Christopher Platts

Christopher Platts is an Assistant Professor of Art History at the University of Cincinnati's College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning (DAAP), with affiliate appointments in the Departments of History and Romance and Arabic Languages and Literatures. He has received multiple accolades including the 2024 Junior Faculty Award and 2023 Faculty Excellence Award from DAAP, as well as grants from the Renaissance Society of America and International Center for Medieval Art.

• Ph.D. in Art History from Yale University
• MA in History of Art from the Courtauld Institute, University of London
• BA in Art History from Harvard University

Platts specializes in medieval and Renaissance European art, with a focus on Italian painting and manuscript illumination (1250-1550). His current book project explores Paolo Veneziano and Venetian Gothic painting, while other research includes studies of Pietro and Ambrogio Lorenzetti, Andrea Mantegna, and Attavante. His work examines artistic style, iconography, design, and function in relation to patronage and audience reception.

He co-coordinates interdisciplinary technical studies of artworks using scientific methods like XRF and Raman spectroscopy, collaborating with Chemistry, Geology, and Museum Studies departments. His curatorial projects span institutions such as the Getty Museum, Yale University Libraries, and Vassar's Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, focusing on medieval, Renaissance, and modern art.

• 2024 RSA Annual Meeting presentation: 'Hands, Tails, Rocks, and Texts' (Lyon, France)
• 2023 RSA presentation: 'Venezianita in Venetian Gothic Painting'
• 2022 research on Pietro Lorenzetti's Arezzo Polyptych and Mantegna's Ovetari Chapel works
• 2024 Murray Seminar lecture: 'Signatures and Artistic Authorship'

Platts leads educational outreach programs with UC students, delivering object-based art history presentations to Cincinnati public high schools and Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. He also maintains an ongoing project cataloging pre-1700 European artworks in North American institutions, having discovered key works by Paolo Veneziano and Attavante.