Sacred Traditions and the Arts seminar

God and the Painters: The Altarpiece in the Italian Renaissance

Speaker: Professor David Ekserdjian - Professor of History of Art and Film, University of Leicester

My book听The Italian Renaissance Altarpiece: Between Icon and Narrative, came out in June 2021. It is never easy to judge one’s own work, but what I think I have tried to do is to provide a species of taxonomy for Italian renaissance altarpieces and at the same time to explore who – between the patrons, the ecclesiastical authorities, and the artists – actually calls the shots.

David Ekserdjian听is听Professor of History of Art and Film at the University of Leicester听(2004-). He was Christie鈥檚 Fellow at Balliol College, Oxford (1983-86),听lecturer,听Courtauld Institute of Art (1986-87), and Slade Fellow at Corpus Christi College, Oxford (1987-91). From 1991 to 1997, he worked for Christie鈥檚. and was Editor of听Apollo听from 1997 to 2004. In 2017-18, he was Slade Professor at the University of Oxford. He was a Trustee of the National Gallery from 2005 to 2013 and of Tate from 2008 to 2013, and is currently a Trustee of Sir John Soane鈥檚 Museum and of Art UK. He is the author of听Correggio听(1997),听Parmigianino听(2006),听Still Life before Still Life听(2018) , and most recently of听The Italian Renaissance Altarpiece: Between Icon and Narrative听(2021), all published by Yale University Press. He has organised or co-organised various exhibitions, including听Old Master Paintings from the Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection,听Royal Academy, 1988,听Andrea Mantegna,听Royal Academy听and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1992,听Treasures from Budapest: European Masterpieces from Leonardo to Schiele,听Royal Academy, 2010,听Bronze,听Royal听Academy, 2012,听Wentworth-Fitzwilliam: An English Collection,听Calouste Gulbenkian Museum, 2015-16,听Correggio e Parmigianino: l鈥檃rte a Parma nel 鈥�500,听Scuderie del Quirinale, 2016, and听Raphael, National Gallery, forthcoming听April听2022.听

About the seminar series

The seminar on Sacred Traditions and the Arts is a joint venture between the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at King鈥檚 and The Courtauld. It seeks to place researchers in dialogue who are working on any aspect of the sacred and visual culture. It is open to all scholars and students who have an interest in exploring the intersections of religion and art regardless of period, geography or tradition.

Organised by Dr Scott Nethersole (The Courtauld) and Professor Ben Quash (King’s College London).

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10 Dec 2021

Friday 10th December, 6.30pm - 8.00pm

Lecture Theatre 1, Vernon Square

Citations