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Keith Critchlow’s 1983 book Islamic Patterns was cited as an influence in the reconstruction of the Minbar of Saladin in the al-Aqsa mosque, Jerusalem
Keith Critchlow’s 1983 book Islamic Patterns was cited as an influence in the reconstruction of the Minbar of Saladin in the al-Aqsa mosque, Jerusalem
Keith Critchlow’s 1983 book Islamic Patterns was cited as an influence in the reconstruction of the Minbar of Saladin in the al-Aqsa mosque, Jerusalem

Keith Critchlow obituary

This article is more than 3 years old

My father, Keith Critchlow, who has died aged 87, was an artist, author, professor of art and architecture, and expert in sacred geometry.

Keith’s love of Platonic philosophy, Islamic art and sacred geometry led him to a lifelong study of esoteric meaning of number, symbolism and geometry in art, architecture and nature. He authored many books on these subjects, including Order in Space (1969), Islamic Patterns (1983) and The Hidden Geometry of Flowers (2011).

Born in Hammersmith, west London, to Rosalind (nee Weston Mann) and Michael Critchlow, Keith was inspired by his father’s work as an illustrator and professional portrait painter. After schooling at Summerhill, in Suffolk, and Battersea Polytechnic, he undertook national service in the RAF and studied painting at St Martins School of Art and the Royal College of Art in London.

In 1957 he graduated and married Gail Henebery, a dressmaker, their first child arriving three years later. To support his new family, Keith started teaching anatomy at Sir John Cass School of Art in east London, where he was inspired by Leonardo da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man and embarked on his own geometric analysis of the human body.

After similarities were noted between his geometric work and that of Buckminster Fuller, Keith met the celebrated engineer, which proved to be a life and career turning point. With Fuller’s endorsement, in 1966 Keith gained a lectureship at the Architectural Association School of Architecture, where he taught for 12 years and assisted on projects such as pioneering the use of geodesic domes as emergency housing in disaster areas.

Through the 1970s, Keith’s academic interests turned to the field of sacred geometry in art and architecture, and he delivered lectures on these subjects through annual summer schools. From 1975 he was professor of Islamic art at the Royal College of Art in London and in 1984 founded what was the visual Islamic and traditional arts (Vita) department there. This moved to the Prince’s Institute of Architecture in 1992 (now the Prince’s Foundation School of Traditional Arts), where he was director of research. He became professor emeritus at PSTA on his retirement.

In 1979 Keith founded the Temenos Academy with, among others, the poet Kathleen Raine, and the educational charity Kairos, which promotes traditional values in art and science.

Keith’s architectural achievements include the design of the Krishnamurti Study Centre in Hampshire (1986) and a hospital in India, the Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences (1991). His book Islamic Patterns was cited as an influence by those involved in the reconstruction of the Minbar of Saladin in the al-Aqsa mosque, Jerusalem.

Inspirational, with a keen wit, Keith enjoyed close friendships with some of the most innovative minds of the modern era yet also included his family in all of his adventures.

Keith is survived by Gail, their four children, Louise, Matthew, Amelia and me, twelve grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.



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