The Art Historical Image in the Digital Age

“The Art Historical Image in the Digital Age” is a two-week seminar taking place at the Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz - Max-Planck-Institut from 26 June - 7 July 2023. The seminar will familiarize participants with key concepts related to photography and imaging in art historical research, image data and its integral role in the digital humanities, and equip them with the basic skills necessary to organize and manage digital images for their research. Organized visits to the photo archives of the KHI, Villa I Tatti, and other institutions (including a group excursion to Rome) will introduce participants first-hand to current methods and practices of image data management used by institutions and repositories. These visits will familiarize participants with analogue institutional holdings, and provide opportunities for discussion with photo archivists and the technical teams working on digitization and image data. The seminar will also include discussion of readings and current digital projects across a variety of periods and fields as a way to connect participants' own work to the expanding constellation of historiographical and methodological issues around digital art history.

This seminar has been funded by a grant from the Samuel H. Kress Foundation. The seminar will be led by Emily Pugh, Principal Research Specialist for Digital Art History, Getty Research Institute, and David Ogawa, Associate Professor of Art History, Union College.