Gilad BenDavid

Gilad BenDavid serves as an Associate Scholar at 4A_Lab within the Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz, part of the Max Planck Society, while pursuing his PhD in Art History at The Graduate Center CUNY and teaching at Brooklyn College.

His doctoral research examines visual representations of beardless boys in 17th century Persianate court culture, challenging the conventional binary between sacred and obscene imagery. His dissertation Seeking God in Beardless Beloveds: Obscenity and the Sacred in Persianate Painting and Court Book Culture of the 17th Century argues that these domains were co-dependent rather than oppositional in Safavid and Mughal visual traditions.

Methodologically, BenDavid integrates affect theory, theories of vision and touch, and critical examinations of obscenity politics within early modern Islamic visual culture. His work reveals how visual ambiguity mediated tensions between mysticism, desire, and ethical authority in court book culture.

His scholarly contributions have been recognized through prestigious fellowships:

• Center for Global Early Modern Studies (GEMS) Fellowship
• GC-Helen Frankenthaler Fellowship
• Minerva Foundation Fellowship supporting his 4A_Lab position

Beyond traditional academic work, BenDavid has engaged with contemporary art practice, recently serving as a researcher for the German Pavilion at the 2024 Venice Biennale with artist Yael Bartana, demonstrating his commitment to bridging historical scholarship with contemporary artistic practice.