Monika Zin

Monika Zin is an Associate Professor for Indian Art History at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, affiliated with the Institute for Indology and Tibetology under the Faculty for Cultural Sciences. She holds a Dr. habil. (2000) and PhD (1991) in Indology from LMU Munich, alongside an M.A. in Theater Studies and Polish Literature from Jagiellonian University (1981). Her research focuses on Indian, Central Asian, and Buddhist art, with notable work on iconography, religious conversion, and cross-cultural artistic elements.

She has held visiting positions at the University of Leipzig (2005-2008) and Freie Universität Berlin (2010-2014). During her 2015-2016 KHK Fellowship, she analyzed Roman influences in Andhra Buddhist reliefs and their distinction from Gandhara art. Her publications include seminal monographs on Buddhist iconography and the Wheel of Rebirth.

Her expertise spans theater studies, Indology, and art-historical methodologies. Current projects emphasize transregional artistic exchanges and the material culture of religious practices.