Robert Brennan (Courtauld): 'Thresholds of Art in Renaissance Italy' 

This talk will present case studies from my current book project, which reevaluates Renaissance concepts of art in light of exchanges between Italy, Africa, and the Middle East. Building on recent studies concerning the circulation of African and Islamic artifacts in Renaissance Italy, the project focuses on a concurrent circulation of words, ideas, and – most importantly – people. In particular I will focus on the presence of African artists in Italy between the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries, including diasporic dancers active in Michelangelo’s milieu in Rome, and a Mamluk artist who worked at the Este court in Ferrara.

Robert Brennan is Lecturer in Italian Art, c. 1300-1500, at the Courtauld Institute of Art. He has previously held postdoctoral and teaching positions at the Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz (Max-Planck-Institute), the Power Institute at the University of Sydney, and the University of Queensland. His first book, Painting as a Modern Art in Early Renaissance Italy, was published by Harvey Miller in 2019.