Michael Kemling

Dr. Michael Kemling is a Lecturer in Visual Arts at the University of North Georgia, specializing in Italian Renaissance art with doctoral expertise on Michelangelo's self-portraiture. His research examines how Renaissance artists constructed identities through portraiture and artistic self-representation.

He holds a Ph.D. (2013) and M.A. (2003) in Art History from the University of Georgia, and a B.A. in Art History from University of Nebraska, Omaha (2000).

Dr. Kemling teaches diverse courses including Art Appreciation, Renaissance Art History, Visual Literacy, and specialized topics on portraiture. He integrates global perspectives through study abroad programs, having taught for Georgia Tech/Oxford programs across seven European countries since 2013.

Recent conference presentations analyze Vasari's biographical constructions of Michelangelo and the transmission of self-portraiture conventions from Northern Europe to Italy. His scholarship reveals how artistic identity formation reflected broader cultural values in early modern Europe.