Normalizační rovnice historika umění
Normalization equation of an art historian

The criminal case of Jaromír Neumann, 1985–1988

Summary/Abstract: Drawing from rich documentary sources, the study provides, for the first time ever, a comprehensive explanation of the criminal case of Jaromír Neumann (1924–2001) ,a prominent Czech art historian, which stirred the academic community in Czechoslovakia and prompted various guesses and speculations among the public in the second half of the 1980s. At a general level, the study is not just a reflection of one remarkable life story and a professional downfall against the backdrop of the late Czechoslovak “normalization”, but it also touches upon issues of professional and ethical limits of scientific work which the authoress claims remain disturbingly topical even today, changes of the sociopolitical climate notwithstanding. The authoress first introduces Neumann as a leading researcher in the field of the history of Mannerism and Baroque in graphic arts, who soon stepped beyond initial Marxist starting points and in the 1960s and later made a significant contribution to improving the prestige of Czech (or Czechoslovak) art history both at home and abroad, his activities, contacts and research helping cross the symbolic Iron Curtain. Between 1960and 1970, Neumann was the director of the Institute of Art Theory and History of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences; he was deposed as a result of “normalization”purges and subsequently employed as a researcher by the National Gallery in Prague. Being a charismatic and influential person, he enjoyed considerable popularity and trust, and his professional assessments and opinions were also influencing collecting activities of renowned personalities. At the same time, however, the authoress proves he was a secret collaborator of the State Security. In 1985, he was arrested and accused of illegal trade in antiquities; two years later, he (and others) was sentenced to five years in prison for proved speculation and usury. Based on his preserved criminal file, the study reconstructs circumstances of his criminal prosecution, lawsuit, and time spent in prison, but it also attempts to look into the motives and psychological condition of this complex and controversial personality. Due to the nature of the crimes he had perpetrated, Neumann failed to achieve a court rehabilitation and full “reacceptance” among the professional community even after the change of the political situation. While the criminal act of speculation was a transgression attributable to the very nature of the socialist regime, usury was and still is a serious crime, punishable according to today’s legal acts as well.

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