Angela Nikolai

Angela Nikolai serves as a Predoctoral Fellow at the 4A_Lab: Art Histories, Archaeologies, Anthropologies, Aesthetics, a research program operated through the cooperation between the Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz (part of the Max Planck Society) and the Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz. She is simultaneously completing her PhD dissertation at Freie Universität Berlin.

• Academic Background: Completed interdisciplinary studies in Art History, Medieval History, and Modern History across institutions in Munich, Paris, and Berlin
• Education: Earned MA with thesis analyzing illustrations from an 18th-century British astronomical treatise
• Research Positions: Served as research assistant at BildEvidenz Center (Freie Universität Berlin, 2016-2020) and Image Knowledge Gestaltung Cluster (Humboldt-Universität Berlin, 2013-2018)

Nikolai's scholarly work investigates the historical relationship between artistic practices and botanical studies from the 18th to early 20th century. Her research examines how visual culture, educational methodologies, and scientific representation shaped the integration of plant forms into artistic contexts. She analyzes historical teaching collections, ornament design resources, and the evolution of scientific illustration techniques, with particular attention to how botanical knowledge was adapted for pedagogical purposes.

Her current research project "(Re)Producing Nature" critically examines Moritz Meurer's comprehensive teaching collection for applied plant studies (developed 1891-1910), which incorporated diverse media including graphics, photographs, bronze and plaster casts, electrotypes, and preserved plant specimens. This work challenges purely functionalist interpretations of teaching media by emphasizing their independent aesthetic dimensions and how these affected their pedagogical function.

Professionally, Nikolai has held significant internships at the print collections of the Musée du Louvre and British Museum, completed a multi-year curatorial traineeship (2011-2013), and co-curated the 2017 exhibition "Form Follows Flower" at the Kunstgewerbemuseum Berlin, demonstrating her ability to bridge academic research with public exhibition programming.