Michael Camille, Art History Professor At The University Of Chicago, 44

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Michael Camille, 44, an art history professor at the University of
Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, who wrote seven books on medieval artwork
as it relates to modern life, died of a brain tumor Monday, April 29,
2002, in his Lakeview, Illinois, home. Images of religious paintings,
royal tapestry and vast cathedrals come to mind for most at the
mention of artwork from the Middle Ages. But to Mr. Camille, it was a
period of great awakening for local artisans expressing their daily
life in friezes and gargoyles that adorned churches and shops. "He was
suspicious of those very large and grandiose visions of the Middle
Ages because he worried that they were the fantasies of our world and
not the realities of their world," said his colleague, Robert Nelson.
He was most interested in trying to understand the experience of the
people who lived in the Middle Ages. Born and raised in the northern
England industrial town of Keighley, Mr. Camille was a precocious
child who used his intellect and quick wit to become the first student
from his school to attend the prestigious University of Cambridge in
50 years. He graduated in 1980 with a degree in art history and
English and went on to earn a master's degree and doctorate in art
history. He joined the University of Chicago faculty in 1985. Other
honors included the awarding of a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2000.