Wednesday, July 12, 2006
The Duccio Dialectic
I love it when art historians get angry! So here's Columbia Professor James Beck's letter, Duccio a dud, published in today's London Times, responding to last Saturday's letter by Metropolitan Museum curator Keith Christiansen, Met's Duccio is no dud.
Here's an excerpt from Christiansen:
And from Beck's rejoinder:
You say Duccio, I say Dud-cio. But there's one thing we all CAN agree on: The Times' letter department needs better headline writers!
Here's an excerpt from Christiansen:
If Professor Beck would like to see a fake Duccio, I would be happy to show him one that the Metropolitan was given in order to compare a fake with the genuine masterpiece. It is my fervent hope that Professor Beck’s allegations, which in my opinion are completely unfounded, do not diminish the public’s engagement with this exquisite painting.
And from Beck's rejoinder:
When a mediocre object is classified as a great work by a great artist, that artist is unfairly diminished and the public is misled.
You say Duccio, I say Dud-cio. But there's one thing we all CAN agree on: The Times' letter department needs better headline writers!
