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Pictorial Intelligence in Renaissance Art: Holbein’s WitUniversity Room, Hyde Hall
The Renaissance witnessed intense debate about the nature and location of human intelligence. When it came to artists, this was focused on natural endowments versus trained skill, the relationship between the mind and the hand, and—especially among humanists—whether pictorial art was capable of intelligent authorship as opposed to mere replication of the visible world. Taking Hans Holbein the Younger as a case study, this lecture will explore how the mindful hand of a supremely gifted painter could demonstrate the inherent ingenuity and playful wit of an inventive--rather than merely mimetic--artistic intelligence.
Alexander Marr is University Professor of Renaissance and Early Modern Art. He specializes in European art 1400-1800, especially its intellectual and literary aspects in their social contexts. His most recent publication is Holbein's Wit: Pictorial Ingenuity in Renaissance Art.
Before coming to Cambridge, he taught at the University of Southern California and the University of St Andrews. From 2014 to 2019, he was Director of the project Genius before Romanticism: Ingenuity in Early Modern Art & Science, funded by an ERC Consolidator Grant. His awards include a Paul Mellon Centre Senior Fellowship, the Robert H. Smith Residency at the V&A, and a Philip Leverhulme Prize. He was the founding Director of Cambridge Visual Culture (CVC). In 2024, he delivered the Pharos Lectures at the University of Oxford.
Through a generous gift to the UNC Arts and Sciences Foundation, William G. Rand established this lecture series in memory of his late wife, Bettie Allison Rand. This funding enables the Department of Art and Art History to invite one or more eminent art historians to UNC-CH every other year for residencies of various lengths. While they are in Chapel Hill, these scholars present a series of lectures and interact with undergraduate and graduate art history and studio art students.
A weeknight or daytime permit is now required after 5:00 pm on weekdays. No permit is required from 5:00 pm Friday through 7:30 am Monday. A $1.00 one-night pass is available in selected lots. More information can be found HERE.
Event webiste: https://go.unc.edu/rand2026
Contact: Christoph Brachmann, [email protected]
This event is eligible for CLE credit
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UNC Institute for the Arts and Humanities, 12000 Governors Dr, Chapel Hill, NC 27517, United States
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