Born on June 13, 1949, in Bucharest (Romania). Romanian and Spanish citizen.
Since 1991 Professor for Art History at the University of Fribourg (Switzerland), Département des Sciences Historiques
Research field:
- Visual hermeneutics; Function of images in the Western tradition;Renaissance and Baroque painting (especially Italian and Spanish)
Education
- University of Bucharest, 1967–1968
- University of Rome, 1968–1973 (Tesi di Laurea di Dottore in lettere)
- University of Paris I, May 1989 (Doctorat d’état ès Lettres)
Fellowships and Grants
- 1983-1984; 1990-1991, Fellowship of the Foundation Alexander von Humboldt, University of Munich, Germany
- 1990, Samuel H. Kress Grant at the Institute of Advanced Study of Princeton, U.S.A.
- 1993, Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fellowship at the Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts of the National Gallery, Washington D.C., U.S.A.
- 1998, Visiting Scholar, Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles, U.S.A.
- February–March 1999, Visiting Scholar at the Institute for the Humanities, Ann Arbor, U.S.A.
- October 2002-July 2003, Fellow at the Wissenschaftskolleg, Berlin, Germany
- October 2005-June 2006, Rudolf-Wittkower Visiting Professor at the Bibliotheca Hertziana of the Max-Planck-Institut, Rome, Italy
- January–May 2011, Edmond J. Safra Visiting Professor at the Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts of the National Gallery, Washington D.C., U.S.A.
- 2014, Francqui international Professor, at several Belgian universities
- 2016 (May-June) Erwin Panofsky Professor at the Zentral Institut für Kunstgeschichte, Munich, Germany
Other teaching activities
- Visiting Professor at following institutions: Universities of Paris I (1987), Frankfurt (1990), Göttingen (1989-1990), Neuchâtel (1994-1995), Lausanne (1995), Gerona (1996), Bern (1997), Geneva (2000-2001 and 1997-1998), Basel (1998); Scuola di Studi Umanistici, Bologna (2001); Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, Paris (2002); Universidad Carlos III, Madrid (2003); Hebrew University of Jerusalem / European Forum (2007); Harvard University (2004-2005, 2005-2006, 2006-2007); Collège de France (2008); Ecole Normale Supérieure, Paris (2008); Università della Svizzera Italiana, since 2008 (Spring Term); Universität Luzern (Fall term, 2011)
Head of many sponsored scientific projects integrating many young scholars
- The Image of the Black in Western Art (chapters on the 16th and 17th century Spanish art,Menil Foundation, Houston/Paris, 1992-1997 and the Department of Afro-American Studies of the University of Harvard, 2006
- La Naissance de la notion d’artiste au XVIe siècle. Comparative study of the Italian and Nordic traditions (Swiss National Research Fund), 2001-2003
- Ernst Kirchner et Edvard Munch (Project financed by the Boner Foundation of Zurich), 2002-2003
- Repères pour une histoire de la représentation de la chair dans l’art occidental (in the frame of the National Centre of Competence in Research project: “Mediality. Historical Perspectives”. Swiss National Research Fund), 2005-2008
- Haut, Farbe und Medialität. Oberfläche im Werk von Jean Etienne Liotard (1702-1789) (Swiss National Research Fund), 2006-2008
- La Greffe artistique, Iconographie, anthropologie et restauration de l’intégrité corporelle (in the frame of the National Centre of Competence in Research project: “Mediality. Übertragung”. Swiss National Research Fund), 2009-2013
- Art et Anatomie, in the frame of the National Research Program (Pro*Doc): “Art & Science”, 2008-2011 and 2011-2014
- Le Portrait féminin en voile. Une histoire picturale du voile à la Renaissance en Italie (Swiss National Research Fund), 2011-2014
Curatorial activity
- Member of the scientific committee of the exhibition Persone. Ritratto di gruppo, Palazzo Venezia, Rome, 2003
- Member of the scientific committee of the exhibition RUSSIE !, Venice, 2010
- Curator of the exhibitionLa Sombra, Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum et Caja Madrid, Madrid, February 10 until May 17, 2009
Lectures (selection)
- Robert Lehman Lecture 2000, Dia Center, New York
- The Louise Smith Bross Lectures 2003, University of Chicago
- Werner-Heisenberg-Vorlesung 2004, Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Carl Friedrich von Siemens Stiftung, Munich
- Keynote Lecture at the 17th Congrès National Espagnol d’Histoire de l’Art (CEHA), Barcelone 2008
- Bettman Lecture, Columbia University, New York 2009
- Keynote Lecture at the International Symposium “La perspectiva en la tradición artística occidental”, Málaga, December 2011
- Robert W. Smith Lecture, National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C., 2011
- The Gauss Seminar in Criticism, University of Princeton, 2012
- Pilkington Lectures, University of Manchester, 2013
- Chaire du Louvre, Paris, Sept.-Oct. 2014
- Bernard Berenson Lectures of the Harvard University Center for Italian Renaissance Studies (Villa I Tatti) 2017
Organisation of symposia, conferences, etc.
- Chair of the panel “Pictorial Mimesis before and after 1500 at the 27th International Congress of Art History”, 16-20 July 1992, Berlin
- Chair of the International Interdisciplinary Symposium: “Das Double”, Herzog August Bibliothek, Wolfenbüttel, 4 – 6 December 2003
- Co-chair of the panel “Représenter l’espace” at the 31st International Congress of Art History of Montreal, August 2004
- Chair of the section “Physiognomony and the Expression of the Passions”, at the International Congress “Imagen y Aparencia / Image and Appearance”, Murcia, 19-21 November 2008
- Member of the scientific committee of the International Congress “Imagen y Aparencia / Image and Appearance”, Murcia, 19-21 November 2008
- Chair of the International Symposium “Para una historia cultural de la sombra”, University Complutense of Madrid / Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, 16-17 April 2009
- Member of the scientific committee of the International and Interdisciplinary Symposium “El Siglo de Oro” antes y despues de El Arte Nuevo de Lope, Craiova, 7-9 May, 2009
- Chair of the International Symposium “The Transparent Body”, Istituto Swizzero di Roma / Villa Medici, June 11th and 12th 2010
- Co-chair of the panel “Cacher / Montrer. Stratégies d’occultation et de mostration dans l’art de la Renaissance et du Baroque” at the First Swiss Art History Conference, Bern, September, 2010
- Chair of the International Symposium “Murillo. Two Women at the Window”, Center of Advanced Study in the Visual Arts / The National Gallery of Art, Washington DC, 16th and 17th May, 2011
- Co-chair of the Japanese-Swiss Colloquium “Métaimage & Parergon”, University of Tokyo-Center for Philosophy and University of Fribourg, Fribourg, 20-21 October, 2011
- Member of the Organization Committee of the International Symposium “La Perspectiva en la tradición occidental”, Málaga, 15-18 December, 2011
Peer-review teams
- Member of the peer-review team for the European Research Council Peer Evaluation (2005-2009).
- Chair of the peer-review team of the Centre André-Chastel, UMR 8150 (AERES), 2009.
- Member of the peer review for the EURIAS Fellowship Programme.
- Numerous peer-reviews in art history for the FNS (Swiss National Research Fund), the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinshaft (DFG), the Fritz-Thyssen Stiftung and for appointments for art history tenures at universities in Switzerland, France, Italy, Spain, U.S.A.
Prizes and distinctions
- Prize of the “essay book” of the Spanish publishers for Breve Historia de la Sombra, Madrid, Editions Siruela, 1999
- Art Book Prize of the of the Romanian Publishers' Association for Instaurarea Tabloului, Bucharest, Meridiane, 1999
- Art Book Prize of the of the Romanian Publishers' Association for Scurta istorie a umbrei, Bucharest, Humanitas, 2000
- Doctor honoris causa of the National University of Arts, Bucharest, 2007
- Doctor honoris causa of the Catholic University of Louvain, 2011
- Foreign Member of the National Accademia dei Lincei, Rome, 2012
- Chevalier de l’ordre des Arts et des Lettres of the French Republic, 2014
- Member of the European Academy, 2014
- Médaille de vermeil of the Académie Française (2015)
- Associated member of the Académie Royale de Belgique (2016)
Various responsibilities (selection)
- Co-director of the Series “Natur, Wissenshaft und die Künste”, Peter-Lang-Verlag, Bern, Frankfurt, New York
- Scientific Committee of the series Storia dell’Arte moderna, Aracne Editrice, Rome
- Editorial Committee of Harvey Miller Studies in Baroque Art, HMSBAI
- Member of the General Prize Committee of the International E. Balzan Prize Foundation
- Member of the Academic Advisory Board of the New Europe College / Institute for Advanced Study, Bucharest
- Member of the scientific committee of La Revue de l’Art
- Member of the scientific committee of Iconology Research Group, University of Louvain
- Member of the scientific committee of the publication Hispania Felix. Revista anual de cultura y civilización del Siglo de Oro
- Member of the scientific committee of the publication NORBA-ARTE, University of Cáceres
- Member of the scientific committee of the publication ACTA / ARTIS (University of Barcelona)
- Member of the scientific committee of the serie Aesthetica Preprint (Palerme)
- Member of the scientific committee of Verso, Cluj-Napoca
- Member of the scientific committee of Carte Semiotiche
- Member of the scientific committee of Iconographica, Rome
- Member of the international Advisory Board of Art History
- Member of the international Advisory Board Artibus and Historiae
- Member of the scientific committee of the publication on line DIEGESIS. E-Journal für Erzähltheorie
- Member of the scientific committee of the Postgraduate school Studi sulla rappresentazione visiva. Storia, teoria e produzione dell’Arte e delle Immagini, University of Siena, Italy
- Member of the scientific committee of the publication Anuario del Departamento de Historia y Teoria del Arte de la Universidad Autonoma de Madrid
- Member of the scientific committee of the Encyclopedia del Prado, Madrid
- Member of the editorial board of the publication ARS (Bratislava)
- Member of the editorial board of Revista de Teoria del Arte (University of Santiago de Chile)
- Member of the editorial board of the publication MATERIA (Department of Art History, University of Barcelona)
- Member of the editorial board of the publication HVMANISTICA. An International Journal of Early Renaissance Studies (Pisa and Rome)
- Member of the editorial board of the publication RES Anthropology and Aesthetics, (Peabody Museum / Université de Harvard, U.S.A.)
- Member of the editorial board of the publication Studiolo. Revue d’histoire de l’art de l’Académie de France à Rome
- Member of the international Advisory Board Rivista di Storia & Letteratura Religiosa