Joachim Rees

Joachim Rees is Professor of Art History at the Department of Art and Cultural Sciences within the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Saarland. Previously, he held positions at the Free University of Berlin, where he was appointed Professor of Early Modern and Modern Art History from a transcultural perspective at the Art History Institute in April 2016, and served as interim professor of Art History and Historical Visual Studies at the University of Bielefeld from 2010-2012. He has led research projects including the DFG Research Group 1703 'Transcultural Negotiation Spaces of Art' and has been active in academic research since completing his habilitation in 2011.

Professor Rees' research focuses on art and cultural transfer during the Early Modern period, with particular emphasis on artists' travels, visualization forms in European research journeys, and transcultural negotiation spaces of art. His work explores how visual culture functioned as a medium for cultural exchange, particularly examining the role of drawing in European exploration and scientific observation between 1770-1830. He has made significant contributions to understanding the reception of antiquity in Enlightenment discourse and the comparative methodologies in art history. His research often intersects with material culture studies, dream studies, and the history of scientific visualization.

His recent publications demonstrate a growing interest in the relationship between objects, dreams, and visual culture, as evidenced by his 2024 edited volume 'Dinge träumen. Dingwelten und Traumkulturen in interdisziplinärer Perspektive' (Dreaming Things: Object Worlds and Dream Cultures from an Interdisciplinary Perspective). Throughout his career, Rees has maintained a consistent focus on how visual media function as tools for cultural encounter and knowledge production across geographical and temporal boundaries.

Professor Rees has been an active participant in the academic community, delivering numerous lectures at international institutions across Europe and beyond. His work bridges art history with broader cultural and intellectual history, particularly examining how visual practices shape and are shaped by cross-cultural encounters.