Chris Dobson

Art History from a Different Perspective

Chris Dobson comes from a background in the history of arms and armour. In 1985 he established a workshop to make and restore armour and edged weapons, and soon became known as one of the foremost craftsmen in his field, with leading public and private collections worldwide amongst his clients. He also worked on major projects in the world of film and stage, including Franco Zeffirelli's Hamlet (starring Mel Gibson) and the Royal National Theatre's production of King Lear (starring Sir Ian MacKellern). However, his approach to his craft was always an academic one, and in 1995 this was recognized by his appointment as Master Armourer to the Royal Armouries. As the first Master to be appointed since the 17th Century, he was presented to the Queen at the inauguration of his workshop in March 1996, at the new Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds. He was commissioned to make copies of tournament armours to be used in the museum.

Left: Chris being presented to Queen Elizabeth II..

Chris is unique in his various fields of study, and in fact in most of the museum world: not only does he have the 'hands-on' experience of a working master craftsman, but he also carries out academic research and curatorial work for museums and private collections. Over the years, he has been a regular lecturer at Arms and Armour Study Days at the Wallace Collection, London, and was Director of the International Arms and Armour Conferences in Florence, Vienna and Graz.

In 2009 he was asked to lay out the galleries of an entire museum in the USA: the Castlerock Museum in Alma, Wisconsin, which opened in 2011. Castlerock Museum is one of just a handful of museums in the world which have their collections dedicated specifically to arms and armour.

Right: Chris laying out a display of staff weapons at the Castlerock Museum, ably assisted by Museum Conservator Duane L. McElwaine.

Chris's speciality has always been the Middle Ages and Renaissance in Italy, and from the very beginning his research had incorporated the work of Italian artists and sculptors, but in time it steadily included more and more period art, and almost inevitably, rather than just looking at the paintings and sculptures of the Renaissance Masters as reference for arms and armour, he began to study them for their own beauty. It was in 1991 that he visited the city of Florence for the first time, and from that point there was no going back. After his period in residency at the Royal Armouries, in 2000 he moved to Florence for a while, and in 2001, he combined his knowledge of Italian arms, armour and art, to write the book San Romano, the Art of War. The book is just about to be re-published as an expanded second edition, and will also be available as an eBook.

In 2005, Chris was employed as a consultant for the TV programme "The Battle of San Romano", part of the series, The Private Life of a Masterpiece, produced for the BBC. He also appeared in the program me, shown on TV in the USA in late 2008.

Left: the cover of San Romano, the Art of War. Click on the link to go to the Online Shop.

Art for everyone: Chris believes that no aspect of art can be studied in isolation. To truly understand a painting, you have to consider not only who painted it, and for whom, but also how it was created, and why. He believes that art is there for all to enjoy, and his presentations are typically informative and accessible, whilst in no way 'dumbing-down' the subject matter.

Chris's next major project on Florentine art will be Donatello and the Armourers ©, a book about the marble statue of St George sculpted by Donatello for the Orsanmichele in Florence in 1416-17. For a flavour of what the book will be like, click on the image on the right to open the page for the tour that Chris has designed around this material. For general information about tours, click here.

For his art history tours and events, Chris has brought all his experience together, partly from the perspective of an artisan, and partly as an academic researcher and lecturer. His extensive background knowledge of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, with particular knowledge of certain Italian Masters, combine to make him your perfect interpreter of the art and history of Florence, his adopted city. He speaks Italian fluently.

Publications, lectures and appearances:

Nature by Design ‘The Protection Racket’ (appearance, BBC2 television, 1993)
The ‘All’Antica Embossing of Armour (live demonstration, Wallace Collection Arms and Armour Study Day, London 1999)
San Romano, the Art of War (Chris Dobson 2001, ISBN: 0-9541633-0-3)
St George’s Workforce (article, Park Lane Arms Fair Catalogue, 2002)
The Horned Helmet of Henry VIII – The Inspector Morse Approach (lecture, Wallace Collection Arms and Armour Study Day, London 2003)
San Romano, the Art of War (lecture, IAAConference, Art and Arms. Florence, City of the Medici, 2003)
‘As Tough as Old Boots’? A Study of Hardened Leather Armour. Part 1: Techniques of Manufacture (lecture and paper, IAAConference, Art and Arms. Florence, City of the Medici, 2003)
What do Armourers’ Marks Mean? (article, Park Lane Arms Fair Catalogue, 2005)
The Restoration and Re-Mounting of the Armour of Willhelm von Roggendorf (lecture, IAAConference, Imperial Splendour, Vienna, 2005)
Renaissance and Rebirth. An Example of Ethical Restoration (lecture, IAAConference, Imperial Splendour, Vienna, 2005)
The Private Life of a Masterpiece ‘The Battle of San Romano’ (consultant and interview, BBC2 television 2005, BBC USA television, 2008)