Sat 8 May, 2021
Saturday Study Events in Art History
Our Saturday Study Events offer an intense engagement with works of art in their cultural contexts. They are led by one, two or more expert speakers and happen once a term.
The next Saturday Study Event will take place on 4 May at Vernon Square, 10:00-15:00, with registration from 9.30 am and a mid-morning coffee break.
New Light on the Art of Renaissance Florence
In writings from Giorgio Vasari (1511-1574) to Jacob Burckhardt (1818-1897), Florentine art and architecture of the Early and High Renaissance represented the pinnacle of post-classical artistic accomplishment in the Western world. And, as any museum and gallery visitor will know, works of art produced in Florence between 1400 – 1520 continue to draw huge numbers of admirers today. By contrast, scholars of the past thirty years have questioned the centrality of the Florentine Renaissance, especially in a global context. Our speakers will examine how Florentine art came to achieve such a position in the history of western art, before sketching out scholarly concerns about its pre-eminence. They will then demonstrate why Florentine art is still worth studying by examining new avenues for research.
Our speakers: Dr Scott Nethersole is Senior Lecturer in Italian Renaissance Art at The Courtauld, and Dr Joost Joustra is The Howard and Roberta Ahmanson Fellow in Art and Religion at the National Gallery, London.
Spaces are limited and advance booking is necessary.