Eric Schroeder: maverick polymath

Abstract

The article surveys the life and output of Eric Schroeder (1904-71), who served from 1938 as (mainly honorary) Keeper of Persian Art at the Fogg Museum of Art, Harvard University, mounting choice exhibitions and greatly expanding the collection of paintings. After assessing his two major books – Persian Miniatures in the Fogg Museum of Art (1942) and Muhammad’s People. An Anthology (1955) – the focus shifts to his chapters and articles on Persian architecture and book painting. His remarkable range, profound erudition, flood of original insights and peerless prose explains why his best work, as relevant today as ever, should be required reading for students of Islamic art.

Keywords

• seljuq
• ilkhanid
• timurid
• indian
• architecture
• book painting
• astrology