essays in the History of Architecture (1967); Essays in the History of Art (1967); and Baroque Art: The Jesuit Contribution (with Irma Jaffe, 1972).

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Wittkower, Rudolf (1901–71) architectural historian; born in Berlin, Germany. After twenty years at the Warburg Institute, London, he taught at Columbia University (1956–69). His major scholarly contributions included his explication of religious symbolism in Renaissance architecture in Architectural Principles in the Age of Humanism (1949) and his distinction between mannerism and baroque architecture.