Donal Cooper

Professor Donal Cooper is a University Lecturer in Italian Renaissance Art at the University of Cambridge and a Fellow of Jesus College. He serves as Director of Studies in History of Art at Jesus College, though he is currently on leave for the 2024-2025 academic year. Professor Cooper is also on research leave until Michaelmas Term 2025.

His educational background includes a BA in Modern History from Oxford University, followed by art history studies at the Courtauld Institute of Art where he completed his MA and PhD on Franciscan art and architecture in central Italy in 2000. Prior to joining Cambridge in 2013, he served as Assistant and then Associate Professor at the University of Warwick.

Professor Cooper's research focuses on sacred art and architecture in Italy from the 13th to 16th centuries, with particular emphasis on Franciscan patronage. His interests span from Byzantine-style mosaics through Renaissance painting to Baroque architecture, with a consistent focus on understanding artworks within their historical contexts.

• Specializes in Italian Renaissance art and Mediterranean contexts
• Expertise in Giotto and Franciscan artistic patronage at Assisi
• Researches the art and culture of Venice and its maritime empire
• Studies Latin artistic patronage in Eastern Mediterranean regions
• Pioneers digital approaches to reconstructing original art contexts

Professor Cooper has received significant recognition for his work, including:

• Philip Leverhulme Prize for outstanding scholarship (2006)
• Hannah Kiel Fellowship at Harvard University Center for Italian Renaissance Studies (2009-2010)
• Art Book Prize for 'The Making of Assisi' (2014)

His methodological approach combines close examination of paintings in museum collections with extensive on-site analysis of historic buildings. He is particularly interested in using digital media to recover and communicate original contexts for artworks, collaborating with the National Gallery on reconstructing historic settings of Renaissance altarpieces. Professor Cooper welcomes applications from research students interested in Southern European art and architecture between approximately 1200 and 1550.