Christopher Wood

Christopher Wood is Professor of German at New York University with joint affiliations in Art History. Educated at Harvard University (A.B. 1983, Ph.D. 1991), his scholarship spans pre-1800 European literature, Renaissance art, and art historiography.

Research specialties include:

• Temporality and anachronism in Renaissance art
• German art history traditions
• Folk/popular visual cultures
• Portraiture and devotional art
• Theoretical frameworks in art history

Recent publications demonstrate interdisciplinary approaches to temporal representation across art historical periods. Key monograph publications include Anachronic Renaissance (with Alexander Nagel), A History of Art History, and The Embedded Portrait. The 15 most recent articles (2017-2025) focus on methodological critique, historiography, and Renaissance reception studies.

Major fellowships and awards include Guggenheim Fellowship, Rome Prize, membership in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and visiting positions at leading institutes globally. As Editor of Res: Anthropology and Aesthetics, he shapes interdisciplinary discourse in visual studies.

Graduate teaching addresses European cultural history, theories of realism, and the 'culture of art' in 18th-19th century Germany. He mentors doctoral research bridging historical and theoretical frameworks.