Joseph Burke Lecture, 2011
Images of Friendship from Renaissance Florence from Dante to Michelangelo
Professor Dale Kent
BOTTICELLI, Sandro 'Portrait of a Man with a Medal of Cosimo the Elder' c. 1474 Tempera on panel, 57,5 x 44 cm Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence
The question of whether true friendship could exist in an era when patronage shaped most social relations occupied Renaissance Florentines as it had the ancient Greeks and Romans whose culture they admired and emulated. Rather than attempting to measure Renaissance friendship against a universal ideal defined by essentially modern notions of disinterestedness, intimacy and sincerity, I will explore the meaning of love and friendship as they were represented in Renaissance images, drawn from a repertoire of Christian and classical themes, and embracing the relationship between heavenly and human friendship.
Dale Kent has returned to live in Melbourne after a distinguished academic career in the United States of America where she held positions as Professor of History, University of California, Riverside and then Professor Emerita of History, University of California, Riverside. In 2001 and 2007 she was Visiting Professor at the University of California Washington D.C. She is currently an Honorary Professorial Fellow in the Department of Historical and Philosophical Studies at the University of Melbourne.
Date: 6:30pm, Thursday 5 May 2021
Venue: Elisabeth Murdoch Theatre, The University of Melbourne, Parkville
Bookings are not required. All Welcome.
Enquiries: Associate Professor Alison Inglis (T) +613 8344 7448 (E) asi@unimelb.edu.au
This event is organised by The Art History program, the University of Melbourne and the Fine Arts Network.