Gerd Blum

Prof. Dr. Gerd Blum is a distinguished academic in Art History, holding a Professorship at the Münster Academy of Fine Arts and serving as an Honorary Professor at the University of Vienna since 2017. His interdisciplinary research spans Renaissance art, architectural history, and modern/contemporary art, with a focus on cross-epochal themes such as genius, site-specificity, and art religion. Blum earned his doctorate from the University of Basel in 1999 and his habilitation in 2010, focusing on Renaissance architecture and landscape.

• Education: Studies at Munich, Bochum, Berlin, Basel, and Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa; Dissertation: Hans von Marées’ work (1999), Habilitation: Architectural landscapes in Renaissance Italy (2010).
• Research Interests: Vasari’s biographies, Michelangelo’s Moses, retromodernism, and the intersection of art with theology and historiography.
• Roles: Former Vice-Rector for Science and Teaching (2003–2007), member of prestigious advisory boards, and visiting professorships across Europe.

Awards: Aby Warburg Foundation Science Prize (2010), Fellowships at Konstanz IAS and Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa. His publications include monographs on Vasari and Marées, as well as essays on art criticism and contemporary art’s engagement with cosmology.

Teaching: Courses emphasize Renaissance art literature, prehistory of abstraction, and modern photography’s engagement with art-historical canons. Current research projects include studies on Vasari’s theological historiography and the role of Jewish motifs in early modern art.