Sandro Botticelli, Pallas and the Centaur (detail), tempera on canvas, 207 x 148 cm, Uffizi Galleries, Florence, inv. 1912 no. 29, Image Source: Uffizi Galleries

Virtual Course: Botticelli and Renaissance Florence


This course is presented in partnership with the Barnes, home to one of the world’s great collections, and a leader in art education for 100 years. Register online with the Barnes.

The flourishing artist culture of Renaissance Florence is among the most celebrated moments in art history, and Sandro Botticelli was at the center of it. This special course, taught by an international team of Renaissance experts, explores the themes of the exhibition Botticelli and Renaissance Florence: Masterworks from the Uffizi, on view this fall. This is a rare opportunity to learn about Botticelli’s remarkable artistic innovations within the broader history of Renaissance art directly from curators, conservators, and scholars.

Each class focuses on a different theme: art in the Renaissance home; Botticelli’s contemporaries Perugino and Signorelli; Botticelli’s depiction of garments; and a behind-the-scenes look at the exhibition. The class is online only, Wednesdays from 12:00-1:30pm CST (1:00-2:30pm EST): November 9, November 16, November 30, December 7.

Botticelli and Renaissance Florence: Masterworks from the Uffizi is on view at Mia through January 8, 2023 in Target Gallery. For tickets, visit the exhibition page.

Mia members save 10%. Use code MIA2022 at checkout.

Roberta Bartoli

Presently professor at the University of Venice (Ca’ Foscari), Roberta Bartoli taught for five years at the University of Minnesota. She is member of the scientific board in the Master of Cultural Diplomacy program at the Università Cattolica (Milan), and associate scholar at the Kunsthistorisches Institut-Max Planck Institut in Florence, with a project on 15th century celebratory furniture. Member of the prestigious Accademia delle Arti del Disegno (Florence), throughout her career she has curated major exhibitions and has widely published on Italian Renaissance art.

Rebekah Compton

Rebekah Compton is Associate Professor of Renaissance and Baroque Art History at the College of Charleston, South Carolina. She is a recipient of a Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship at Columbia University and the Rush H. Kress Fellowship at the Villa I Tatti, the Harvard University Center for Italian Renaissance Studies. Her book Venus and the Arts of Love in Renaissance Florence was published with Cambridge University Press in March of 2021.

Tom Henry

Prof. Tom Henry is Emeritus Professor of History of Art at the University of Kent. His monographic study of The Life and Art of Luca Signorelli was published by Yale UP (New Haven & London) in 2012, and he also publishes on Perugino and other central Italian artists. He has curated exhibitions of Italian renaissance art across the world, including “Raphael” at the National Gallery, London (closed 31.7.2022) and “Signorelli 500” which opens in Cortona in April 2023.

Rachel McGarry

Rachel McGarry is the Elizabeth MacMillan Chair of European Art and Curator of European Paintings and Works on Paper at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. She earned her MA and PhD from the Institute of Fine Arts at New York University, specializing in Italian Renaissance and Baroque art. McGarry co-curated the exhibition “Botticelli and Renaissance Florence: Masterworks from the Uffizi” with Cecilia Frosinini, in partnership with the Uffizi Galleries. They co-edited the accompanying catalogue. Minneapolis is the single stop for this special exhibition.

Cecilia Frosinini

Frosinini is an art historian specializing in 15th-century art. She directed the painting and drawing conservation department at the Opificio delle Pietre Dure in Florence for many decades. She co-curated the upcoming Mia exhibition “Botticelli and Renaissance Florence: Masterworks from the Uffizi” and co-edited the accompanying catalogue.

The Barnes was founded in 1922 by Philadelphia art collector Dr. Albert C. Barnes, with the belief that learning with and through art is a powerful agent for personal growth and social progress. In the Barnes collection, artists such as Renoir and Picasso share space with stunning African masks and Native American jewelry in ensembles that invite the viewer to draw their own connections across artistic traditions and time for a singularly immersive experience.

From thought-provoking exhibitions that champion artists across diasporas, identities, periods, and disciplines, to robust social and educational programs that bring together communities and learners of all ages, the Barnes sparks exploration of our world through art.

Additional Information

Accessibility
Please email visit@artsmia.org or complete our Request for Accommodation Form if there is anything we can provide to more fully support your participation in this event.

Sandro Botticelli, Pallas and the Centaur (detail), tempera on canvas, 207 x 148 cm, Uffizi Galleries, Florence, inv. 1912 no. 29, Image Source: Uffizi Galleries