The Courtauld Institute of Art hosts a vibrant research community dedicated to the study of Renaissance art beyond the traditional boundaries that define this category in art history. New ideas about art produced in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries are developed and disseminated through original interdisciplinary research and publications by members of staff, visiting lecturers and research students, teaching at postgraduate level, and a lively programme of conferences, seminars and lectures. Research interests currently pursued at The Courtauld range from the role of technical and scientific investigation in interpreting works of art to the study of the fabrication of urban space as a means of defining political identities, and spans geographically and chronologically from fifteenth century Flanders and Florence to sixteenth century Rome. A research cluster is currently investigating print culture in Italy across the period and a developing research focus is Renaissance Bologna. Members of the research community at The Courtauld have the opportunity to participate in a rich programme of events, including the regular meetings of the Graphic Art Group, co-organized by The Courtauld Gallery and the British Museum, attending a Research Seminar series where international young and senior scholars present new research, and engaging in a dialogue with curators of the gallery. Aiming at reconciling theoretical approaches with close observation and analysis of works of art, Renaissance research culture at The Courtauld is inclusive and open to new ideas which will find plenty of means of expression, including the post graduate journal Immediations, the burgeoning possibilities of digital publishing, and student-led public presentations such as the Postgraduate annual symposium.
