📖 Overview
Anthony Blunt was a British art historian who served as the Surveyor of the Queen's Pictures from 1945 to 1972. He wrote extensively on European art history, with particular focus on Renaissance and Baroque periods.
Blunt held academic positions at the Warburg Institute and Cambridge University, where he influenced a generation of art history students. His scholarship concentrated on Italian Renaissance art theory and the work of artists like Poussin and Borromini.
In 1979, Blunt was exposed as a former Soviet spy who had been part of the Cambridge Five espionage ring during World War II. This revelation led to his stripping of knighthood and resignation from royal positions.
His academic work remained influential in art historical circles despite the espionage scandal. Blunt died in 1983, leaving behind a complex legacy that encompasses both significant scholarly contributions and wartime intelligence activities.