Tristan Weddigen

Prof. Dr. Tristan Weddigen serves as Director of the Bibliotheca Hertziana – Max Planck Institute for Art History in Rome since 2017. He is also a full Professor of the History of Early Modern Art at the University of Zurich since 2009, following academic roles at TU Berlin (PhD 2002), University of Bern (Lecturer 2008), and University of Lausanne (Assistant Professor).

• Research Priorities include:
  • Rome Contemporary: Re-evaluating Rome's role in 20th-21st century art via digital methods.
  • Materiality and Mediality: Intermedial analysis of art's physical and theoretical dimensions.
  • Italy in a Global Context: Decolonial studies of fascist cultural heritage and Latin American-Italian artistic connections.
  • Transnational History of Art History: Critical editions of Heinrich Wölfflin's Collected Works (co-edited with Oskar Bätschmann, Joris van Gastel).
  • Digital Visual Studies: Leading the DH Lab's integration of Art History and Computer Science.

Publications focus on critical editions of foundational art historical texts, including:

• Italien und das deutsche Formgefühl (2024) – Analyzing Italo-German art contrasts.
• Renaissance und Barock (2023) – Reassessing Baroque architectural analysis.
• Die Jugendwerke des Michelangelo (2020) – Formalist studies of early works.
• Prolegomena zu einer Psychologie der Architektur (2020) – Psychological impact of architectural forms.
• Salomon Geßner (2020) – Enlightenment-era interdisciplinary research.

The Department's methodological innovation extends to #ScienceForUkraine initiatives and collaborations with institutions in Zurich, Rome, and global partners. Research seminars (e.g., on mimesis, eco-criticism, and Southern discomfort) reflect interdisciplinary engagement.