Carl Justi (August 2, 1832 - December 9, 1912) was a German art historian,[1] who practised a biographical approach to art history. Professor of art history at the University of Bonn, he wrote three major critical biographies: of Johann Joachim Winckelmann, of Diego Velázquez and of Michelangelo. Carl Justi’s biography (1866–72) talked transparently of ‘paroxysms of friendship’ and ‘a natural indifference to the other sex’.

Born in Marburg, Justi studied theology at the University of Berlin before transferring to philosophy. He graduated in 1859 with a thesis 'Über die ästhetischen Elemente in der platonischen Philosophie'.[2] Justi established his reputation with a three-volume work on Johann Joachim Winckelmann. [3] He succeeded Anton Springer in the chair of art history at the University of Bonn,[4] holding the post from 1872 until 1901.