hagiography

familiar word / vague understanding of the meaning

Definition of hagiography:
n. "a biography that idealizes or idolizes the person. Also a biography of saints." (answers.com)

Where I ran across it:
1/9/08 – NYT online article, "The Legacy of a Pragmatic Custodian of Human Civilization" by Michael Kimmelman.

“...Announcing his retirement, the Met has produced a hagiographic press statement noting the rise in attendance (3.5 million in 1977, 4.6 million now), and the various new wings and internal reconfigurations that have caused the museum nearly to double in size under him. But attendance is a dispiriting measure of success. Any old Monet show will inflate the numbers without necessarily adding to the sum total of human understanding…”

My two cents:
I’ve been reading Michael Kimmelman’s superb art reviews for years. I can always rely on Kimmelman to keep me on my toes, and he doesn’t fail this time in his article on retiring Metropolitan Museum director and demigod Phillipe de Montebello (who, incidentally, was the speaker at my graduation last year from art school). Kimmelman’s use of the word, “hagiographic” gave me pause here. I had one of those tip-of-the-tongue - or dare I say senior - moments. Dammit I know this word – but I don’t know this word!! It occurs to me after looking it up that I first learned it during a college class in which we studied religions and saints. Hello. Biography of saints! But what an “aha” moment Kimmelman’s article provided when he used “hagiographic” as an adjective relative to Montebello’s worshipful press statement. Duh, I wish I’d thought of it.