With its extensive programme of public events in Florence, Berlin and elsewhere, the Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz sees itself as a forum for lively, international and interdisciplinary academic exchange. The Institute makes its research findings accessible to the public in exhibitions and publications. Through calls for papers, research fellowships and job opportunities, it aims to promote collaboration with academics from around the world.
With its programme of events and exhibitions, the Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz sees itself as a forum for academic exchange. Through its calls for papers, fellowships and job opportunities, it aims to foster academic collaboration.
The Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz is a research institute of the Max Planck Society dedicated to the history of art and architecture. Its main areas of focus are the art and visual culture of Italy, Europe and the Mediterranean sphere in the global context. It is particularly committed to supporting, advancing and networking international young academics.
The Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz is a Max Planck Institute dedicated to researching the history of art and architecture. Its main areas of focus are the art and visual culture of Italy, Europe and the Mediterranean in the global context.
Departments & Research Groups
The Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz positions itself as a laboratory of basic research in art history in dialogue with other disciplines. This includes questions related to the professional ethics of art history, the relationship between ethics and architecture, and the concern for cultural heritage. Projects at the Institute look e.g. at transcultural dynamics in the Mediterranean, European and global context, at urban and visual spaces, the history of knowledge and museology, photography and its archives, art history and ecology, the work of Leonardo da Vinci, image/language constellations, image and law, and with discourses on image and object.
The Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz positions itself as a laboratory of basic art-historical research. This includes questions related to the ethics of art history and the relationship between ethics and architecture, and the concern for cultural heritage.
Overview of Research Areas
Department Alessandro Nova
Department Gerhard Wolf
External Member Jaś Elsner
Minerva Research Group
"4A Lab" Research Program
Junior Professor Wolf-Dietrich Löhr
Director emeritus Max Seidel
Doctoral Projects
Postdoctoral Projects
Staff Projects
Collaborative Research Projects
The Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz issues a range of individual and serial publications, through which it makes its research findings accessible to the public. The Mitteilungen des Kunsthistorischen Institutes in Florenz is one of the oldest and most prestigious art-historical journals worldwide. Research reports provide information about the Institute's activities and about the academic projects of its staff and fellows.
The Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz issues a range of individual and serial publications, as well as a specialist journal and research reports, through which it makes its research findings accessible to the public.
Overview of Publications
Individual Publications
German Edition of the 'Vite' of Giorgio Vasari
In its function as archive and work tool, the Library, with its collections and working conditions, forms the most important basis of academic study for members of the Institute and guests. Both historical and current specialist literature from various disciplines is available for consultation by an international community of researchers. With its elaborate cataloguing and indexing system, the Library also makes a significant contribution towards assuring the quality of the research conducted at the institute.
In its function as archive and work tool, the Library with its collections forms the most important basis of academic study. Both historical and current specialist literature is available for consultation.
Main Areas of the Collection
Joint Initiatives
The Photothek is one of the most important collections of documentary photographs of Italian art and architecture. As a research facility and laboratory, it plays a leading role in the international and transdisciplinary debate on the function of photo archives in 21st-century research and societies. Its daily tasks, such as photo campaigns, cataloguing and digitization, are inseparably linked with its scholarly activities. With its projects, conferences, workshops and publications, the Photothek makes an active contribution to the academic life of the Institute.
The Photothek is one of the most important collections of documentary photographs of Italian art. As a research laboratory, it contributes to the international and transdisciplinary debate on the role of photo archives in the 21st century.
About the Photothek
Photography Reference Library
English	Deutsch Italiano
Union from Division: (S)p...
Union from Division: (S)partimento and Renaissance Decoration
12 – 13 December 2019
Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz in collaboration with Villa Finaly, supported by INHA, organized by Nicolas Cordon and Émilie Passignat
Giuliano da Sangallo, "Uno partimento duna volta anticho a Roma" (Taccuino senese, Siena, Biblioteca Comunale)
In the past two decades art historical research on the genesis and interpretation of Renaissance decorations has undergone a decisive renewal. For Renaissance artists, patrons and advisers, decoration was tackled with great diligence so much so that it represents by now a fertile field of study, conducive to methodological advances and interdisciplinary exchanges. Any theoretical approach of the decoration implies in particular the notion of partimento which still deserves some in-depth analysis. The term itself belonging to the Italian language, while used in the writings on art, seems intrinsically connected with other key concepts such as "composition", "invenzione" and "disegno", or even "ornament". It induces, on the one hand, to cultivate the idea of disposition, of order, and of decorum, on the other, to reconsider the interactions between thought and practice, iconography and its presentation, as well as the relation between artwork and its cultural and physical space. It is on these aspects that the present workshop, for both early-stage and experienced researchers, proposes to carry out a collective reflection and discussion focused on the traces of a theory of partimento and its impact in the artistic practices through the prism of their decorative function.
As defined by the Academicians of the Crusca in their first Vocabolario, partimento, also spelled spartimento, is above all a division, that is the result of the separation of two distinct elements within the same set. The term is used in Renaissance art literature especially by Giorgio Vasari, who makes it one of his central lexicon tools to best formulate his theoretical views on decoration, applying it to all techniques and media. In the Lives, (s)partimento is indeed related not only to the action of composing a decoration, each element of which is disposed with a certain logic, but also to the result of this same arrangement, to be submitted then to an aesthetic judgment. Art works as different as the Siena Cathedral pavement, the Ghiberti's "Gates of Paradise", the Sistine Chapel ceiling, or the Boboli Gardens, are thus all praised, among other qualities, for their (s)partimento: it essentially refers to the underlying visual pattern on which basis the decoration is divided, arranged and articulated into several compartments. Although the partimento as used by Vasari has been partly studied especially in the field of fresco painting, this concept cannot be observed only through the vasarian occurrences, since the term and its derivatives appear in many other texts and documentary sources, ranging from an annotated drawing by Giuliano da Sangallo to the treatises by Vincenzo Danti and Pellegrino Tibaldi. Hence, to look for the evidences of a theory of partimento in decorative practices also leads to questioning about the existence of a symbolic dimension attributed to Renaissance decoration reflecting the specificities of each artistic technique. Furthermore, behind the partimento is fundamentally the expression of the concepts of harmony, eurhythmy and universal order, and these laws, seemingly tacit, governing the conception of an ideal space, could be grasped through a comparative analysis of art works.
This workshop would be an opportunity to observe how a recurrent notion of Renaissance art theory is reflected in the actual production, in the plurality of techniques and media, and, conversely, to examine the impact of the works themselves in the construction of a theoretical thought. It aims at contributing to understand the tensions between theory and practice in the organization of the space and meanings of the decorative ensembles. We invite art historians and researchers from other disciplines concerned with history of art to submit proposals on specific case studies or more general considerations to stimulate the reflection on the emergence of a theory of decoration at the threshold of modernity.
This event will be documented photographically and/or recorded on video. Please let us know if you do not agree with the Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz using images in which you might be recognizable for event documentation and public relation purposes (e.g. social media).
Villa Finaly
La Chancellerie des Universités de Paris
Via Bolognese 134r
Palazzo Grifoni Budini Gattai
Via dei Servi 51
E-Mail: sekr_nova@khi.fi.it
Digital Photo Library
50121 Firenze / Italy
Phone: +39 055 24911-1
80539 München / Germany
Our Newsletter provides you with free information on events, tenders, exhibitions and recent publications from the Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz.
If you would like to receive our newsletter, please enter your name and e-mail address:
Notes on the content of the newsletter and transit procedures
This letter is sent via MailChimp, where your e-mail address and name will be saved for sending the newsletter.
Once you have completed the form, you will receive a "Double-Opt-In-E-Mail," in which you are asked to confirm your registration. You can cancel your subscription to the Newsletter at any time ("Opt-out"). You will find an unsubscribe link in every Newsletter and in the Double-Opt-in-E-Mail.
You will receive detailed information about transit procedures and your withdrawal options in our privacy policy.
We found 22 results for Florenz
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. By continuing to browse, you are accepting our cookie policy.