Nigel Konstam
Nigel Konstam (8 December 1932 – 19 July 2022) was a British sculptor and art historian who has researched the history of art and lectured internationally on art historical subjects. He specialised in exploring the development of Man's ability to understand what he sees and challenged orthodoxy on important turning points in art history. Early life and education Born in London in 1932, Nigel Konstam was educated at Radley College, where he excelled at Art. He studied sculpture under Dr Karel Vogel from 1956 to 1958 at Camberwell School of Art, later known as the Camberwell College of Arts, and briefly at the Royal College of Art in 1958. Career Konstam became an active sculptor and bronze-caster, in parallel forging a career to explore the history of art, specializing in tracing the development of Man's ability to understand what he sees. He lectured on art historical subjects at the major art colleges in the United Kingdom also at Harvard in the US and PINC in the Netherlands. Konstam was commissioned to make portraits of musicians including Otto Klemperer in 1982, Hans Hotter, Manoug Parikian and John Ireland (composer). Showing at The Cadogan Contemporary Gallery in London his carvings in alabaster are ordinarily on show or can be seen on request. He has drawings in the collection of The British Museum. He chaired the Contemporary Portrait Society in London between 1975 and 1980. In 2001 he exhibited in Pisa, in Florence in 2002 and Todi in 2011. In Spain he sculpted Portrait busts of Juan Carlos I of Spain and Queen Sofía of Spain. Konstam moved to Italy in 1983. In Italy he set up and ran The Verrocchio Arts Centre in Casole d'Elsa in Casole d'Elsa. Within the Centre is the Museo Konstam a number of Konstam’s sculptures and drawings are displayed. Many of his larger works can be seen near La chiesa di San Niccolò and in the village of Casole d'Elsa. Also in the Museo Konstam resides The Research Centre for the True History of Art. The main exhibits in the museum are demonstrations of artists' use of mirrors (for example Rembrandt, Velasquez, Vermeer and Brunelleschi). Also featured is the Roman tradition in European Art, Greek Life-casting and Bronze Casting technique, and includes medieval Seines sculpture and drawing artifacts. Konstam was an artist whose work was displayed in mixed exhibitions, and some solo ones in and around London though, notably, as far back as 1980, presented a major respective in Madrid with over 100 pieces on show followed by shows in Barcelona and Salamanca. He has revealed evidence that some aspects of the history of art are mistaken and challenged orthodoxy on important turning points in art history; namely the classical phase in Greece, the start of the Renaissance and around 1630 which he claims is the start of the modern era. One of his theories rejoined the debate about the Elgin Marbles. He argues in his books that the artefacts in the British Museum are Roman copies